{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":13.95,"endTime":16.62,"body":"Hello, and welcome"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":13.95,"endTime":16.62,"body":"to the Thin End of the Wedge,"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":16.83,"endTime":19.74,"body":"the podcast where experts from"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":16.83,"endTime":19.74,"body":"around the world share new and"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":19.74,"endTime":23.85,"body":"interesting stories about life"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":19.74,"endTime":23.85,"body":"in the ancient Middle East. My"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":23.85,"endTime":27.66,"body":"name is Jon. Each episode I talk"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":23.85,"endTime":27.66,"body":"to friends and colleagues and"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":27.66,"endTime":31.02,"body":"get them to explain their work"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":27.66,"endTime":31.02,"body":"in a way we can all understand."},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":32.43,"endTime":35.97,"body":"Before we go any further, I'd"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":32.43,"endTime":35.97,"body":"like to welcome a new voice to"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":35.97,"endTime":36.72,"body":"the podcast."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":37.68,"endTime":40.89,"body":"Hi, my name is"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":37.68,"endTime":40.89,"body":"Ellie Bennett, and I am the new"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":40.89,"endTime":43.98,"body":"co-host of Thin End of the"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":40.89,"endTime":43.98,"body":"Wedge. I am based at the"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":43.98,"endTime":48.09,"body":"University of Helsinki, and I am"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":43.98,"endTime":48.09,"body":"an assyriologist. I'm interested"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":48.12,"endTime":53.22,"body":"in a bunch of stuff, but mostly"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":48.12,"endTime":53.22,"body":"gender dtudies. I'm interested"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":53.22,"endTime":57.0,"body":"in digital methods. And at the"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":53.22,"endTime":57.0,"body":"moment I'm researching emotions"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":57.03,"endTime":61.5,"body":"in ancient Middle Eastern texts."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":57.03,"endTime":61.5,"body":"And I'm really excited to be"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":61.5,"endTime":64.65,"body":"part of this project; really"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":61.5,"endTime":64.65,"body":"excited to be on this podcast."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":64.65,"endTime":67.32,"body":"And can't wait to talk to so"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":64.65,"endTime":67.32,"body":"many interesting researchers"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":67.32,"endTime":69.27,"body":"about their fascinating work."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":71.07,"endTime":74.97,"body":"What is gender? This question"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":71.07,"endTime":74.97,"body":"sounds like it has an easy"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":74.97,"endTime":79.08,"body":"answer. Gender is what makes a"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":74.97,"endTime":79.08,"body":"man and a woman, right? However,"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":79.08,"endTime":82.2,"body":"ask any researcher of gender in"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":79.08,"endTime":82.2,"body":"the ancient Middle East the same"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":82.2,"endTime":85.2,"body":"question and you get a much more"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":82.2,"endTime":85.2,"body":"complicated answer."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":86.28,"endTime":89.58,"body":"Over the decades, gender has"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":86.28,"endTime":89.58,"body":"become an important topic in"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":89.58,"endTime":92.55,"body":"studying the ancient Middle"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":89.58,"endTime":92.55,"body":"East. And it has become clear"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":92.55,"endTime":96.6,"body":"that what makes a woman or a man"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":92.55,"endTime":96.6,"body":"is very different across these"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":96.63,"endTime":97.68,"body":"ancient cultures."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":98.7,"endTime":102.15,"body":"Our guest today is organising an"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":98.7,"endTime":102.15,"body":"important conference called"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":102.15,"endTime":105.21,"body":"Gender and Methodology in the"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":102.15,"endTime":105.21,"body":"Ancient Near East in April."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":106.05,"endTime":110.01,"body":"Since it began in 2014, it has"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":106.05,"endTime":110.01,"body":"become one of the most important"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":110.01,"endTime":113.07,"body":"congregations of researchers in"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":110.01,"endTime":113.07,"body":"gender in the ancient Middle"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":113.07,"endTime":116.1,"body":"East. And the publications that"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":113.07,"endTime":116.1,"body":"come out of it have become"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":116.1,"endTime":119.4,"body":"valuable starting points for"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":116.1,"endTime":119.4,"body":"many young scholars interested"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":119.4,"endTime":123.6,"body":"in the field. We wanted to chat"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":119.4,"endTime":123.6,"body":"with our guest and find out why"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":123.6,"endTime":126.63,"body":"research into gender in the"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":123.6,"endTime":126.63,"body":"ancient Middle East is so"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":126.63,"endTime":129.9,"body":"important, as well as the"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":126.63,"endTime":129.9,"body":"current trends of the field and"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":129.9,"endTime":131.94,"body":"what he thinks its future holds."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":132.63,"endTime":136.11,"body":"So get yourself a cup of tea,"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":132.63,"endTime":136.11,"body":"make yourself comfortable, and"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":136.11,"endTime":137.37,"body":"let's meet today's guest."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":145.74,"endTime":149.22,"body":"Hi, Omar, could you tell us who"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":145.74,"endTime":149.22,"body":"you are and what it is you do?"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":150.0,"endTime":153.36,"body":"Hello, my name is"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":150.0,"endTime":153.36,"body":"Omar N'Shea. And I am the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":153.39,"endTime":156.66,"body":"director of the International"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":153.39,"endTime":156.66,"body":"School for Foundation Studies at"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":156.66,"endTime":161.37,"body":"the University of Malta. My"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":156.66,"endTime":161.37,"body":"research interests are in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":161.4,"endTime":165.3,"body":"Assyrian empire with a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":161.4,"endTime":165.3,"body":"particular focus on gender in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":165.3,"endTime":169.95,"body":"general, and masculinities in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":165.3,"endTime":169.95,"body":"particular. I write in both"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":169.98,"endTime":173.46,"body":"English and Maltese. And I am"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":169.98,"endTime":173.46,"body":"involved in both academic"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":173.46,"endTime":176.01,"body":"research as well as outreach"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":173.46,"endTime":176.01,"body":"writing."},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":176.76,"endTime":179.16,"body":"Why do you focus on"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":176.76,"endTime":179.16,"body":"gender? What do you think we can"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":179.16,"endTime":182.16,"body":"learn from studying gender in"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":179.16,"endTime":182.16,"body":"the ancient Near East?"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":182.85,"endTime":185.88,"body":"The study of gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":182.85,"endTime":185.88,"body":"is important primarily, because"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":185.97,"endTime":189.96,"body":"it was actually a very important"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":185.97,"endTime":189.96,"body":"aspect of the ancient societies"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":189.96,"endTime":194.58,"body":"that we study. The gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":189.96,"endTime":194.58,"body":"identity of human and non-human"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":194.61,"endTime":198.78,"body":"beings was an aspect of identity"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":194.61,"endTime":198.78,"body":"that actually mattered. And that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":198.78,"endTime":203.1,"body":"resulted in very specific"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":198.78,"endTime":203.1,"body":"social, political, artistic,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":203.25,"endTime":206.67,"body":"literary, cultic, architectural,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":203.25,"endTime":206.67,"body":"as well as cultural"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":206.7,"endTime":211.32,"body":"organisation, as well as a broad"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":206.7,"endTime":211.32,"body":"range of gender-specific bodily"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":211.32,"endTime":214.83,"body":"practices that were considered"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":211.32,"endTime":214.83,"body":"to be normative or non-normative"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":215.04,"endTime":219.72,"body":"in ancient societies. The study"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":215.04,"endTime":219.72,"body":"of gender can help us make sense"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":219.78,"endTime":224.13,"body":"of these culture-specific"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":219.78,"endTime":224.13,"body":"practices, and therefore leaving"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":224.13,"endTime":227.37,"body":"gender outside of the research"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":224.13,"endTime":227.37,"body":"agenda and the writing of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":227.37,"endTime":230.97,"body":"history and prehistory would"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":227.37,"endTime":230.97,"body":"mean leaving such aspects"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":231.0,"endTime":231.84,"body":"unaddressed."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":232.56,"endTime":235.89,"body":"There is really nothing new"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":232.56,"endTime":235.89,"body":"about the study of gender in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":235.89,"endTime":239.76,"body":"ancient Near East, because early"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":235.89,"endTime":239.76,"body":"scholarship already dealt quite"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":239.76,"endTime":244.23,"body":"extensively with matters related"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":239.76,"endTime":244.23,"body":"to sex and gender. And it is not"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":244.23,"endTime":246.75,"body":"at all uncommon to find"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":244.23,"endTime":246.75,"body":"reference to such matters."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":247.74,"endTime":250.95,"body":"Layard, for example, was already"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":247.74,"endTime":250.95,"body":"writing about eunuchs and the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":250.98,"endTime":254.43,"body":"effective response of the people"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":250.98,"endTime":254.43,"body":"working at the sites where the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":254.43,"endTime":258.75,"body":"reliefs showing these capable"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":254.43,"endTime":258.75,"body":"officials were recovered. Women,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":258.78,"endTime":261.51,"body":"royal or otherwise were also"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":258.78,"endTime":261.51,"body":"written about."