The Andre Tweed Collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts
ESAN/EWB –ONEPUPIL Workshop on The Andre Tweed Collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts of Howard University School of Divinity on Beta Metsaheft (Alice Ogden Bellis* Stephen Delamarter Ralph Lee–*Howard University) Contact:abkebede@gmail.com
Time: 9:00AM EST US (4:00PM Ethiopian) June 6 2020–
Place: ZOOM
Topic: Tweed Collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts of Howard University School of Divinity on Beta Metsaheft
Time: Jun 6, 2020 09:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 837 6692 1538
Password: 767743
Ethiopians as a community went through huge violent political experiences that became the agency to spread then around the world. Despite their experiences they never gave seeking knowledge about their ancestors, their country and its contribution to world history and civilization. The Ethiopian Scientific and Academic Network (ESAN), Educators Without Borders (EWB) and OnePupil and the related communities wish
1) Build an educated community that can become an active participant in the “study of Ethiopia” as a scientific subject , and the actions of this community is based on scientific findings than just emotional and cultural attachments
2) Mentor encourage persuade young people to pursue advanced education in subjects of interest within the field of Ethiopian studies. Your seminars/workshops on June 6 and beyond will encourage such young people to inquire further about Ethiopia
3) Share the knowledge, philosophy and wisdom of ancient Ethiopia and enrich African and African American history and initiate collaborations among minority serving institutions in the field of Ethiopian
The workshop among other things will answer questions like
- What is the size of the collection ?
- How does a reader or a researcher can access the collection ?
- Where are the other places and museums that similar collections are found ?
- What are geographical locations and time stamps for the collections, for example (Gonder,1901)
- Which particular collection(s) would answer an open question in biblical studies
- Which particular collections will influence “Ethiopian Studies” as science
- Which collections show evidence of scientific endeavors in advancing knowledge of medicine, technology, astronomy, mathematics, chemistry, philosophy e.t.c ?
- Are there items that you wish to get them in your collection but could not find them?
- What is the workshop conveners advise to a potential graduate student so that he can join PhD program at Howard U. and other institutions of higher learning?
- What is the state of HBCU research in Ethiopian Studies ? What can we do to start the conversation for more engagement of HBCUs in the field
Workshop Audience: Undergraduate and above
Workshop schedule
- Zoom Meeting hosted by ESAN/EWB-OnePupli
- June 6 at 9:00 AM EST US Time (4:00PM Ethiopian)
Workshop Summary
Title: The Andre Tweed Collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts of Howard University School of Divinity on Beta Metsaheft
This seminar will introduce participants to the Tweed Collection of Ethiopic Manuscripts, its contents, and history. It will familiarize them with the various ways that individuals may access manuscripts and the advantages and disadvantages of those methods in an age of technology. It will introduce participants to the Beta Metsaheft, (House of Manuscripts) project at the University of Hamburg, where the Tweed Collection may now be accessed, and provide guidance on how to use it. It will also offer a few suggestion on opportunities for pursuing further study of the manuscripts that are now available for public viewing.
- Introduction of Participants and Brief Description and History of the Andre’ Tweed Collection of Ethiopian Manuscripts of Howard University School of Divinity – Alice Ogden Bellis (15 minutes)
- Working With Manuscripts in an Information Age – Stephen Delamarter (20 minutes)
III. Guide to Using the Beta Metsaheft and Some Thoughts on Pursuing Interpretive Studies – Ralph Lee (20 minutes) Followed by Questions and Answers (5 minutes or more)
Brief Biography of Presenters
Alice Ogden Bellis is Professor of Hebrew Bible at Howard University School of Divinity for almost 30 years. Dr. Bellis has written numerous books and articles, including the award winning Proverbs (Wisdom Commentary Series; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2018, winner of Best Book and Best Scripture Book from the Catholic Publishers Association), an edited volume, How Plausible Is a Kushite Role in Sennacherib’s Retreat? A Conversation with Henry Aubin’s The Rescue of Jerusalem (Journal of Hebrew Scriptures [2019]19:7; Piscataway Township, NJ: Gorgias Press), Helpmates, Harlots, and Heroes: Women’s Stories in the Hebrew Bible (Westminster/John Knox, 1994 & 2007), Science, Scripture, and Homosexuality, with Dr. Terry Hufford, Presbyterian elder at Western Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC and Emeritus Professor of Biology at George Washington University (Pilgrim Press, 2002; Wipf and Stock, 2011), and others. She is also the temporary pastor at Idylwood Presbyterian Church in Falls Church, VA
Nana (as she is known to her grandchildren) has two married adult daughters, Margaret Douglass English and Elizabeth Ogden Bellis Wolfe, both attorneys, three grand-daughters Azalea and Vivian Bellis Wolfe and Clara English, and one grandson, Henry Bellis Wolfe. She is married to Dr. Jeff Nicoll, a physicist, and lives in Washington, DC.
Alice Bellis enjoys swimming, knitting, gardening, and working on her house. Wannabe activities are portrait painting and learning to speak a foreign language, Spanish and/or modern Hebrew.
Ralph Lee currently teaches courses on Christianity in Africa and the Middle East at SOAS University of London, and Ge’ez language at Cambridge University. Initially studying Chemical Engineering, he went to Ethiopia in 1990 to teach Engineering for two years, including the time in which the Derg was overthrown, which started a long engagement with the nation and its culture, with a total of 16 years living and working there. After 10 years of teaching Engineering at Addis Ababa University and then Bahir Dar University, he retrained in the study of religion, completing a PhD on Symbolic Interpretations in Ethiopic and Early Syriac Literature which looked at symbolic interpretations of the bible in Ethiopian literature in comparison with Christian literature from the Syriac speaking world, focusing on the understanding of the Ark of the Covenant. Since then he has taught at Holy Trinity Theological College in Addis Ababa, and worked on research projects on the Ethiopic text of Deuteronomy, 1Enoch, and related works.
Stephen Delamarter is the director of the Ethiopic Manuscript Imaging Project and the Theological History of the Ethiopic Old Testament Project. He is retired Professor of Old Testament from George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Portland, OR. (I think he will send me his bio, which will be fuller, but this is the basics)