Looking at Scribal Practices in the Endings of Mark 16

Building upon a five years research SNSF grant on digital methodology and Mark 16, this article highlights scribal practices in New Testament textual criticism by focusing on the test-case of endings in Mark’s Gospel, pointing to a specific tradition of the so-called shorter ending in Latin Codex Bobbiensis or G. vii.15. This tradition differs from the usual Greek shorter ending. Section 2 first argues that contemporaneous scribal practices still exist in Greek NT scholarship, whereas Section 3 presents nine cases of scribal practices in Mark 16 – seven Greek NT manuscripts (Gregory-Aland 083, 099, 019, 044, 1, 304 and 579, in chronological order), one Latin NT manuscript (codex k), and the Harklean Syriac version of Mark

DASCH: Data and Service Center for the Humanities

Research data in the humanities needs to be sustainable, and access to digital resources must be possible over a long period. Only if these prerequisites are fulfilled can research data be used as a source for other projects. In addition, reliability is a fundamental requirement so that digital sources can be cited, reused, and quoted. To address this problem, we present our solution: the Data and Service Center for the Humanities located in Switzerland. The centralized infrastructure is based on flexible and extendable software that is in turn reliant on modern technologies. Such an approach allows for the straightforward migration of existing research project databases with limited life spans in the humanities. We will demonstrate the basic concepts behind this proposed solution and our first experiences in the application thereo

Introduction. Digital Humanities in Jewish, Christian and Arabic traditions

The journal JRMDC has joined Brill publishing house after the publication of this article and special issue in OA in 2016.International audienceThis special JRMDC number brings together articles based on eight papers presented at the Digital Humanities (DH) consultation of the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), titled Digital Humanities in Biblical Studies, Early Jewish and Christian Studies 2013-2015. Our editorial board has been the steering committee of these consultations, which have now been confirmed as a section for the 2016-2021 annual meetings. These eight articles focus on Digital Humanities (DH) in Ancient Jewish, Christian and Arabic traditions. The first part of this introduction focuses on general considerations concerning the encounter between digital culture and biblical and religious studies, and introduces the first article by Caroline Schroeder. The second part of this introduction maps a number of key issues across the Digital Humanities which appear in the seven specific case studies presented in the other articles in this issue

Covers and Corpus wanted! Some Digital Humanities Fragments

Covers and bindings are collapsing in the digital textual world. To begin with, the following paper argues that this is not a genuinely new situation, since all cultural Western history attests to written texts as never having been autonomous from oral discourses and versioning steps. Thenceforth – after analyzing the relationship between paper and body, relying notably on Derrida – this article will claim that we have the right and indeed, an obligation, to "capture" new covers and bindings. During the 17th century, in the lawless parts of the ocean, buccaneers realized that the right to depart was the condition for the capacity to be bound. Therefore, let us dare to depart from ancient bindings and create new boundaries

Lost in translation? The odyssey of 'digital humanities' in French

The article is available in open access on the publisher website.International audienceBy examining the case of the French translation of the expression "digital humanities" (DH), this article argues that cultural diversity and multilingualism could be fostered in digital culture. If other languages have been invited and forced to welcome this English phrase, its translations have to be studied since they could potentially have strong epistemological backwash-effects on it. Through an historical etymological inquiry, it can be demonstrated that the use of the outmoded French word humanités is the most significant element in the two French expressions humanités numériques or humanités digitales. This single word opens up a specific space for humanist approaches within the open-ended digital approaches. On this base, the encounter between Humanities and hard sciences can be reconsidered, as it happens already in two examples of new DH masters in French-speaking countries. To my late mother, who read so many books aloud to me, building my cultural memory of the forgotten meanings of words By examining the case of the French translation of the expression "digital humanities" (DH), this article argues that cultural diversity and multilingualism could be fostered in digital culture. At first glance, the international success of this expression seems to contradict this statement: isn't it a clear example of English language domination over other Western and non-Western languages? Used in written form for Lost in translation? The odyssey of 'digital humanities' in French 27 Studia UBB Digitalia Volume 62, No. 1, 2017 the first time in 2004 (Kirschenbaum 56), tirelessly discussed in DH conferences and works, "DH" has quickly been used in professorship titles, in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, or to qualify centers, laboratories, and research projects (Clivaz "Common Era" 41). If other languages have been invited and forced to welcome this expression, its translations have to be studied since they could potentially have strong epistemological backwash-effects on it. French is an example worth examining: it can be demonstrated that the use of the outmoded French word humanités is the most significant element in the two French expressions humanités numériques or humanités digitales. This single word opens up a specific space for humanist approaches within the open-ended digital approaches. The introduction below aims to present the specific impact of a study of the phrase "digital humanities" and its translations within the general problematic of the phrase's definition. The second part of this article summarizes the main progressions and arguments in the discussions surrounding humanités numériques (humanities computing) and humanités digitales (digital humanities) in the French-speaking sphere. The third section examines the historical epistemology of humanités while the final section considers the resulting confrontation between the humanities and the 'hard' sciences: this underlines their potential synergy and the proper role of the humanities