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":262.11,"endTime":265.44,"body":"In a sense, I don't really think"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":262.11,"endTime":265.44,"body":"that ancient Near Eastern"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":265.44,"endTime":268.53,"body":"scholars were lagging far behind"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":265.44,"endTime":268.53,"body":"their colleagues in adjacent"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":268.53,"endTime":272.34,"body":"scholarly disciplines and their"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":268.53,"endTime":272.34,"body":"endeavours. Even though that is"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":272.34,"endTime":277.05,"body":"often the perception. Think, for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":272.34,"endTime":277.05,"body":"example, of Julia Asher-Greve's"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":277.08,"endTime":281.01,"body":"work in the 1980s on women in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":277.08,"endTime":281.01,"body":"Sumer, and Julian Reade's"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":281.01,"endTime":284.4,"body":"wonderful study asking perhaps a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":281.01,"endTime":284.4,"body":"bit playfully, whether evidence"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":284.4,"endTime":288.99,"body":"suggests that Sennacherib was a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":284.4,"endTime":288.99,"body":"feminist. We also have Joan"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":288.99,"endTime":292.17,"body":"Westenholz's review of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":288.99,"endTime":292.17,"body":"proceedings of the 33rd"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":292.35,"endTime":296.64,"body":"Rencontre. And then in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":292.35,"endTime":296.64,"body":"1990s, the introduction of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":296.64,"endTime":300.33,"body":"study of masculinities by Irene"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":296.64,"endTime":300.33,"body":"Winter in her work on the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":300.33,"endTime":305.22,"body":"masculinity of Gudea. And then"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":300.33,"endTime":305.22,"body":"later on, in the very popular"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":305.22,"endTime":309.9,"body":"essay on sex and gender in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":305.22,"endTime":309.9,"body":"Victory Stele of Naram-Sin. And"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":309.93,"endTime":313.95,"body":"Megan Cifarelli on how gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":309.93,"endTime":313.95,"body":"constructs and visual syntax"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":314.16,"endTime":316.83,"body":"employed, for example, at the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":314.16,"endTime":316.83,"body":"court of the Assyrian king,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":316.86,"endTime":321.54,"body":"Ashurnasirpal the Second, were"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":316.86,"endTime":321.54,"body":"used to produce the optics of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":321.57,"endTime":326.67,"body":"alterity and otherness. So to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":321.57,"endTime":326.67,"body":"come back to the question, I"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":326.67,"endTime":332.34,"body":"think studying gender helps us"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":326.67,"endTime":332.34,"body":"to make sense of these social,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":332.34,"endTime":337.02,"body":"political, artistic, literary,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":332.34,"endTime":337.02,"body":"etc, etc, norms and non-norms"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":337.05,"endTime":338.4,"body":"that we have in our record."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":339.0,"endTime":340.89,"body":"Wonderful, you"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":339.0,"endTime":340.89,"body":"make reference to some really"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":340.89,"endTime":345.0,"body":"important studies in gender in"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":340.89,"endTime":345.0,"body":"the ancient Near East. But what"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":345.0,"endTime":348.75,"body":"are some of the current trends"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":345.0,"endTime":348.75,"body":"that you have seen in this"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":348.78,"endTime":350.25,"body":"really important topic?"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":350.7,"endTime":353.46,"body":"Well, I think that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":350.7,"endTime":353.46,"body":"at the heart of current projects"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":353.46,"endTime":357.96,"body":"that use gender as a tool with"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":353.46,"endTime":357.96,"body":"which to think, and with which"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":357.96,"endTime":361.38,"body":"to ask questions of the ancient"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":357.96,"endTime":361.38,"body":"source material, is the notion"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":361.38,"endTime":365.37,"body":"that gender is marked. This"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":361.38,"endTime":365.37,"body":"means that gender is defined"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":365.4,"endTime":369.39,"body":"heuristically and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":365.4,"endTime":369.39,"body":"methodologically. Past"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":369.39,"endTime":372.96,"body":"scholarship left a lot of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":369.39,"endTime":372.96,"body":"assumptions in place about sex"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":372.96,"endTime":375.96,"body":"and gender and left them"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":372.96,"endTime":375.96,"body":"unaddressed. And therefore the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":375.96,"endTime":381.09,"body":"descriptions and analysis often"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":375.96,"endTime":381.09,"body":"repeated the stereotypes that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":381.09,"endTime":384.72,"body":"were circulating, that were"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":381.09,"endTime":384.72,"body":"around. But the problem is that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":384.72,"endTime":388.62,"body":"when we actually look at the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":384.72,"endTime":388.62,"body":"datasets with a gender framework"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":388.62,"endTime":392.07,"body":"of analysis, we realise that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":388.62,"endTime":392.07,"body":"those stereotypes do not"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":392.07,"endTime":393.54,"body":"actually hold any weight."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":394.26,"endTime":398.01,"body":"Zainab Bahrani, for example, did"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":394.26,"endTime":398.01,"body":"a wonderful job and for many a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":398.01,"endTime":401.82,"body":"very inspiring job--for many"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":398.01,"endTime":401.82,"body":"people using gender as a tool of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":401.82,"endTime":404.58,"body":"analysis in the ancient Near"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":401.82,"endTime":404.58,"body":"East this was a very inspiring"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":404.61,"endTime":409.17,"body":"book--by starting to elaborate a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":404.61,"endTime":409.17,"body":"framework for the study of women"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":409.17,"endTime":412.98,"body":"in ancient Mesopotamia in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":409.17,"endTime":412.98,"body":"book Women of Babylon. More"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":412.98,"endTime":415.68,"body":"recently, Martti Nissinen, for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":412.98,"endTime":415.68,"body":"example, made it very"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":415.71,"endTime":419.73,"body":"clear--this was about a decade"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":415.71,"endTime":419.73,"body":"ago--that we need methodologies"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":419.73,"endTime":422.88,"body":"that are born out of our"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":419.73,"endTime":422.88,"body":"datasets and not methodologies"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":422.88,"endTime":426.0,"body":"developed from other source"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":422.88,"endTime":426.0,"body":"material. And then sort of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":426.0,"endTime":430.23,"body":"applied uncritically in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":426.0,"endTime":430.23,"body":"assyriology. Nissinen was"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":430.26,"endTime":433.38,"body":"specifically referring to the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":430.26,"endTime":433.38,"body":"study of masculinities and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":433.38,"endTime":436.83,"body":"Mesopotamia, but the argument is"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":433.38,"endTime":436.83,"body":"applicable to other genders as"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":436.83,"endTime":437.22,"body":"well."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":438.54,"endTime":441.72,"body":"The study of gender is, of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":438.54,"endTime":441.72,"body":"course, tied to the wider world"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":441.72,"endTime":446.04,"body":"of theory and methodology. And"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":441.72,"endTime":446.04,"body":"in a sense, it is also deeply"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":446.07,"endTime":450.42,"body":"influenced by it. So some"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":446.07,"endTime":450.42,"body":"scholars continue to write about"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":450.42,"endTime":453.33,"body":"gender from strictly"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":450.42,"endTime":453.33,"body":"essentialist perspectives,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":454.05,"endTime":457.5,"body":"whereas others seek to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":454.05,"endTime":457.5,"body":"problematise that position, by"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":457.5,"endTime":461.49,"body":"going to the sources to indicate"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":457.5,"endTime":461.49,"body":"that some evidence suggests that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":461.49,"endTime":465.57,"body":"already in the ancient record,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":461.49,"endTime":465.57,"body":"gender was seen as a lot more"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":465.57,"endTime":470.94,"body":"malleable. So existing on a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":465.57,"endTime":470.94,"body":"spectrum. And that the view of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":470.94,"endTime":474.96,"body":"two genders is too reductive to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":470.94,"endTime":474.96,"body":"be an accurate reflection of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":474.96,"endTime":476.25,"body":"what the sources say."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":477.36,"endTime":481.02,"body":"In this field, we're also seeing"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":477.36,"endTime":481.02,"body":"a renewed interest in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":481.05,"endTime":484.38,"body":"materiality of the body, which"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":481.05,"endTime":484.38,"body":"for a while, for a long while,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":484.38,"endTime":487.38,"body":"actually had gone out of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":484.38,"endTime":487.38,"body":"fashion. Partly because it"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":487.38,"endTime":490.38,"body":"didn't serve the advocacy of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":487.38,"endTime":490.38,"body":"social construction school of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":490.38,"endTime":495.63,"body":"thought at the outset. Now,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":490.38,"endTime":495.63,"body":"those who adhere to the social"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":495.63,"endTime":498.6,"body":"construction school of thought,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":495.63,"endTime":498.6,"body":"are complicating this by"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":498.63,"endTime":502.05,"body":"re-evaluating the theoretical"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":498.63,"endTime":502.05,"body":"work of Michel Foucault, for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":502.05,"endTime":505.11,"body":"example, and Judith Butler, in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":502.05,"endTime":505.11,"body":"light of the sources that we"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":505.11,"endTime":510.72,"body":"have, and emerging issues and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":505.11,"endTime":510.72,"body":"debates. Also, amongst scholars"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":510.72,"endTime":513.48,"body":"of the ancient Near East, as"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":510.72,"endTime":513.48,"body":"well as amongst some of my"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":513.48,"endTime":515.94,"body":"students, we are witnessing some"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":513.48,"endTime":515.94,"body":"of the more interesting"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":515.94,"endTime":519.27,"body":"discussions that are coming out"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":515.94,"endTime":519.27,"body":"of the strengths and the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":519.27,"endTime":523.14,"body":"tensions at play when we cross"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":519.27,"endTime":523.14,"body":"queer theory with trans"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":523.17,"endTime":526.98,"body":"scholarship. Particularly when"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":523.17,"endTime":526.98,"body":"we're talking about the figures"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":526.98,"endTime":531.36,"body":"in our record, like the assinnu,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":526.98,"endTime":531.36,"body":"the kurgarru. I think most of us"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":531.36,"endTime":533.22,"body":"are actually looking forward to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":531.36,"endTime":533.22,"body":"having more of these"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":533.22,"endTime":536.82,"body":"discussions, and to see what the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":533.22,"endTime":536.82,"body":"ancient record can actually tell"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":536.82,"endTime":538.17,"body":"us about these matters."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":539.1,"endTime":541.92,"body":"You've been"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":539.1,"endTime":541.92,"body":"really, really careful to not"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":541.92,"endTime":545.88,"body":"limit your answers to talking"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":541.92,"endTime":545.88,"body":"about Near Eastern women or"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":545.88,"endTime":548.94,"body":"ancient Middle Eastern women."