(SASNES)
Mr
Brian
Harris from the Department of Ancient Studies, University of
Stellenbosch
is the first recipient of the prize for the best paper delivered by a
young
researcher at a SASNES congress. The paper entitled: MUL.APIN AND EARLY
BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY was presented at the conference that recently took
place
at the University of the Western Cape. This paper is based on a MA
thesis that
was completed under the guidance of Prof. Sakkie Cornelius from the
University
of Stellenbosch.
Volume
36/2, 2010 of JNSL is dedicated to Philip J Nel,
who recently retired from the University of the Free State (UFS) after
a tenure
of just short of forty years. He was awarded several grants, i.a. the
German
DAAD Stipend for research at the University of Tuebingen. In 2005 he
received
the Centenary Award for his “Outstanding Research Contribution” from
the UFS.
His CV displays an extraordinary interdisciplinary reach. He taught and
published in the fields of Hebrew Linguistics and Literature; Near
Eastern
Culture; African Religion and Culture; Indigenous Knowledge Systems and
Post-Colonialism; Text and Literary Theory; Old Testament Theology;
Philosophy
of Science and Methodology; and Gender Studies. He was also
instrumental in the
establishment of the Centre for Africa Studies at the UFS. He served on
the
editorial boards of JNSL and JSem and contributed to both periodicals.
He also
served a term as chair of the South African Society for Near Eastern
Studies.
On the photo, taken by Mangaliso Radebe (Assistant Director: Media Liaison: Strategic Communication of the UFS), Philip appears with his wife, Olivia.
SASNES's secretary, Dr Gudrun Lier, has recently published a new book, A Redaction History of the Pentateuch Targums. The link to her book on the Gorgias Press site is:
http://www.gorgiaspress.com/
Prof. Cynthia Miller-Naudé recently married Prof. Jackie Naudé. She was also appointed as Professor Extraordinary in the Dept Classical and Near Eastern Studies, University of the Free State. She moved from the Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies at the University of Wisconsin, USA, where she was the chair. At the 2010 meeting of SASNES, which took place at the North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, Prof. Miller-Naudé presented the Van Selms Memorial Lecture entitled "Exploring the Limits of Ambiguity in Biblical Poetry: Interpreting Elliptical Structures." This interesting lecture bears witness to Cynthia's renown as a linguist. The academic community is pleased to welcome such a specialist to South Africa.
With regard to the SASNES Young Researchers Prize, the following was decided by the SASNES committee concerning the process of evaluation:
- A young researcher is defined as someone who has just entered the research area irrespective of age. Each case regarding someone who has already published independently will be evaluated ad hoc.
- A supervisor should recommend the paper.
- Only papers delivered at a SASNES congress will be considered.
- It is expected that such papers should be published in JSem after having been subjected to the necessary peer review process.
- Papers will be published on a yearly basis.
- A committee will be elected for each round of papers.