[Announcement] Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomenma (fwd)

[Dominik Wujastyk]

Our "corresponding member", Rolf Sinclair (of Antarctic fame) has passed
the following announcement to me for distribution to INDOLOGY.  The
conference's subject matter, Rolf feels, is sufficiently broad that
indologists might be interested.

All the best,
Dominik

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 6 Jun 1998 23:16:01 -0400
From: Rolf Sinclair/NSF Physics Division <rsinclai at nsf.gov>
Subject: Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomenma

Dear Colleagues:

With this note, we wish to inform you of the up-coming
Second International Conference on

THE INSPIRATION OF ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA ("INSAP II"), to be held 7-14
January 1999 on the Mediterranean island of Malta

The sky makes up half of mankind's world; the Earth around us makes up the
other half.  This meeting will explore mankind's fascination with the
astronomical phenomena that define the sky -- the lights in the sky, by
day and by night -- which have been a strong and often dominant element in
human life and culture. Scholars from a variety of disciplines (including
Archaeology, Art, Classics, History and Prehistory, Mythology and
Folklore, Philosophy, the Physical Sciences, and Religion) will attend
"INSAP II"  to discuss the impacts astronomical phenomena have had on
mankind.  Presentations by attendees will be grouped under four main
topics: Literature; Art; Myth and Religion;  History and Prehistory.
Speakers will include (tentatively) Professor Albert Boime (Univ. of
California-Los Angeles): "The Artistic Portrayal of Starry Skies", and
Doctor Madanjeet Singh (UNESCO, Paris): "The Sun, Symbol of Power and
Life".

The Conference will allow the attendees to address the many and variegated
cultural impacts of the perceptions of the day and night skies, providing
a mechanism for a broad group of artists, historians, philosophers, and
scientists to meet, compare notes, and have the chance to ask those
questions of each other about their work which may have been lying fallow
for decades. Attendance will be by invitation from among those applying.
Full information on the Conference and an application form can be obtained
by contacting the Organizing Committee, or from our Website
(http://ethel.as.arizona.edu/~white/insap.htm).

This Conference is the second to be held on this general theme. Details of
the first meeting (held at Castel Gandolfo, Vatican State, 27 June-2 July
1994), and the publication references that include many of the papers
presented there, may be found also at the above Website (URL as given).

This Conference is sponsored by the OTS Foundation and the Vatican
Observatory.

Please circulate or post this announcement.

The Organizing Committee:

Professor Raymond E. White, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona
(Chair) (rwhite at as.arizona.edu)
Rev. George V. Coyne, S. J., The Vatican Observatory: (gcoyne at as.arizona.edu)
Dr. Rolf M. Sinclair, National Science Foundation, Arlington VA
(rsinclai at nsf.gov)
Prof. Frank Ventura, Malta (fven at cis.um.edu.mt)