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":545.88,"endTime":548.94,"body":"And I'm wondering if that is"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":548.94,"endTime":553.77,"body":"reflective of the field as a"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":548.94,"endTime":553.77,"body":"whole? Does studying gender in"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":553.8,"endTime":556.83,"body":"ancient Near Eastern sources, in"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":553.8,"endTime":556.83,"body":"ancient Middle Eastern texts or"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":556.86,"endTime":561.63,"body":"art or archaeology, mean that"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":556.86,"endTime":561.63,"body":"you have to look at women? Or do"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":561.63,"endTime":564.75,"body":"you feel like it's pretty"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":561.63,"endTime":564.75,"body":"representative of the field to"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":564.75,"endTime":568.26,"body":"say that you're looking beyond"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":564.75,"endTime":568.26,"body":"it? And could you explain why we"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":568.26,"endTime":571.08,"body":"would want to look at not just"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":568.26,"endTime":571.08,"body":"women when looking at gender?"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":572.16,"endTime":574.95,"body":"There was a time"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":572.16,"endTime":574.95,"body":"when the study of gender meant"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":574.98,"endTime":579.39,"body":"the study of women only. And for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":574.98,"endTime":579.39,"body":"many people, scholars and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":579.39,"endTime":584.46,"body":"non-scholars alone, only women"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":579.39,"endTime":584.46,"body":"had a gender. Men did not,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":584.49,"endTime":586.86,"body":"because men were considered to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":584.49,"endTime":586.86,"body":"be universal. Men were"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":586.86,"endTime":591.51,"body":"universal. At that point, sex"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":586.86,"endTime":591.51,"body":"and gender, or at least the way"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":591.51,"endTime":594.51,"body":"the terms are used in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":591.51,"endTime":594.51,"body":"English language and in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":594.6,"endTime":599.52,"body":"Anglophonic research agendas,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":594.6,"endTime":599.52,"body":"the two notions sex and gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":599.76,"endTime":603.03,"body":"seem synonymous for many, partly"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":599.76,"endTime":603.03,"body":"because they were tied to the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":603.03,"endTime":607.02,"body":"notion of difference. At that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":603.03,"endTime":607.02,"body":"point, research focused on"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":607.02,"endTime":610.26,"body":"revealing the androcentric"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":607.02,"endTime":610.26,"body":"assumptions of the literature"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":610.26,"endTime":614.34,"body":"being produced about the past,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":610.26,"endTime":614.34,"body":"as well as the lack of equity in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":614.37,"endTime":617.85,"body":"academia, in archaeological"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":614.37,"endTime":617.85,"body":"excavations, for example."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":619.14,"endTime":621.93,"body":"Nowadays, for instance, with my"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":619.14,"endTime":621.93,"body":"students, things have really"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":621.93,"endTime":624.54,"body":"changed. They've changed in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":621.93,"endTime":624.54,"body":"scholarship, but also"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":624.54,"endTime":627.12,"body":"particularly it's gone down,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":624.54,"endTime":627.12,"body":"it's percolated, it's trickled"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":627.12,"endTime":631.47,"body":"down to even the classrooms. If"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":627.12,"endTime":631.47,"body":"we talk about women in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":631.47,"endTime":634.68,"body":"ancient Near East, they tend to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":631.47,"endTime":634.68,"body":"assume that what we're doing is"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":634.68,"endTime":638.58,"body":"feminist readings, or feminist"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":634.68,"endTime":638.58,"body":"interpretations. Whereas if we"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":638.58,"endTime":641.85,"body":"talk about non-binary persons,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":638.58,"endTime":641.85,"body":"or trans persons, that we're"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":641.85,"endTime":644.97,"body":"doing gender. In this sense,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":641.85,"endTime":644.97,"body":"therefore, it's as if things"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":644.97,"endTime":648.99,"body":"have now shifted, and only"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":644.97,"endTime":648.99,"body":"non-binary or trans persons are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":648.99,"endTime":653.97,"body":"gendered. And this is also not"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":648.99,"endTime":653.97,"body":"quite accurate and not right."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":654.39,"endTime":658.56,"body":"Gender really is about people,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":654.39,"endTime":658.56,"body":"primarily. And increasingly, we"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":658.56,"endTime":662.31,"body":"are seeing an interest in using"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":658.56,"endTime":662.31,"body":"gender as an analytical tool to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":662.31,"endTime":665.97,"body":"talk about non-human persons as"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":662.31,"endTime":665.97,"body":"well, to talk about gender and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":665.97,"endTime":669.57,"body":"materiality, for example. At a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":665.97,"endTime":669.57,"body":"recent scholarship on the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":669.6,"endTime":672.39,"body":"materialities of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":669.6,"endTime":672.39,"body":"Neo-Assyrian empire, which was"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":672.39,"endTime":677.16,"body":"hosted by La Sapienza University"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":672.39,"endTime":677.16,"body":"in Rome and organised by Lorenzo"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":677.16,"endTime":680.43,"body":"Verderame and Davide Nadali, I"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":677.16,"endTime":680.43,"body":"tried to combine a new"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":680.43,"endTime":683.85,"body":"materialities approach with"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":680.43,"endTime":683.85,"body":"gender. And it seems like our"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":683.85,"endTime":689.22,"body":"sources can afford us a rich"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":683.85,"endTime":689.22,"body":"avenue of research. So we have"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":689.31,"endTime":693.63,"body":"moved well beyond one particular"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":689.31,"endTime":693.63,"body":"gender to represent all the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":693.63,"endTime":697.98,"body":"genders that we have in our data"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":693.63,"endTime":697.98,"body":"sets. The problem is that for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":697.98,"endTime":702.06,"body":"some people, we continue to mark"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":697.98,"endTime":702.06,"body":"gender only for some"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":702.15,"endTime":706.56,"body":"subjectivities, or not for all"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":702.15,"endTime":706.56,"body":"subjectivities or to even resist"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":706.56,"endTime":710.04,"body":"taking gender beyond human"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":706.56,"endTime":710.04,"body":"bodies into non-human persons"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":710.25,"endTime":712.74,"body":"and into non-human materiality."},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":714.03,"endTime":717.84,"body":"Can we turn to those"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":714.03,"endTime":717.84,"body":"men, then? What do you think are"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":717.84,"endTime":721.95,"body":"the key components of being a"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":717.84,"endTime":721.95,"body":"man in Assyria during the"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":722.01,"endTime":725.4,"body":"Neo-Assyrian empire? Do you"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":722.01,"endTime":725.4,"body":"think they're very different"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":725.4,"endTime":728.52,"body":"from the expectations of being a"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":725.4,"endTime":728.52,"body":"man today? If we were able to"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":728.52,"endTime":731.52,"body":"visit Nineveh or if an Assyrian"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":728.52,"endTime":731.52,"body":"would walk down the street in"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":731.52,"endTime":734.37,"body":"Valetta, what degree of culture"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":731.52,"endTime":734.37,"body":"shock would there be?"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":734.7,"endTime":737.67,"body":"Right, Jon, perhaps"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":734.7,"endTime":737.67,"body":"this is a good opportunity to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":737.67,"endTime":741.39,"body":"apply what we have been talking"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":737.67,"endTime":741.39,"body":"about up to now. Obviously, it's"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":741.39,"endTime":744.42,"body":"such a question for us kind of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":741.39,"endTime":744.42,"body":"have a straight answer. Because"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":744.63,"endTime":748.92,"body":"if we define gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":744.63,"endTime":748.92,"body":"heuristically, either as a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":748.95,"endTime":752.37,"body":"cultural discourse and a bodily"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":748.95,"endTime":752.37,"body":"practice that is attached to a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":752.37,"endTime":756.33,"body":"particular body type, or as the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":752.37,"endTime":756.33,"body":"feeling that is situated in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":756.36,"endTime":760.17,"body":"body or elsewhere in our being"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":756.36,"endTime":760.17,"body":"vis-a-vis our being in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":760.17,"endTime":763.95,"body":"world, and our entanglement with"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":760.17,"endTime":763.95,"body":"everyone and everything around"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":763.95,"endTime":767.97,"body":"us, then we would never come up"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":763.95,"endTime":767.97,"body":"with a single universal answer"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":768.03,"endTime":771.3,"body":"of what it means to be a man. I"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":768.03,"endTime":771.3,"body":"mean, I think at this point,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":771.3,"endTime":774.21,"body":"even orthodox essentialists will"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":771.3,"endTime":774.21,"body":"tell you that there is no one"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":774.21,"endTime":776.55,"body":"way of being a man or a woman,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":774.21,"endTime":776.55,"body":"for example."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":777.39,"endTime":780.18,"body":"In this sense, therefore, there"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":777.39,"endTime":780.18,"body":"was there was no one way of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":780.18,"endTime":784.47,"body":"being a man in the Neo-Assyrian"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":780.18,"endTime":784.47,"body":"period of Assyrian history. In"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":784.47,"endTime":788.07,"body":"the same way that there is no"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":784.47,"endTime":788.07,"body":"one way of being a man anywhere"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":788.07,"endTime":790.92,"body":"in the world right now, no"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":788.07,"endTime":790.92,"body":"matter how culturally-specific"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":790.95,"endTime":795.75,"body":"we get. This is because in cases"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":790.95,"endTime":795.75,"body":"where we talk of universals,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":795.78,"endTime":799.35,"body":"those universals are usually"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":795.78,"endTime":799.35,"body":"somewhat artificial. And they"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":799.35,"endTime":803.67,"body":"exclude or gloss over nuances,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":799.35,"endTime":803.67,"body":"that would be theoretically"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":803.67,"endTime":807.45,"body":"inconvenient. What I would say,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":803.67,"endTime":807.45,"body":"however, is that an honest"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":807.45,"endTime":811.23,"body":"research answer would tell you"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":807.45,"endTime":811.23,"body":"that for example, a Neo-Assyrian"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":811.23,"endTime":815.76,"body":"king was one type of man in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":811.23,"endTime":815.76,"body":"royal inscriptions, but a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":815.76,"endTime":819.3,"body":"somewhat different man in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":815.76,"endTime":819.3,"body":"visual culture of the palace on"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":819.3,"endTime":823.26,"body":"the reliefs, and a rather"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":819.3,"endTime":823.26,"body":"different man in the letters"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":823.26,"endTime":828.06,"body":"written to his scholars. And a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":823.26,"endTime":828.06,"body":"totally unrecognisable type from"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":828.06,"endTime":831.3,"body":"all of these in the letters"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":828.06,"endTime":831.3,"body":"written to and from the royal"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":831.3,"endTime":831.96,"body":"physician."