Statutes

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF PHILOLOGY

STATUTES 2010∗

∗ Approved by the General Assembly on September, 24, 2010.

I. Objective of the Society

1.1 The objectives of the International Society of Philology, hereinafter designated as the Society, are:

(a) To promote international cooperation in philology ;

(b) To support and assist the International Congress of Philology and other international scientific meetings or conferences;

(c) To encourage and support other international philological activities considered likely to contribute to the development of science in any of its aspects, modern, ancient, or educational.

1.2 What is philology

Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary criticism, history, and linguistics. It is more commonly defined as the study of literary texts and written records, the establishment of their authenticity and their original form, and the determination of their meaning.

Branches

Comparative : The comparative linguistics branch of philology studies the relationship between languages.

Textual : Philology also includes the study of texts and their history. It includes elements of textual criticism, trying to reconstruct an author's original text based on variant copies of manuscripts. As these philological issues are often inseparable from issues of interpretation, there is no clear-cut boundary between philology and hermeneutics. We do not reject textual criticism.

Cognitive : Another branch of philology, cognitive philology, studies written and oral texts, considering them as results of human mental processes. This science compares the results of textual science with the results of experimental research of both psychology and artificial intelligence production systems.

Decipherment : In the case of Bronze Age literature, philology includes the prior decipherment of the language under study.

Objectives

2. In the pursuit of its objectives the Society is explicitly, but not exclusively, empowered

(a) To adhere to the International Council for Science;

(b) To organize international philological meetings and conferences;

(d) To engage in philological activities of an international character or to advise and assist other international organizations engaging in such activities, provided that any expenses thereby incurred shall be treated as items of special expenditure under article 30;

(e) To promote and facilitate the international exchange of philologists and students for scientific purposes;

(f) To publish and distribute information concerning the organization and the activities of the Union.

MEMBERSHIP

3. An University adheres to the Society through an Adhering Organization, which may be its principal faculty, a scientific society, its research council or some other institution or association of institutions, or an appropriate agency of its government. The adhering Universities are designated hereinafter as the Members of the Society.

4. The term "university" is to be understood as including Schools and any Establishments in which independent scientific activity in phililogy has been developed, and in general shall be construed as to secure the broadest and most effective participation of philologists in the scientific work of the Society.

5. In each case, the Adhering Organization shall form a Committee for Philological Studies and its adherence to the Society shall not become effective until the composition of the Committee has been reported to and recognized by the Members of the Society. The Committee shall act as adviser to the Adhering Organization in matters concerning the Society. The Adhering Organization may, if it wishes, delegate some of its power to the Committee for philology. The Committee shall communicate to the Secretary of the Society the name of its chair or secretary.

6. When an application is made for membership in the Society, the Executive Committee shall examine the application and shall make a recommendation thereon to the Members of the Society by correspondence, by e-mail, or at a meeting of the General Assembly. The Members shall accept or reject the application in the light of this recommendation and of any other considerations before them either by postal ballot[1] or at a meeting of the General Assembly. The adherence of an University is in one of the five groups I-V with corresponding voting powers and contributions as set out in articles 19 and 25. An University may change its classification with the approval of the Members of the Society upon recommendation of the Executive Committee.

[1] A postal ballot may be executed via ordinary mail, e-mail, fax, or any other way of communication considered appropriate by the Secretary.

ASSOCIATED MEMBERSHIP

7. To encourage an University to become a Member of ISP, a country may adhere to the Society as an Associate Member through an Adhering Organization as described in article 3.

8. The Adhering Organization of an Associate Member shall form a Committee for Philology as described in article 5.

9. When an application is made for Associate Membership of the Society, the Executive Committee shall examine the application and make a recommendation thereon to the Members of the Society by correspondence, by e-mail, or at a meeting of the General Assembly. The Members shall accept or reject the application in the light of this recommendation and of any other considerations before them either by postal ballot or at a meeting of the General Assembly.

10. An University that has previously been a Member of the Union is not eligible to apply for Associate Membership.

11. Associate Membership is for a period of four years from the date of election, renewable for one further period of four years on request to the Secretary of the Society. Associate Members are normally expected to apply for membership of the Society beginning no later than eight years from the date of election. Associate Members have the right to participate in the General Assembly but shall have no voting rights. Associate Members have the right to submit proposals for joint activities to the General Assembly and to the President and Secretary for consideration of the Executive Committee.

12. Extensions of Associate Membership beyond a period of eight years from the date of election may be granted for further periods of four years at a time. A request for such a four-year extension must be made to the Secretary of the Society. The Executive Committee shall examine the request and make a recommendation thereon to the Members of the Society by correspondence, by e-mail, or at a meeting of the General Assembly. The Members shall accept or reject the application in the light of this recommendation and of any other considerations before them either by postal ballot or at a meeting of the General Assembly.

aFFILIATION

13. For the purpose of facilitating jointly sponsored activities and jointly pursuing the objectives of the ISP, multi-national societies and professional societies can be affiliated with the Society.

14. The Members of the Society shall elect Affiliate Members by postal ballots or at meetings of the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Executive Committee. The affiliation may be terminated by the same procedure.

15. Affiliate Members have the right to participate in the General Assembly but shall have no voting rights.

16. Affiliate Members have the right to submit proposals for joint activities to the General Assembly and to the President and Secretary for consideration of the Executive Committee.

17. The Executive Committee, with the support of the Adhering Organizations and Committees for Philology, shall look for ways to keep close relations with the affiliated organizations and to enhance activities in their regions and fields of interest. They shall receive the Bulletin of the ISP and be kept informed of all activities relevant to them.

ADMINISTRATION

18. The authority of the Society derives from the Members and is exercised either by correspondence, by e-mail, or at a meeting of the General Assembly. The Society is administered by the Executive Committee, which, in accordance with these

Statutes and subject to the direction and review of the Members, shall conduct the business of the Society.

19. The General Assembly of the Society consists of Delegates appointed by the Adhering Organizations, together with the members of the Executive Committee, and of the Representatives of Associate and Affiliate Members. For each General Assembly, each ISP Member Adhering Organization shall appoint and certify to the Secretary of the Society a delegation, which shall have the number of votes corresponding to the Group in which it adheres, as follows:

Group

III

Number of votes

At the ISP General Assembly meeting 2010, the delegates decided about the dues structure, see schedule below.

Associate and Affiliate IMU members do not pay dues.

Group	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
I	1,395 €	1,395 €	1,395 €	1,395 €	1,395 €
II	2,790 €	2,790 €	2,790 €	2,790 €	2,790 €
III	5,580 €	5,580 €	5,580 €	5,580 €	5,580 €
IV	11,160 €	11,160 €	11,160 €	11,160 €	11,160 €
V	16,740 €	16,740 €	16,740 €	16,740 €	16,740 €
	Dues for 2020-2030 in Euro