Charles Doyen聽(PI 鈥� spokesperson)
After his graduation in Classics (2004) and Oriental studies (2005), Charles Doyen completed a PhD (2009) in Classics on the interactions between Poseidon and Zeus during the Mycenaean and Archaic periods. This work was awarded and published by the Royal Academy of Belgium (2011). Then, driven by his growing interest in numismatics and epigraphy, Charles dedicated his postdoctoral research to the accounting practices in the Hellenistic period. This work has resulted in a second book (2012) and, eventually, in an academic tenure, as a F.R.S.鈥揊NRS Research Associate (2013). Since his research on metrological standards has shown the urgent need for a reappraisal of ancient and mediaeval weights, Charles has set up a research team devoted to this task (5 PhD students and 4 postdocs). During the last six years, his research team has obtained very promising results. Today, he wants to go a step further by analyzing ancient weights through the prism of historical anthropology and in the broader context of the interaction between Greek, Roman and Judeo-Christian cultural spheres.
Charles鈥� published work consists of two research monographs, five edited books and 25 articles, in peer-reviewed journals or collective volumes. He has also given over 50 conference papers or invited lectures.
From 2016 onwards, Charles has been directing the , which aims to collect and study ancient and mediaeval weights. The project aimed to fill a gap in the collection, standardization, and processing of these archaeological data, thanks to an open access database hosted by UCLouvain. The Pondera Online project helped him create an international network of over 30 scholars from 13 different countries working on ancient and medieval weights.
Research team on this project : 2 PhD students
Geert Van Oyen
After his candidature in classical philology (1981), Geert Van Oyen obtained a licentiate in theology and Biblical studies at KU Leuven (1987) with a licentiate thesis on the summaries in the Gospel of Mark that was published that same year. Two years later, Geert obtained a doctorate in theology (Biblical Studies) at KU Leuven under the supervision of Frans Neirynck. His doctoral thesis, a study on the history of research on the redaction of Mark in the 20th century, was awarded the Mgr Joseph Coppens Prize of the Royal Academy and led to his second monograph (1993). The period of his postdoctoral research concluded with a third monographic study on the two miracles of the loaves in Mark鈥檚 Gospel (1999). He got appointed at Utrecht University in January 2000 and, during his work there, he published four studies on Mark鈥檚 Gospel (2001, 2004, 2005, 2006). His book De Marcuscode was awarded the prize for religious book in Flanders and was later translated into French and English. A new phase in his career occurred when he was appointed at UCLouvain in 2008. He got to know the French-language International Network for Narratology and Bible (RRENAB) and became its president for four years. Besides new contributions on the Gospel of Mark鈥攈is first love which he never left behind鈥攈e has also published on the Book of Revelation, the letter to the Hebrews, the problem of Historical Jesus research, the apocryphal infancy gospels, the gospels of John and Matthew, the diatessaron, and Albert Schweitzer. In teaching and research, his main aim is to demonstrate in clear language that connects with the experiences of people in the 21st century how it makes sense to read the Bible even today. His recent research on eschatological texts and the question of guilt and evil could be an important factor in broadening the project鈥檚 questioning of 鈥渕easures鈥� in Antiquity and the Bible by placing the topic in the religious and cultural context of the first and second centuries of our era.
Research team on this project : 1 PhD (co-supervisor) and 1 post-doc (co-supervisor)
Aaron Kachuck
Following a BA in Classics (Greek) and Comparative Literature (inc. Hebraic and Aramaic studies) from Yale University (2003), and an MA and MPhil in Classics (Greek and Latin) from the University of Cambridge (Clare College, 2009/2010), Aaron Kachuck completed a PhD (2015) at Princeton University on Solitude and Imagination in the works of Cicero, Virgil, Horace, and Propertius. That thesis鈥� literary structures were put into a broader social, religious, political, and ideological context in The Solitary Sphere in the Age of Virgil (Oxford University Press, 2021). His present work builds on that book in two directions: on the one hand, he continues to work on solitude through multiple joint projects (on cynicism with Pierre Destr茅e [UCLouvain]) and solo projects (e.g. a commentary on Persius鈥� Satires for Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics). On the other hand, through his pole of research at UCLouvain, PREaA (Poetry, Religion, and Empire in the Age of Augustus), he works in multiple areas in the social science of antiquity, including through collective projects (on cosmography with Renaud Gagn茅 [Cambridge]), and through solo work, including a book-in-progress on Implicit Theology in the Age of Augustus and the Ritual Forms of Narrative. Now, Aaron would like to take this work further, and in particular his efforts to show how structures that enter socio-political and cultic life in later periods are in fact already worked out as literary, or imaginary, structures, notably towards the beginning of Rome鈥檚 Principate. Reviews of The Solitary Sphere had suggested the usefulness of the book鈥檚 model to economic realities, and STASTA is an ideal opportunity to work with other project participants to put his work on literature and religion in conversation with economic history, including his model of implicit theology at Rome. Aaron鈥檚 published work consists of one monograph (OUP), seven published articles or contributions in peer-reviewed journals or books and eight book reviews. He has given over fifty invited and conference talks, and has organised ten major conferences.
Research team on this project : 1 PhD student, 1 post-doc
Matthieu Richelle
Originally a Maths teacher, Matthieu Richelle was trained in Semitic Philology and Ancient Near Eastern History at the Catholic Institute of Paris (2006) and he obtained a PhD in History at the EPHE-Sorbonne (2010). Thanks to a scholarship from the Acad茅mie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (Paris), he spent an academic year at the 脡cole Biblique et Arch茅ologique de J茅rusalem (2008鈥�2009) which was decisive for his understanding of the historical context of ancient Israel, of the importance of archaeology and was also the opportunity to examine ancient inscriptions. Matthieu鈥檚 doctoral dissertation on the historical sources about the kingdom of Israel c. 800鈥�750 BCE brought together epigraphy, biblical exegesis, and archaeology. Since that time, this three-pronged approach has remained a characteristic feature of his work. In 2016, he obtained his Habilitation at the University of Strasbourg. Since 2020, he is Professor of Old Testament Exegesis at the Universit茅 Catholique de Louvain. Matthieu鈥檚 publications include 4 books, 1 edited book, and 66 articles, including 28 in peer-reviewed journals. Matthieu鈥檚 current research focuses on the textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible, especially the comparison between the Hebrew and the Greek (Septuagint) texts, as well as on North-West Semitic epigraphy. He is a member of several international projects, as lead editor of 1 Kings in the HBCE (The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition) and collaborating editor on the BHQ (Biblia Hebraica Quinta). He is co-editing the Oxford Handbook of First and Second Kings together with Steven L. McKenzie. In sum, Matthieu鈥檚 research continues to integrate the study of epigraphical documents and the analysis of texts transmitted by handwritten copying, thus bringing together sources yielded by archaeology and manuscripts. Together with his expertise on Jewish literary works and in Septuagint studies, this involvement in STASTA represents the next step in that direction while expanding the perspective to literary sources and the broader historical context of the Hellenistic and early Roman periods.
Research team on this project : 1 PhD (co-supervisor) and 1 post-doc