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":833.13,"endTime":836.55,"body":"And to complicate this, even"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":833.13,"endTime":836.55,"body":"further, the king was a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":836.55,"endTime":839.7,"body":"different man in different"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":836.55,"endTime":839.7,"body":"stages of his life, with"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":839.7,"endTime":842.55,"body":"different people and in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":839.7,"endTime":842.55,"body":"different life circumstances."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":843.18,"endTime":847.5,"body":"And if we wish to elaborate this"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":843.18,"endTime":847.5,"body":"even further, we could say that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":847.5,"endTime":850.62,"body":"different kings expressed"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":847.5,"endTime":850.62,"body":"different understandings of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":850.62,"endTime":854.85,"body":"masculinities and therefore"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":850.62,"endTime":854.85,"body":"performed and lived out their"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":854.85,"endTime":859.23,"body":"manhood differently."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":854.85,"endTime":859.23,"body":"Sennacherib's way of being a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":859.23,"endTime":863.04,"body":"man, for example, was enormously"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":859.23,"endTime":863.04,"body":"different to Ashurnasirpal the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":863.04,"endTime":866.28,"body":"Second's expression of manhood."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":863.04,"endTime":866.28,"body":"Sennacherib's notion of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":866.28,"endTime":870.39,"body":"masculinity was rooted in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":866.28,"endTime":870.39,"body":"idea of statesmanship, and his"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":870.39,"endTime":873.6,"body":"military masculinity was"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":870.39,"endTime":873.6,"body":"downplayed in the visual culture"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":873.6,"endTime":876.9,"body":"of the palace. The royal"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":873.6,"endTime":876.9,"body":"inscriptions continued the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":876.9,"endTime":880.77,"body":"military masculinity of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":876.9,"endTime":880.77,"body":"state and of the ruler, but the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":880.77,"endTime":884.13,"body":"visual culture allowed for a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":880.77,"endTime":884.13,"body":"different view of his gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":884.13,"endTime":884.79,"body":"expression."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":885.81,"endTime":889.44,"body":"Esarhaddon's ways of being a man"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":885.81,"endTime":889.44,"body":"of very complex, because they"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":889.44,"endTime":892.56,"body":"intersect with various"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":889.44,"endTime":892.56,"body":"pathologies, somatic and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":892.56,"endTime":897.33,"body":"psychosomatic. And then there is"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":892.56,"endTime":897.33,"body":"the view from the outside. Often"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":897.33,"endTime":901.14,"body":"we get the hegemonic view of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":897.33,"endTime":901.14,"body":"masculinity from the criticisms"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":901.14,"endTime":905.88,"body":"leveled against our past actors"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":901.14,"endTime":905.88,"body":"for failing to do this, or for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":905.88,"endTime":910.26,"body":"failing to do that. In Assyria,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":905.88,"endTime":910.26,"body":"militarised masculinity was to"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":910.26,"endTime":913.74,"body":"in"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":910.26,"endTime":913.74,"body":"the human body; in the"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":913.74,"endTime":916.89,"body":"structures that came to dominate"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":913.74,"endTime":916.89,"body":"the state; and in the"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":916.89,"endTime":921.54,"body":"materialities of the empire. Its"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":916.89,"endTime":921.54,"body":"discourse came to serve a very"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":921.54,"endTime":925.17,"body":"useful function for its"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":921.54,"endTime":925.17,"body":"territorial ambitions. And it"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":925.17,"endTime":929.31,"body":"gave the Assyrians an effective"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":925.17,"endTime":929.31,"body":"discourse that was aligned with"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":929.31,"endTime":930.81,"body":"the rationale of rule."},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":931.65,"endTime":934.14,"body":"So I think that when we're"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":931.65,"endTime":934.14,"body":"asking questions like, you know,"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":934.14,"endTime":937.44,"body":"what was it like to be a man in"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":934.14,"endTime":937.44,"body":"this particular period or that"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":937.44,"endTime":940.56,"body":"particular period, I think we've"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":937.44,"endTime":940.56,"body":"got to be careful, first of all,"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":940.56,"endTime":943.77,"body":"about the media in which that"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":940.56,"endTime":943.77,"body":"type of manhood is being"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":943.77,"endTime":947.16,"body":"represented. Because as we see"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":943.77,"endTime":947.16,"body":"in the Neo-Assyrian empire, for"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":947.16,"endTime":951.51,"body":"example, the visual culture is"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":947.16,"endTime":951.51,"body":"disseminating one form of being"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":951.54,"endTime":955.26,"body":"a man. Whereas the textual"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":951.54,"endTime":955.26,"body":"culture seems to be a lot more"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":955.29,"endTime":958.68,"body":"conservative of certain notions"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":955.29,"endTime":958.68,"body":"of gender than the visual"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":958.68,"endTime":962.31,"body":"culture is. The letters afforded"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":958.68,"endTime":962.31,"body":"us a completely different view."},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":963.09,"endTime":968.1,"body":"At times, we even get a glimpse"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":963.09,"endTime":968.1,"body":"of affect, or you know the"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":968.1,"endTime":972.63,"body":"personal circumstances that give"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":968.1,"endTime":972.63,"body":"rise to certain emotions. When"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":972.63,"endTime":975.87,"body":"we compare these readings"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":972.63,"endTime":975.87,"body":"together, we realise that"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":975.87,"endTime":979.47,"body":"different media are constructing"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":975.87,"endTime":979.47,"body":"different notions of manhood and"},{"speaker":"be found everywhere, however","startTime":979.47,"endTime":980.91,"body":"masculinity for the period."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":981.93,"endTime":984.78,"body":"Moving a little"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":981.93,"endTime":984.78,"body":"bit away from the king of"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":984.81,"endTime":988.68,"body":"Assyria, I was wondering about"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":984.81,"endTime":988.68,"body":"this really interesting group,"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":988.89,"endTime":993.15,"body":"which we normally refer to as"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":988.89,"endTime":993.15,"body":"eunuchs. Do you see the same"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":993.15,"endTime":997.26,"body":"kinds of nuances in the"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":993.15,"endTime":997.26,"body":"different source material for"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":997.26,"endTime":1003.2,"body":"eunuchs? Or are they universally"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":997.26,"endTime":1003.2,"body":"seen and depicted the same way"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1003.32,"endTime":1004.49,"body":"across the material?"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1005.3,"endTime":1007.88,"body":"So, Ellie, thank"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1005.3,"endTime":1007.88,"body":"you for this question. One of my"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1007.88,"endTime":1011.09,"body":"main research interests is this"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1007.88,"endTime":1011.09,"body":"class of persons that we refer"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1011.09,"endTime":1016.19,"body":"to as eunuchs. These persons are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1011.09,"endTime":1016.19,"body":"referred to as sha reshi in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1016.22,"endTime":1021.11,"body":"ancient record. Not everyone in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1016.22,"endTime":1021.11,"body":"assyriology and ancient Near"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1021.11,"endTime":1024.8,"body":"Eastern history agrees that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1021.11,"endTime":1024.8,"body":"these people were castrated men."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1025.28,"endTime":1029.18,"body":"In fact, there's a very lively"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1025.28,"endTime":1029.18,"body":"debate going on, in a way"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1029.21,"endTime":1034.1,"body":"lively, yes, but in a way this"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1029.21,"endTime":1034.1,"body":"debate on whether the sha reshi"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1034.19,"endTime":1039.47,"body":"actually referred to castrated"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1034.19,"endTime":1039.47,"body":"men or not, has in a way stopped"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1039.47,"endTime":1043.22,"body":"or slowed down the advancement"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1039.47,"endTime":1043.22,"body":"of the study of eunuchism in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1043.22,"endTime":1046.7,"body":"Assyrian empire. But let's for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1043.22,"endTime":1046.7,"body":"the sake of convenience call"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1046.7,"endTime":1050.6,"body":"these two groups the minimalist"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1046.7,"endTime":1050.6,"body":"and the maximalist: hose who"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1050.6,"endTime":1054.14,"body":"refuse the claim in its"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1050.6,"endTime":1054.14,"body":"entirety, and those for whom all"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1054.14,"endTime":1058.64,"body":"sha reshi were castrated males."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1054.14,"endTime":1058.64,"body":"Because that is what the term"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1058.64,"endTime":1062.54,"body":"means for them--eunuch. My"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1058.64,"endTime":1062.54,"body":"interest is in this class of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1062.54,"endTime":1065.96,"body":"people in the middle, and in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1062.54,"endTime":1065.96,"body":"Neo-Assyrian periods,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1066.17,"endTime":1069.44,"body":"particularly the metropolitan"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1066.17,"endTime":1069.44,"body":"urban identities."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1069.77,"endTime":1072.62,"body":"I belong in a way to the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1069.77,"endTime":1072.62,"body":"maximalist school of thought."