|
01/11/01 152/01
A University of New England scholar has been awarded a special
bursary to enable her to publish her highly-regarded research on
early Christian monasticism.
Anna Silvas, who graduated Doctor of Philosophy at UNE's Spring
Graduation ceremony last month, came to Armidale in 1996 to do her
doctoral research on monasticism in fourth-century Anatolia. Before
embarking on that project, however, she found herself diverted to
twelfth-century Germany. The result of the two-year "diversion"
was a book titled Jutta and Hildegard of Bingen: the Biographical
Sources, published by Brepols in Belgium in 1998.
"A real scoop in this work is a translation of a newly discovered
Life of Hildegard's mentor Jutta," she said. "I was the
first to show that Jutta was the cousin of Emperor Lothar III. There
are such 'cinematographic' episodes in the lives of these two women
that a director would have some good material for 'Hildegard: the
Movie'."
She then turned to her PhD project, which she completed in three
years. Having lived as a nun in a monastic community for some years,
and having studied Biblical languages (Aramaic, Syriac and Hebrew
as well as and Greek and Latin), she was well qualified for both
these projects. The thesis resulting from her Anatolian research
has been hailed by an international panel of expert examiners as
a work of "outstanding distinction". Two of the three
examiners said it was the best thesis they had ever examined, and
one added "by some margin".
In recognising the importance of her work, the Vice-Chancellor of
UNE, Professor Ingrid Moses, has awarded her a12-month extraordinary
postdoctoral bursary for 2002 to enable her to turn the thesis into
a book. "UNE is honoured by Dr Silvas's wonderful achievement
as a scholar and student," Professor Moses said. "We are
delighted to be able to assist in the publication of her work for
the benefit of the world-wide scholarly community. I am confident
that she has embarked on a distinguished career."
|
"The Vice-Chancellor's congratulations and the bursary have
been a great boost," Dr Silvas said. "They give me hope
that I might be able to survive as a scholar. I have many things
at UNE and Armidale to be grateful for, but I specially mention
having a world-class philologist, Alan Treloar, as my supervisor
and consultant."
Titled The Two Versions of St Basil's Asketikon and the Emergence
of Monasticism in 4th Century Anatolia, Dr Silvas's thesis includes
a translation of St Basil's teachings for the conduct of Christian
ascetic life. "I had to use all my Greek and Latin skills to
compare the first edition of Basil's work (surviving in a Latin
translation but not in Greek) with the second edition in the original
Greek," she said. Her analysis of these texts shows that the
ascetic community described in the Asketikon developed from the
lifestyle of devout Christian family households, a process in which
Basil's sister Macrina played a very important role.
Dr Silvas is particularly interested in this "domestic asceticism",
an area of church life in which women were undoubtedly the leaders.
She hopes to be able to do for Macrina what she did for Hildegard,
and publish a comprehensive collection of all her biographical sources.
Media contact: Dr Anna Silvas, School of Classics, History and Religion,
UNE, Armidale (02) 6773 2156 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE,
Armidale (02) 6773 3049. A photograph of Dr Silvas and Professor
Moses is available. Please contact Jim Scanlan on (02) 6773 3049.
|
