Philology Seminar 2.

 

Aim of the course

The aim of the course is for students to be able to plan and carry out independent, high-quality philological research related to their own dissertation topic, acquiring comprehensive knowledge of all aspects of the critical processing of Sanskrit or other Indian language texts.

a) Knowledge

Students acquire in-depth, specialized knowledge of all aspects of the philological processing of Sanskrit or other Indian language texts related to their chosen research topic. They become familiar with the latest philological research methods, current issues and debates in international scientific discourse. They acquire detailed knowledge of the manuscript tradition, textual criticism problems, linguistic features and literature of the chosen text corpus. They acquire comprehensive knowledge of the philological tools and sources necessary for their dissertation research.

b) Ability

Students become capable of planning and carrying out independent, high-quality philological research. They will acquire the skills of formulating and solving complex philological problems. They will gain practice in giving scientific lectures, leading professional discussions and formulating constructive criticism. They will be able to professionally present their own research results and prepare international-level publications. They will develop a culture of scientific debate and the ability for interdisciplinary cooperation.

c) Attitude

Students will develop a committed research attitude, which includes scientific precision, critical thinking and intellectual honesty. They will be open to professional criticism and be able to reflect constructively on their own work. They will develop the value of collegial cooperation and a sense of responsible belonging to the scientific community. They will become sensitive to ethical issues in philological research, respect for cultural heritage and the social relevance of scientific work.

d) Autonomy and responsibility

Students become fully independent in planning, implementing and evaluating their own research projects. They make responsible decisions about the choice of philological methods and research strategies. They become capable of independently managing their own research program, creatively solving emerging problems and independently publishing their research results. They take responsibility for their claims, are able to defend their scientific position, and are open to accepting alternative interpretations.

Topics

The topics covered are always aligned with the student's research area.

1. Text-critical work (detailed collation of manuscripts, evaluation and classification of variants, development of conjectures, preparation of the critical apparatus)

2. In-depth linguistic analysis (detailed grammatical commentary, etymological, stylistic and rhetorical analysis, exploration of intertextual relations, examination of metrical anomalies [if relevant])

3. Processing of the commentary literature (examination of traditional and modern Indian commentaries, evaluation of interpretive strategies)

4. Translation strategies (translation theories and practices, literary translation vs. scientific translation, justification of translation decisions, comparison of parallel translations)

5. Contextualization and interpretation (detailed reconstruction of the historical context, deeper analysis of the religious and cultural background, socio-historical aspects, placement in literary and intellectual traditions, examination of the history of reception)

6. Secondary literarure research II. (detailed analysis of scholarly debates, positioning of one's own research, critical evaluation of scholarly literature, identification of new research directions)

7. Interdisciplinary integration (synthesis of results from different scientific fields, combination of theoretical approaches, application of comparative perspectives, methodological innovations)

8. Ethical and professional issues (publication ethics, copyright and citation practices, cultural sensitivity, scientific integrity, professional responsibility)

Evaluation system

Written and/or oral exam

Literature

Textual criticism

Cerquiglini, Bernard (1999). In Praise of the Variant: A Critical History of Philology. Translated by Betsy Wing. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Greetham, David C. (1999). Theories of the Text. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Indological textual criticism

Olivelle, Patrick (2005). Manu's Code of Law: A Critical Edition and Translation of the Mānava-Dharmaśāstra. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Módszertani bevezetés]

Witzel, Michael (1997). "The Development of the Vedic Canon and its Schools: The Social and Political Milieu". In: Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts, ed. Michael Witzel. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Translation theory

Venuti, Lawrence (2008). The Translator's Invisibility: A History of Translation. 2nd edition. London: Routledge.

Robinson, Douglas (2003). Becoming a Translator: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Translation. 2nd edition. London: Routledge.

Pollock, Sheldon (2015). "Philology in Three Dimensions". Postmedieval: A Journal of Medieval Cultural Studies 5(4): 398-413.

Commentary literature

Freschi, Elisa – Maas, Philipp A. (eds.) (2017). Adaptive Reuse: Aspects of Creativity in South Asian Cultural History. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

Interpretation and hermeneutics

Said, Edward (2004). "The Return to Philology". In: Humanism and Democratic Criticism. New York: Columbia University Press.

Gadamer, Hans-Georg (2004). Truth and Method. 2nd revised edition. Translated by Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall. London: Continuum.

Contextualization

Ali, Daud (2004). Courtly Culture and Political Life in Early Medieval India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Shulman, David (2012). More than Real: A History of the Imagination in South India. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Professional ethics

Shamoo, Adil E. – Resnik, David B. (2015). Responsible Conduct of Research. 3rd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Interdisciplinary approaches

Granoff, Phyllis – Shinohara, Koichi (eds.) (2004). Images in Asian Religions: Texts and Contexts. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

Methodological reflexions

Deshpande, Madhav M. (1993). Sanskrit and Prakrit: Sociolinguistic Issues. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Pollock, Sheldon (2011). "The Languages of Science in Early Modern India". In: Forms of Knowledge in Early Modern Asia, ed. Sheldon Pollock. Durham: Duke University Press.