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1073.25,"endTime":1076.67,"body":"But I do read the minimalists"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1073.25,"endTime":1076.67,"body":"very, very carefully and very"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1076.67,"endTime":1081.08,"body":"closely. In the Middle Assyrian"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1076.67,"endTime":1081.08,"body":"period, for example, we don't"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1081.08,"endTime":1084.68,"body":"have much literature, much"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1081.08,"endTime":1084.68,"body":"secondary literature, or we"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1084.68,"endTime":1088.25,"body":"don't have any studies really,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1084.68,"endTime":1088.25,"body":"that make reference to eunuchs"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1088.25,"endTime":1091.04,"body":"or eunuchism in the Middle"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1088.25,"endTime":1091.04,"body":"Assyrian period. But the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1091.04,"endTime":1095.03,"body":"datasets are quite interesting."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1091.04,"endTime":1095.03,"body":"So in the Middle Assyrian"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1095.03,"endTime":1099.02,"body":"period, eunuchs are referred to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1095.03,"endTime":1099.02,"body":"in the palace decrees, the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1099.02,"endTime":1103.07,"body":"so-called, unfortunately"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1099.02,"endTime":1103.07,"body":"so-called \"harem edicts\". We"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1103.07,"endTime":1105.92,"body":"have a problem in gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1103.07,"endTime":1105.92,"body":"studies, particularly, we have a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1105.92,"endTime":1109.7,"body":"problem with the word harem or"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1105.92,"endTime":1109.7,"body":"harem, because there's a lot of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1109.73,"endTime":1113.84,"body":"retrojection and a lot of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1109.73,"endTime":1113.84,"body":"orientalism in the term. So"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1113.84,"endTime":1117.05,"body":"let's just call this group of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1113.84,"endTime":1117.05,"body":"texts \"the palace decrees\"."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1118.07,"endTime":1121.7,"body":"They're referred to in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1118.07,"endTime":1121.7,"body":"palace decrees, in these texts,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1122.24,"endTime":1126.02,"body":"as a consequence of their body"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1122.24,"endTime":1126.02,"body":"modification. These people are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1126.02,"endTime":1131.12,"body":"employed to give or deny access"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1126.02,"endTime":1131.12,"body":"to people to specific areas in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1131.12,"endTime":1132.32,"body":"the women's quarters."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1133.55,"endTime":1137.15,"body":"But beyond the palace decrees,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1133.55,"endTime":1137.15,"body":"there are also a lot of other"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1137.18,"endTime":1141.02,"body":"documents, which clearly"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1137.18,"endTime":1141.02,"body":"indicate that these eunuchs were"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1141.02,"endTime":1145.37,"body":"doing other things in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1141.02,"endTime":1145.37,"body":"metropolitan areas. For example,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1145.37,"endTime":1148.34,"body":"they were employed as capable"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1145.37,"endTime":1148.34,"body":"officials in charge of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1148.34,"endTime":1153.56,"body":"crown's stores of grain. They"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1148.34,"endTime":1153.56,"body":"were trading, dealing and barley"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1153.56,"endTime":1157.64,"body":"and grain, especially selling to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1153.56,"endTime":1157.64,"body":"bird feeders and millers. They"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1157.64,"endTime":1160.91,"body":"were in charge of the food"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1157.64,"endTime":1160.91,"body":"provisions for the troops, for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1160.94,"endTime":1164.45,"body":"Assyrian troops and captive"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1160.94,"endTime":1164.45,"body":"troops. They were overseeing the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1164.45,"endTime":1167.78,"body":"building of cities, of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1164.45,"endTime":1167.78,"body":"fortification walls. They were"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1167.78,"endTime":1173.3,"body":"also involved in the procurement"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1167.78,"endTime":1173.3,"body":"of fabric, of wood, of gold and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1173.3,"endTime":1174.05,"body":"perfume."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1174.92,"endTime":1178.85,"body":"In the Middle Assyrian period,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1174.92,"endTime":1178.85,"body":"we also have enough information"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1179.0,"endTime":1183.29,"body":"about particular individuals"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1179.0,"endTime":1183.29,"body":"whose biographies, short"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1183.32,"endTime":1186.14,"body":"biographies--short but"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1183.32,"endTime":1186.14,"body":"interesting biographies--we can"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1186.14,"endTime":1190.67,"body":"start drafting or we can start"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1186.14,"endTime":1190.67,"body":"writing. Also in the Middle"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1190.67,"endTime":1195.65,"body":"Assyrian period, castration is"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1190.67,"endTime":1195.65,"body":"seen also as a punitive measure."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1196.04,"endTime":1199.4,"body":"There are two laws in particular"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1196.04,"endTime":1199.4,"body":"that are based on the notion of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1199.4,"endTime":1204.71,"body":"lex talionis. That is an"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1199.4,"endTime":1204.71,"body":"eye-for-an-eye scenario in which"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1204.71,"endTime":1208.16,"body":"we see grim symmetry of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1204.71,"endTime":1208.16,"body":"punishment if you want. In one"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1208.16,"endTime":1211.58,"body":"of them, a male adulterer would"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1208.16,"endTime":1211.58,"body":"be punished by being turned into"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1211.58,"endTime":1215.6,"body":"a sha reshi, while in the other,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1211.58,"endTime":1215.6,"body":"the penetrator in a man to man"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1215.6,"endTime":1219.56,"body":"sex act between two social"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1215.6,"endTime":1219.56,"body":"equals is likewise punished by"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1219.56,"endTime":1223.94,"body":"castration. I'm imagining this"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1219.56,"endTime":1223.94,"body":"to be a case of non-consensual"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1223.97,"endTime":1226.1,"body":"sex between two male equals."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1227.15,"endTime":1230.51,"body":"In the Neo-Assyrian period,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1227.15,"endTime":1230.51,"body":"things get even better for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1230.51,"endTime":1234.2,"body":"eunuchs, and they become very"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1230.51,"endTime":1234.2,"body":"central figures at the royal"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1234.2,"endTime":1239.24,"body":"court. They take on every duty"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1234.2,"endTime":1239.24,"body":"imaginable, and are often seen"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1239.24,"endTime":1244.07,"body":"leading campaigns and referred"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1239.24,"endTime":1244.07,"body":"to as worthy men and mighty"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1244.07,"endTime":1248.15,"body":"soldiers. We see entire"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1244.07,"endTime":1248.15,"body":"processions of eunuchs at"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1248.18,"endTime":1250.88,"body":"Dur-Sharrukin--Sargon the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1248.18,"endTime":1250.88,"body":"Second's palace in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1250.94,"endTime":1255.23,"body":"Khorsabad--but for some reason,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1250.94,"endTime":1255.23,"body":"they seem to vanish during the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1255.23,"endTime":1258.77,"body":"reign of Sennacherib, only to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1255.23,"endTime":1258.77,"body":"come back in the reins of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1258.8,"endTime":1261.83,"body":"Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1262.64,"endTime":1267.08,"body":"Some queries to the sun god"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1262.64,"endTime":1267.08,"body":"reveal in this period a certain"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1267.08,"endTime":1271.37,"body":"fear or paranoia that the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1267.08,"endTime":1271.37,"body":"eunuchs might conspire against"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1271.37,"endTime":1275.45,"body":"the king, and to try to seize"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1271.37,"endTime":1275.45,"body":"the crown. However, when we"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1275.45,"endTime":1278.3,"body":"compare this period to later"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1275.45,"endTime":1278.3,"body":"periods, for example,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1278.33,"endTime":1282.02,"body":"particularly in the classical"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1278.33,"endTime":1282.02,"body":"period, we notice one thing in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1282.02,"endTime":1285.77,"body":"particular. That eunuchs are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1282.02,"endTime":1285.77,"body":"never referred to in negative"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1285.77,"endTime":1290.33,"body":"light, in negative terms, gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1285.77,"endTime":1290.33,"body":"or otherwise. In later periods,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1290.36,"endTime":1295.4,"body":"they become repudiated, but also"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1290.36,"endTime":1295.4,"body":"desirable subjects at the same"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1295.4,"endTime":1299.63,"body":"time. To be fair, a eunuch does"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1295.4,"endTime":1299.63,"body":"take the throne of Assyria"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1299.63,"endTime":1302.54,"body":"towards the last days of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1299.63,"endTime":1302.54,"body":"Empire. But this reign was"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1302.57,"endTime":1305.96,"body":"really short-lived. And it was"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1302.57,"endTime":1305.96,"body":"actually the reign that might"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1305.96,"endTime":1310.19,"body":"have given some really good"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1305.96,"endTime":1310.19,"body":"material to the later criticism"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1310.19,"endTime":1313.85,"body":"of Ashurbanipal's effeminate"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1310.19,"endTime":1313.85,"body":"rule, the so-called effeminate"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1313.85,"endTime":1314.12,"body":"rule."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1315.56,"endTime":1318.74,"body":"The negative gendering of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1315.56,"endTime":1318.74,"body":"eunuchs, however, is not an"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1318.74,"endTime":1323.15,"body":"Assyrian thing at all. And in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1318.74,"endTime":1323.15,"body":"fact, some of the studies that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1323.15,"endTime":1328.55,"body":"try to portray Assyrian eunuchs"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1323.15,"endTime":1328.55,"body":"as either limitedly gendered or"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1328.79,"endTime":1333.44,"body":"as non-binary gendered or as"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1328.79,"endTime":1333.44,"body":"third gendered individuals will"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1333.44,"endTime":1336.86,"body":"have to deal with the fact that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1333.44,"endTime":1336.86,"body":"there is nothing in the Assyrian"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1336.86,"endTime":1340.1,"body":"record to indicate that they"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1336.86,"endTime":1340.1,"body":"were referred to in any other"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1340.1,"endTime":1345.8,"body":"term but strictly militarised"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1340.1,"endTime":1345.8,"body":"masculine men. At some point in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1345.8,"endTime":1350.21,"body":"the Assyrian sequence, eunuchism"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1345.8,"endTime":1350.21,"body":"became a very useful tool for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1350.21,"endTime":1355.28,"body":"this sort of imperial ambition"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1350.21,"endTime":1355.28,"body":"to maintain the holdings away"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1355.28,"endTime":1360.05,"body":"from the centre. The dependence"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1355.28,"endTime":1360.05,"body":"of the Neo-Assyrian period and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1360.05,"endTime":1363.83,"body":"the dependence of Neo-Assyrian"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1360.05,"endTime":1363.83,"body":"kings on a fully functioning"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1363.86,"endTime":1369.08,"body":"provincial system, created the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1363.86,"endTime":1369.08,"body":"need for a figure, an"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1369.08,"endTime":1373.4,"body":"individual, that did not create"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1369.08,"endTime":1373.4,"body":"problems of succession. It was"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1373.4,"endTime":1377.03,"body":"at this point that eunuchs were"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1373.4,"endTime":1377.03,"body":"employed as provincial"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1377.03,"endTime":1379.61,"body":"governors. And for example, in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1377.03,"endTime":1379.61,"body":"the correspondence of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1379.61,"endTime":1383.33,"body":"Sennacherib, and in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1379.61,"endTime":1383.33,"body":"correspondence of Sargon, in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1383.33,"endTime":1386.0,"body":"particular, as well as in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1383.33,"endTime":1386.0,"body":"correspondence of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1386.18,"endTime":1389.63,"body":"Tiglath-Pileser the Third, we"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1386.18,"endTime":1389.63,"body":"see that many people, many of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1389.63,"endTime":1392.45,"body":"the individuals working as"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1389.63,"endTime":1392.45,"body":"provincial governors were"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1392.45,"endTime":1395.3,"body":"actually eunuchs. We have a lot"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1392.45,"endTime":1395.3,"body":"of information."