Diana Pavel gives a working paper on 'Historiographic interpretations and new perspectives regarding the phenomenon of Etruscan altars'

The following paper constitutes an introduction into the subject of my research thesis that I will be developing for the next three years within the International Graduate School “Resonant Self-World Relations in Ancient and Modern Socio-Religious Practices”. My research project desires to introduce new perspectives and research questions into the study of altars that have, unfortunately, rarely been the primary focus in the studies of Etruscan religion.

My current paper will have the dual role of presenting, in the first part, the current state of research regarding the topic so as to emphasize the main lines of analysis that have been conveyed concerning this subject and to further propose the need for new perspectives in regards to it. It can be easily noticed throughout the historiography that the altars were mainly seen through the perspective of architectural elements, with emphasis on their morphological typology, while only a few articles present a more general approach regarding the altar as the focus within the ritual ceremony. Therefore, I am suggesting the need to provide a new approach towards a reading of this phenomenon. The second part of the paper will be dedicated towards introducing the main focus points of the research project that I will be taking into consideration for its development. I propose that the altar should be seen as more than a simple architectural element or even more than an element of ritual behaviour, but as an object and place that connects the individual with the world, hence the approach of self-world relations.

Mark Porter is presenting a paper on 'Singing, resonance and ascetic struggle'

In my work at Max-Weber I am interested in exploring ideas of resonance in relation to Christian congregational music. In contrast to common contemporary ideals of authenticity, the idea of resonance allows the opportunity to foreground bi-directional back and forth relationships in sonic, social and spiritual realms. Through a series of exploratory case studies I am exploring the nature of such relationships and the potential for such an approach to illuminate and bring together aspects of congregational music not typically foregrounded in this manner.

Following my previous exploration of theories of resonance, in this paper I explore my first case study: the 4^th century desert fathers. The music of the desert rarely takes a prominent role in discussions of church music history, we have no surviving musical scores, we have no grand theories about the role and nature of music, in fact we have remarkably little discussion of it whatsoever. It is not a moment which obviously serves to advance musical composition in any substantial way, and music is very much a background rather than foreground presence in most of the surviving writings. In contrast to such neglect, I suggest that attention to patterns of resonance, and an exploration of singing within its broader bodily, spiritual and spatial ecology serves to illuminate desert psalmody, presenting with utmost clarity an individual’s struggle as they attempt to pursue with single-minded, but often- frustrated determination their path of spiritual and bodily destruction, formation and witness.