Thinking About the ‘Mind’ in Digital Humanities : Apple, Turing and Lovelace

This article introduces an underestimated concept in Digital Humanities emergence history: the mind. Following Milad Doueihi suggestion, it revisits Alan Turing article (1950) as a milestone in the DH genealogy. The mind appears here as the key-concept, at stake in the confrontation of Turing with Ada Lovelace. The article demonstrates that the mind has to be considered in connection with the brain, the spirit and the ‘unthought’ (see Katherine Hayles and Nathalie Sarraute). The mind appears at the end of the inquiry as a place to keep together the physical brain and the poetical dimension, illustrated by the spirit. An example of the perception of the Apple logo, presented in Introduction and Conclusion, underlines that unthought elements are always present in a cultural contex

Digital religion out of the book: the loss of the illusion of the 'original text' and the notion of a 'religion of a book'

Since the classical age, a detailed knowledge of philology and critical editions of textshave been developed in the field of ancient Greek texts. This knowledge is at risk today because the new digital support draws new parameters for texts and textuality itself. The gradual disappearance of the notion of the ‘original text’ and the undermining of the philological approach is tinged with nostalgia for all scholars whose roots are in classical, philosophical or linguistic studies. It is interesting to examine how this disappearance of the notion of an ‘original text’ will affect the relationships to the sacred texts of those religions which are called ‘religions of the book’, in the context of a global transformation of the notion of ‘textuality’ itself in Western culture through the development of digital culture

Returning to Mark 16, 8: What's new?

Article in OA on Peeters website. The present article offers a first presentation of a five-year research project on Mark 16 financed by the SNSF. It first surveys the variety in recent scholarly opinions on the end of Mark’s gospel after several decades of nearly unanimous agreement that Mk 16,8 constituted the original ending. The possibility to look online at digital manuscripts increases the NT scholars’ aware-ness of the three witnesses that present the end of Mark’s gospel in verse 8: 01, 03 and 304. Secondly, the article discusses the most recent hypothesis on Mk 16,8 by Stephen Hultgren. Starting from the assumption that there may be a link between Dan 10,7 and Mark 16,8, Hultgren draws attention to the widespread motif of having fear in front of a divine epiphany. Finally, the article paves the way for further inquiries in order to take into account the diversity of early Chris-tian readings in Mark 16

Falso movimento (Moretti 2022): Memories and Translations

Peer-reviewed. The last monograph of Franco Moretti – Falso movimento – was published more than a year ago, in January 2022, but has so far only been translated in German, and not in English. Regarding the international success of La letteratura vista da lontano (2005), this fact is surprising. Several reasons could explain the delay in publishing an English translation; this paper will highlight a point that could make the reception of this new monograph uncomfortable in English language scholarship: it clearly expresses doubts about how the distant reading has shaped the humanities. These doubts can only surprise a large part of English language scholarship: it majorly considers La letteratura vista da lontano as a pertinent and iconoclast history of literature. Paying attention to Moretti’s heritage and reception in diverse languages highlights the importance of Falso movimento: it should be considered as challenging to scholars both within and outside of the digital humanities

The Impact of Digital Research: Thinking about the MARK16 Project

This article presents the challenges of developing humanities research in a digital environment in relation to a New Testament test case: the MARK16 project. The first section argues that virtual research environments (VREs) have become an excellent milieu in which to develop a digitized research project based on collaborative work. The second section presents an overview of VREs and digital projects on the New Testament. The third section demonstrates the ways in which the MARK16 project participates in the development of VREs and fosters new modes of engaging material in digitized NT research