FLB home News resources for undergraduates graduates faculty staff graduate assistants flb business office flb graduate student services   staff directory FLB directories UIUC home old browsers Friday, August 19, 2005 2005-2006/001 Professor to discuss origins of philology Paul E. Dutton, professor of humanities at Simon Fraser University, will give a lecture about the origins of the word “philology” (the study of literature) on Thursday, Aug. 25, in the Reading Room, Levis Faculty Center, 919 S. Illinois St., at 4 p.m. The lecture is free and open to the public. In his lecture, entitled "In the Twilight of Philology, a Word from Eriugena," Professor Dutton will present the short history of the word “philology,” coined by the great ninth century Irish philosopher John Scotus Eriugena. The philosopher attempted to explore the importance of philology and the apparent neglect of the discipline in the post-modern English-speaking world. Professor Dutton specializes in early medieval history (750-1150), particularly of the Carolingian Empire and its political, intellectual, cultural, and social history. His interests also include the 12th century renaissance, medieval Platonism, medieval weather, and medieval dreams and visions. The speaker also will make a seminar presentation, "Looking for Accidents: Cause and Chance in Explanations of Carolingian Events," on Friday, August 26, in Room 4080 of the Foreign Languages Building, 707 S. Mathews, Urbana, at 2 p.m. Professor Dutton will examine the issue of how early medieval men and women explained misfortune and characterized why events both great and small occurred. The discussion will be based on a selection of intriguing primary documents. The seminar is open only to UI students and faculty. His visit is sponsored by the UI Program in Medieval Studies.