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1395.3,"endTime":1399.44,"body":"Currently, I'm working on a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1395.3,"endTime":1399.44,"body":"monograph, to try and bring all"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1399.44,"endTime":1403.88,"body":"the information together to try"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1399.44,"endTime":1403.88,"body":"and figure out the networks that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1403.88,"endTime":1407.81,"body":"were being created. Who were the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1403.88,"endTime":1407.81,"body":"individuals, you know, what they"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1407.81,"endTime":1410.06,"body":"were writing to each other,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1407.81,"endTime":1410.06,"body":"their roles as provincial"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1410.06,"endTime":1414.29,"body":"governors. But for example, in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1410.06,"endTime":1414.29,"body":"the reign of Sargon, most of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1414.29,"endTime":1416.9,"body":"provincial governors were"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1414.29,"endTime":1416.9,"body":"actually eunuchs. They were"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1416.9,"endTime":1420.44,"body":"referred to as sha reshi. And at"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1416.9,"endTime":1420.44,"body":"one point, we even have"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1420.44,"endTime":1426.17,"body":"references of areas where these"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1420.44,"endTime":1426.17,"body":"sha reshi lived, and where they"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1426.17,"endTime":1429.62,"body":"were so strong. We know very,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1426.17,"endTime":1429.62,"body":"very little about the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1429.62,"endTime":1433.61,"body":"background, partly because"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1429.62,"endTime":1433.61,"body":"becoming sha reshi involved the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1433.64,"endTime":1437.6,"body":"erasure of the past, because"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1433.64,"endTime":1437.6,"body":"then you became subject of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1437.6,"endTime":1437.99,"body":"crown."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1438.59,"endTime":1440.33,"body":"Absolutely"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1438.59,"endTime":1440.33,"body":"fascinating. And you're clearly"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1440.33,"endTime":1443.51,"body":"very busy pumping out research"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1440.33,"endTime":1443.51,"body":"about gender, about"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1443.51,"endTime":1446.27,"body":"masculinities, about this"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1443.51,"endTime":1446.27,"body":"fascinating group of eunuchs."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1446.27,"endTime":1449.75,"body":"But that's not all. You're also"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1446.27,"endTime":1449.75,"body":"organising a conference in"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1449.75,"endTime":1453.02,"body":"April. Can you tell us more"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1449.75,"endTime":1453.02,"body":"about it and what you're most"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1453.02,"endTime":1453.89,"body":"looking forward to?"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1454.97,"endTime":1457.37,"body":"Right? Yes, I'm"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1454.97,"endTime":1457.37,"body":"very excited that we are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1457.43,"endTime":1461.51,"body":"organising the sixth iteration"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1457.43,"endTime":1461.51,"body":"of the Gender Methodology and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1461.54,"endTime":1464.96,"body":"Ancient Near East conference."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1461.54,"endTime":1464.96,"body":"The sixth iteration is going to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1464.96,"endTime":1469.1,"body":"take place on the University of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1464.96,"endTime":1469.1,"body":"Malta, the Valletta campus. It"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1469.1,"endTime":1473.42,"body":"will be held from the 8th to the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1469.1,"endTime":1473.42,"body":"11th of April of 2024 this year."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1473.81,"endTime":1478.25,"body":"And we have four full days of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1473.81,"endTime":1478.25,"body":"fascinating papers. It's an"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1478.25,"endTime":1480.5,"body":"international conference, there"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1478.25,"endTime":1480.5,"body":"are scholars coming from"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1480.53,"endTime":1484.31,"body":"everywhere. The Gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1480.53,"endTime":1484.31,"body":"Methodology and Ancient Near"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1484.31,"endTime":1488.99,"body":"East conference is known in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1484.31,"endTime":1488.99,"body":"community as \"Je-mah-nay\". Some"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1488.99,"endTime":1491.51,"body":"people say \"Ge-mah-nay\". We"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1488.99,"endTime":1491.51,"body":"still haven't really agreed on"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1491.51,"endTime":1493.91,"body":"the proper pronunciation for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1491.51,"endTime":1493.91,"body":"this, which is fine."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1495.02,"endTime":1498.11,"body":"I'm co-organising this with my"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1495.02,"endTime":1498.11,"body":"colleague here in Malta, with"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1498.11,"endTime":1501.17,"body":"Dennis Mizzi, but also with"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1498.11,"endTime":1501.17,"body":"Ellie Bennett, with Saana Svärd,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1501.2,"endTime":1507.02,"body":"with Megan Cifarelli, and Agnès"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1501.2,"endTime":1507.02,"body":"Garcia-Ventura. We have a number"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1507.02,"endTime":1511.4,"body":"of different sessions. So we hit"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1507.02,"endTime":1511.4,"body":"on a lot of subjects. There are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1511.4,"endTime":1514.55,"body":"some really fascinating"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1511.4,"endTime":1514.55,"body":"contributions. This year"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1514.55,"endTime":1517.64,"body":"particularly we have a whole"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1514.55,"endTime":1517.64,"body":"session on eunuchs. We also have"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1517.64,"endTime":1521.99,"body":"a whole session on cultic"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1517.64,"endTime":1521.99,"body":"practice. And we also have some"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1521.99,"endTime":1524.93,"body":"fascinating papers that are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1521.99,"endTime":1524.93,"body":"coming from outside Mesopotamia"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1524.93,"endTime":1528.41,"body":"proper. So Uroš Matić will be"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1524.93,"endTime":1528.41,"body":"talking about the gender in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1528.44,"endTime":1532.49,"body":"ancient Egypt, for example. We"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1528.44,"endTime":1532.49,"body":"have some Phoenician Punic"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1532.49,"endTime":1535.61,"body":"studies. We have biblical"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1532.49,"endTime":1535.61,"body":"scholarship as well. So we"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1535.61,"endTime":1538.01,"body":"understand the Near East, the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1535.61,"endTime":1538.01,"body":"ancient Near East, in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1538.01,"endTime":1539.27,"body":"broadest way possible."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1540.29,"endTime":1544.22,"body":"GeMANE or GeMANE has always"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1540.29,"endTime":1544.22,"body":"given us a really strong sense"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1544.22,"endTime":1549.5,"body":"of community, and an enormously"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1544.22,"endTime":1549.5,"body":"safe space in which we can use"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1549.5,"endTime":1553.37,"body":"the rigours of academia, but"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1549.5,"endTime":1553.37,"body":"also to talk openly and to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1553.37,"endTime":1556.55,"body":"discuss in a really friendly"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1553.37,"endTime":1556.55,"body":"way, some of the most"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1556.55,"endTime":1560.09,"body":"challenging aspects of study in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1556.55,"endTime":1560.09,"body":"gender. Particularly the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1560.09,"endTime":1563.63,"body":"methodologies that we employ,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1560.09,"endTime":1563.63,"body":"particularly methodologies that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1563.63,"endTime":1567.98,"body":"are born out of our datasets. So"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1563.63,"endTime":1567.98,"body":"we've continuously been"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1567.98,"endTime":1572.36,"body":"problematising the idea of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1567.98,"endTime":1572.36,"body":"taking existing methodologies"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1572.45,"endTime":1575.12,"body":"that are used elsewhere, and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1572.45,"endTime":1575.12,"body":"then importing them lock, stock"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1575.12,"endTime":1578.39,"body":"and barrel to our datasets. And"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1575.12,"endTime":1578.39,"body":"so we're seeing more and more"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1578.42,"endTime":1581.87,"body":"methodologies that are coming"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1578.42,"endTime":1581.87,"body":"out of the datasets that are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1581.87,"endTime":1585.8,"body":"relevant to ancient Mesopotamia,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1581.87,"endTime":1585.8,"body":"specifically the ancient Near"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1585.8,"endTime":1587.93,"body":"East in general, but also"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1585.8,"endTime":1587.93,"body":"Ancient Egypt."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1589.19,"endTime":1592.37,"body":"I'm particularly looking forward"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1589.19,"endTime":1592.37,"body":"to a business dinner that we"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1592.37,"endTime":1595.55,"body":"have one evening of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1592.37,"endTime":1595.55,"body":"conference. Over here, we will"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1595.55,"endTime":1599.48,"body":"be talking openly in the entire"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1595.55,"endTime":1599.48,"body":"Gender Methodology and Ancient"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1599.48,"endTime":1603.08,"body":"Near East Conference, on the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1599.48,"endTime":1603.08,"body":"future of this workshop, of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1603.08,"endTime":1607.55,"body":"these conferences. We are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1603.08,"endTime":1607.55,"body":"interested in talking about, for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1607.55,"endTime":1611.36,"body":"example, the modalities of the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1607.55,"endTime":1611.36,"body":"workshop itself: whether to have"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1611.36,"endTime":1615.23,"body":"parallel sessions, or to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1611.36,"endTime":1615.23,"body":"continue having non-parallel"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1615.23,"endTime":1617.87,"body":"sessions to ensure that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1615.23,"endTime":1617.87,"body":"everybody gets to listen to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1617.87,"endTime":1622.1,"body":"everybody's papers. We are also"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1617.87,"endTime":1622.1,"body":"very much interested in the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1622.1,"endTime":1626.69,"body":"creation of a scientific"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1622.1,"endTime":1626.69,"body":"committee, and also of a general"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1626.69,"endTime":1630.26,"body":"committee for the workshop and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1626.69,"endTime":1630.26,"body":"for the conference, as well as"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1630.29,"endTime":1634.1,"body":"identifying future venues for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1630.29,"endTime":1634.1,"body":"this conference to take place."},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1635.93,"endTime":1638.24,"body":"Thank you. I wonder"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1635.93,"endTime":1638.24,"body":"if we could turn a little bit"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1638.24,"endTime":1643.07,"body":"now more towards you, and your"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1638.24,"endTime":1643.07,"body":"own context, as it were. So"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1643.13,"endTime":1646.19,"body":"you're based in Malta, which"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1643.13,"endTime":1646.19,"body":"isn't one of the traditional big"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1646.19,"endTime":1650.12,"body":"centres of assyriology. So I was"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1646.19,"endTime":1650.12,"body":"wondering, first of all, how did"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1650.12,"endTime":1654.59,"body":"you become interested in this"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1650.12,"endTime":1654.59,"body":"topic? And what is the state of"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1654.59,"endTime":1656.54,"body":"assyriology in Malta today?"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1657.53,"endTime":1659.93,"body":"Thank you, Jon."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1657.53,"endTime":1659.93,"body":"Yes, exactly. One is a little"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1659.93,"endTime":1662.36,"body":"bit isolated when doing"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1659.93,"endTime":1662.36,"body":"assyriology in Malta, in a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1662.36,"endTime":1665.06,"body":"sense. But I get the feeling"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1662.36,"endTime":1665.06,"body":"nowadays, more and more so ,that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1665.06,"endTime":1668.15,"body":"one is always isolated, wherever"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1665.06,"endTime":1668.15,"body":"one does decide to do"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1668.42,"endTime":1671.18,"body":"assyriology. {LAUGHS} So I think"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1668.42,"endTime":1671.18,"body":"this is only possible, I think"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1671.21,"endTime":1674.3,"body":"it's only possible to do"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1671.21,"endTime":1674.3,"body":"assyriology in Malta now,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1674.3,"endTime":1678.02,"body":"because of the ease of travel."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1674.3,"endTime":1678.02,"body":"We are very well connected to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1678.02,"endTime":1681.17,"body":"most European cities now. So"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1678.02,"endTime":1681.17,"body":"travel has become a lot easier."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1681.59,"endTime":1685.4,"body":"But also to the generosity of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1681.59,"endTime":1685.4,"body":"people who are not so isolated,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1685.4,"endTime":1688.73,"body":"and people who have access to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1685.4,"endTime":1688.73,"body":"resources and sources away from"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1688.73,"endTime":1692.03,"body":"the island and who can send"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1688.73,"endTime":1692.03,"body":"things over very, very easily."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1692.03,"endTime":1694.58,"body":"And so the exchange of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1692.03,"endTime":1694.58,"body":"information has become a lot,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1694.58,"endTime":1695.18,"body":"lot easier."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1695.9,"endTime":1698.6,"body":"So I think one can do"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1695.9,"endTime":1698.6,"body":"assyriology wherever really now."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1699.23,"endTime":1702.23,"body":"So that's, that's really"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1699.23,"endTime":1702.23,"body":"interesting. I came to it"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1702.23,"endTime":1704.3,"body":"because I did ancient Near"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1702.23,"endTime":1704.3,"body":"Eastern Studies at the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1704.3,"endTime":1707.21,"body":"University. We have a department"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1704.3,"endTime":1707.21,"body":"of Middle Eastern and Asian"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1707.21,"endTime":1711.14,"body":"languages and cultures. And it's"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1707.21,"endTime":1711.14,"body":"a wonderful department. And"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1711.14,"endTime":1714.65,"body":"we've had Near Eastern Studies"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1711.14,"endTime":1714.65,"body":"for a very, very long time. And"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1714.65,"endTime":1717.35,"body":"this is where I came from. I"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1714.65,"endTime":1717.35,"body":"come from archaeology and Near"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1717.35,"endTime":1722.0,"body":"Eastern Studies. I originally"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1717.35,"endTime":1722.0,"body":"studied Hebrew and Arabic, but"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1722.0,"endTime":1725.57,"body":"also in the archaeology classes,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1722.0,"endTime":1725.57,"body":"I did Phoenician, Punic, and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1725.57,"endTime":1726.41,"body":"Aramaic."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1727.43,"endTime":1731.6,"body":"I remember we had a language"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1727.43,"endTime":1731.6,"body":"component. We had a language"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1731.6,"endTime":1734.6,"body":"study unit that was an elective,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1731.6,"endTime":1734.6,"body":"and you could choose whichever"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1734.69,"endTime":1738.23,"body":"language you wanted. And I did"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1734.69,"endTime":1738.23,"body":"my project on Akkadian. And I"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1738.23,"endTime":1742.31,"body":"haven't looked back since. My"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1738.23,"endTime":1742.31,"body":"professor had studied Akkadian"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1742.31,"endTime":1745.28,"body":"in Rome. He is a biblical"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1742.31,"endTime":1745.28,"body":"scholar. So we have a strong"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1745.28,"endTime":1748.52,"body":"tradition of biblical"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1745.28,"endTime":1748.52,"body":"scholarship here, and also the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1748.52,"endTime":1752.21,"body":"wider biblical world. And I sort"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1748.52,"endTime":1752.21,"body":"of entered assyriology through"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1752.21,"endTime":1752.87,"body":"that channel."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1753.92,"endTime":1756.92,"body":"In terms of the current state of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1753.92,"endTime":1756.92,"body":"assyriology on the island, we"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1756.95,"endTime":1759.89,"body":"are about to start a course in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1756.95,"endTime":1759.89,"body":"Akkadian. I will be teaching"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1759.89,"endTime":1763.19,"body":"Akkadian at the university, and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1759.89,"endTime":1763.19,"body":"I'm trying to promote this study"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1763.19,"endTime":1766.49,"body":"unit to the best of my"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1763.19,"endTime":1766.49,"body":"abilities. I am currently"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1766.49,"endTime":1769.34,"body":"teaching ancient Near Eastern"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1766.49,"endTime":1769.34,"body":"mythology. So I think some of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1769.34,"endTime":1773.45,"body":"those students will now want to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1769.34,"endTime":1773.45,"body":"come and do Akkadian. So we're"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1773.45,"endTime":1775.97,"body":"trying to start it off. We're"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1773.45,"endTime":1775.97,"body":"trying to make it popular with"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1775.97,"endTime":1778.25,"body":"students, and we're hoping it"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1775.97,"endTime":1778.25,"body":"will work."},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1778.61,"endTime":1781.16,"body":"Yeah, that's"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1778.61,"endTime":1781.16,"body":"fantastic. You mentioned at the"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1781.16,"endTime":1785.48,"body":"start that you are very active"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1781.16,"endTime":1785.48,"body":"both in the traditional academic"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1785.51,"endTime":1789.8,"body":"arena, but also in public"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1785.51,"endTime":1789.8,"body":"outreach. I was wondering, in"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1789.8,"endTime":1793.31,"body":"terms of the Maltese audience,"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1789.8,"endTime":1793.31,"body":"what do they find interesting"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1793.34,"endTime":1794.87,"body":"about the ancient Middle East?"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1795.47,"endTime":1797.63,"body":"Thank you for this"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1795.47,"endTime":1797.63,"body":"question. This is an aspect of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1797.63,"endTime":1800.6,"body":"my profession that I really"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1797.63,"endTime":1800.6,"body":"enjoy. And this is reaching out"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1800.6,"endTime":1805.55,"body":"to people in the community."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1800.6,"endTime":1805.55,"body":"Maltest is a Semitic language."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1806.09,"endTime":1809.27,"body":"So when we talk about Babylonian"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1806.09,"endTime":1809.27,"body":"literature, when we talk about"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1809.27,"endTime":1812.72,"body":"Akkadian, you know, there's"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1809.27,"endTime":1812.72,"body":"always this sort of foreignness"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1812.72,"endTime":1815.72,"body":"to Akkadian and Babylonian"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1812.72,"endTime":1815.72,"body":"literature, for example. But"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1815.72,"endTime":1817.43,"body":"when we talk about these"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1815.72,"endTime":1817.43,"body":"languages being Semitic"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1817.43,"endTime":1821.84,"body":"languages, people start to feel"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1817.43,"endTime":1821.84,"body":"a sense of proximity and a sense"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1821.84,"endTime":1823.01,"body":"of belonging here, right."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1824.03,"endTime":1827.853,"body":"I have recently started writing"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1824.03,"endTime":1827.853,"body":"about assyriology in Maltese."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1827.915,"endTime":1831.739,"body":"And one of the first things that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1827.915,"endTime":1831.739,"body":"I did for a Maltese literary"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1831.801,"endTime":1835.624,"body":"journal called Aphroconfuso,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1831.801,"endTime":1835.624,"body":"with the editors, Loranne Vella,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1835.687,"endTime":1839.072,"body":"and Joe Gatt to address the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1835.687,"endTime":1839.072,"body":"existing, the one and only"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1839.134,"endTime":1842.581,"body":"existing translation of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1839.134,"endTime":1842.581,"body":"Gilgamesh into Maltese. This is"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1842.644,"endTime":1846.405,"body":"unfortunately translated from"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1842.644,"endTime":1846.405,"body":"the English. And when I looked"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1846.467,"endTime":1850.103,"body":"at it, of course, you realise"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1846.467,"endTime":1850.103,"body":"immediately that it is not a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1850.165,"endTime":1853.8,"body":"translation from the original,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1850.165,"endTime":1853.8,"body":"but it's a translation from"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1853.863,"endTime":1857.373,"body":"English. But it was done in a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1853.863,"endTime":1857.373,"body":"political context when the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1857.436,"endTime":1861.008,"body":"Maltese were looking for a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1857.436,"endTime":1861.008,"body":"Semitic identity. And so there"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1861.071,"endTime":1865.019,"body":"is a sort of political layer to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1861.071,"endTime":1865.019,"body":"this translation, about which I"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1865.082,"endTime":1868.592,"body":"have written in this article"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1865.082,"endTime":1868.592,"body":"called \"Gilgamex, Dak li Ra"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1868.654,"endTime":1872.352,"body":"l-Qiegħ\" (Gilgamesh, he who saw"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1868.654,"endTime":1872.352,"body":"the deep). When I was doing"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1872.415,"endTime":1875.611,"body":"that, I realised that by"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1872.415,"endTime":1875.611,"body":"translating Gilgamesh from"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1875.674,"endTime":1879.059,"body":"English, we missed out on a lot"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1875.674,"endTime":1879.059,"body":"of the very meaningful"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1879.121,"endTime":1882.631,"body":"proximities between certain"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1879.121,"endTime":1882.631,"body":"Babylonian words and certain"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1882.694,"endTime":1886.454,"body":"words in Maltese. And so that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1882.694,"endTime":1886.454,"body":"was the time to start thinking"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1886.517,"endTime":1890.09,"body":"about translating Gilgamesh into"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1886.517,"endTime":1890.09,"body":"Maltese from Babylonian."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1891.26,"endTime":1894.29,"body":"So, you know, through this"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1891.26,"endTime":1894.29,"body":"outreach, writing, I think we're"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1894.32,"endTime":1897.02,"body":"starting to get people to"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1894.32,"endTime":1897.02,"body":"realise that you cannot really"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1897.02,"endTime":1900.23,"body":"have a literary scenario in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1897.02,"endTime":1900.23,"body":"Malta without having a"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1900.23,"endTime":1903.59,"body":"translation of Gilgamesh, and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1900.23,"endTime":1903.59,"body":"some of the other stories that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1903.59,"endTime":1905.75,"body":"come from the region that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1903.59,"endTime":1905.75,"body":"interest us."},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1905.87,"endTime":1908.33,"body":"That's so"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1905.87,"endTime":1908.33,"body":"exciting. What do you think the"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1908.36,"endTime":1911.48,"body":"future of gender studies in the"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1908.36,"endTime":1911.48,"body":"ancient Near East is?"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1912.26,"endTime":1913.91,"body":"I think I'll be"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1912.26,"endTime":1913.91,"body":"better able to answer this"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1913.91,"endTime":1916.7,"body":"question after the Gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1913.91,"endTime":1916.7,"body":"Methodology and Ancient Near"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1916.7,"endTime":1920.09,"body":"East conference. But I sense"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1916.7,"endTime":1920.09,"body":"that it's definitely a growing"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1920.09,"endTime":1923.24,"body":"community. There are people"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1920.09,"endTime":1923.24,"body":"coming from everywhere,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1923.27,"endTime":1927.08,"body":"especially young postgraduate"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1923.27,"endTime":1927.08,"body":"students who are sending out"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1927.08,"endTime":1931.1,"body":"correspondence; really"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1927.08,"endTime":1931.1,"body":"interested in building on"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1931.13,"endTime":1935.09,"body":"existing work. Particularly"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1931.13,"endTime":1935.09,"body":"those people who come from"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1935.09,"endTime":1937.7,"body":"theory, cultural theory,"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1935.09,"endTime":1937.7,"body":"critical theory, who are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1937.73,"endTime":1941.39,"body":"interested in bringing those"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1937.73,"endTime":1941.39,"body":"frameworks with them to the"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1941.39,"endTime":1944.63,"body":"study of ancient Near East. Now"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1941.39,"endTime":1944.63,"body":"that we have very good editions"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1944.63,"endTime":1948.71,"body":"of literature, now that we are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1944.63,"endTime":1948.71,"body":"beginning to have online tools"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1948.71,"endTime":1951.8,"body":"for the study of visual"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1948.71,"endTime":1951.8,"body":"cultures, for example, I think"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1951.8,"endTime":1956.39,"body":"we can safely say that a lot of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1951.8,"endTime":1956.39,"body":"people are seeing these corpora"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1956.45,"endTime":1960.32,"body":"that are very useful. For"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1956.45,"endTime":1960.32,"body":"example, in my classroom, I have"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1960.32,"endTime":1962.6,"body":"a number of people who are"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1960.32,"endTime":1962.6,"body":"interested in gender and"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1962.6,"endTime":1966.29,"body":"medicine, for example, in gender"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1962.6,"endTime":1966.29,"body":"and magic, but also a number of"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1966.29,"endTime":1970.01,"body":"people who are interested in"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1966.29,"endTime":1970.01,"body":"non-human gender. And I think we"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1970.01,"endTime":1972.08,"body":"are definitely heading in that"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1970.01,"endTime":1972.08,"body":"direction."},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1973.07,"endTime":1974.51,"body":"Thank you very much"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1973.07,"endTime":1974.51,"body":"indeed, Omar."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1974.69,"endTime":1975.38,"body":"Thank you for"},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1974.69,"endTime":1975.38,"body":"having me"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1975.38,"endTime":1976.31,"body":"Thank you so"},{"speaker":"Ellie Bennett","startTime":1975.38,"endTime":1976.31,"body":"much."},{"speaker":"Omar N'Shea","startTime":1976.79,"endTime":1977.42,"body":"Thank you."},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1978.47,"endTime":1981.26,"body":"I’d also like to"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1978.47,"endTime":1981.26,"body":"thank our patrons: Enrique"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1981.26,"endTime":1987.32,"body":"Jiménez, Jana Matuszak, Nancy"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1981.26,"endTime":1987.32,"body":"Highcock, Jay C, Rune"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1987.35,"endTime":1991.94,"body":"Rattenborg, Woodthrush, Elisa"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1987.35,"endTime":1991.94,"body":"Rossberger, Mark Weeden, Jordi"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1991.94,"endTime":1998.06,"body":"Mon Companys, Thomas Bolin, Joan"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1991.94,"endTime":1998.06,"body":"Porter MacIver, John MacGinnis,"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1998.6,"endTime":2005.26,"body":"Andrew George, Yelena Rakic,"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":1998.6,"endTime":2005.26,"body":"Zach Rubin, Sabina Franke, Shai"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2005.26,"endTime":2011.56,"body":"Gordin, Aaron Macks, Maarja"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2005.26,"endTime":2011.56,"body":"Seire, Jaafar Jotheri, Morgan"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2011.56,"endTime":2017.14,"body":"Hite, Chikako Watanabe, Mark"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2011.56,"endTime":2017.14,"body":"McElwaine, Jonathan Blanchard"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2017.14,"endTime":2023.38,"body":"Smith, Kliment Ohr, Christina"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2017.14,"endTime":2023.38,"body":"Tsouparopoulou, TT, Melanie"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2023.38,"endTime":2029.11,"body":"Gross, Claire Weir, Marc"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2023.38,"endTime":2029.11,"body":"Veldman, Bruno Biermann, Faimon"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2029.11,"endTime":2034.09,"body":"Roberts, Jason Moser, Pavla"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2029.11,"endTime":2034.09,"body":"Rosenstein, Müge"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2034.15,"endTime":2040.03,"body":"Durusu-Tanrıöver, Tate Paulette,"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2034.15,"endTime":2040.03,"body":"Willis Monroe, Toby Wickenden,"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2040.42,"endTime":2046.06,"body":"Emmert Clevenstine, Barbara"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2040.42,"endTime":2046.06,"body":"Porter, Cheryl Morgan, Kevin Roy"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2046.06,"endTime":2053.14,"body":"Jackson, Susannah Paulus, Eric"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2046.06,"endTime":2053.14,"body":"Whitacre, Jakob Flygare, Jon"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2053.14,"endTime":2057.16,"body":"Ganuza, as well as those who"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2053.14,"endTime":2057.16,"body":"prefer to remain anonymous."},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2058.21,"endTime":2060.82,"body":"I really appreciate your"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2058.21,"endTime":2060.82,"body":"support. It makes a big"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2060.82,"endTime":2065.32,"body":"difference. Every penny received"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2060.82,"endTime":2065.32,"body":"has contributed towards"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2065.32,"endTime":2068.77,"body":"translations. Thanks of course"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2065.32,"endTime":2068.77,"body":"to the lovely people who have"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2068.77,"endTime":2072.19,"body":"worked on the translations on a"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2068.77,"endTime":2072.19,"body":"voluntary basis or for well"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2072.19,"endTime":2076.42,"body":"below the market rate. For"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2072.19,"endTime":2076.42,"body":"Arabic, thanks in particular to"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2076.42,"endTime":2081.16,"body":"Zainab Mizyidawi, as well as"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2076.42,"endTime":2081.16,"body":"Lina Meerchyad and May Al-Aseel."},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2082.0,"endTime":2088.0,"body":"For Turkish, thank you to Pinar"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2082.0,"endTime":2088.0,"body":"Durgun and Nesrin Akan. TEW is"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2088.0,"endTime":2091.51,"body":"still young, but I want to reach"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2088.0,"endTime":2091.51,"body":"a sustainable level, where"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2091.51,"endTime":2094.69,"body":"translators are given proper"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2091.51,"endTime":2094.69,"body":"compensation for their hard"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2094.69,"endTime":2095.14,"body":"work."},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2096.429,"endTime":2099.699,"body":"And thank you for listening to"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2096.429,"endTime":2099.699,"body":"Thin End of the Wedge. If you"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2099.699,"endTime":2102.969,"body":"enjoy what we do, and you would"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2099.699,"endTime":2102.969,"body":"like to help make these podcasts"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2102.969,"endTime":2106.059,"body":"available in Middle Eastern"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2102.969,"endTime":2106.059,"body":"languages, please consider"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2106.059,"endTime":2109.899,"body":"joining our Patreon family. You"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2106.059,"endTime":2109.899,"body":"can find us at"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2109.989,"endTime":2116.289,"body":"patreon.com/wedgepod. You can"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2109.989,"endTime":2116.289,"body":"also support us in other ways:"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2116.919,"endTime":2120.759,"body":"simply subscribe to the podcast;"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2116.919,"endTime":2120.759,"body":"leave us a five star review on"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2120.759,"endTime":2124.059,"body":"Apple Music or your favourite"},{"speaker":"Jon Taylor","startTime":2120.759,"endTime":2124.059,"body":"podcatcher; recommend us to your"},{"speaker":"friends; follow us on Twitter","startTime":2124.059,"endTime":2130.239,"body":"@wedge_pod. If you want the"},{"speaker":"friends; follow us on Twitter","startTime":2130.239,"endTime":2133.809,"body":"latest podcast news, you can"},{"speaker":"friends; follow us on Twitter","startTime":2130.239,"endTime":2133.809,"body":"sign up for our newsletter. You"},{"speaker":"friends; follow us on Twitter","startTime":2133.809,"endTime":2137.619,"body":"can find all the links in the"},{"speaker":"friends; follow us on Twitter","startTime":2133.809,"endTime":2137.619,"body":"show notes and on our website at"},{"speaker":"friends; follow us on Twitter","startTime":2138.039,"endTime":2146.529,"body":"wedgepod.org. Thanks, and I hope"},{"speaker":"friends; follow us on Twitter","startTime":2138.039,"endTime":2146.529,"body":"you’ll join us next time."}]}