44376 - Greek Institutions (1)

Learning outcomes

Students will become acquainted with the use of inscriptions as historical sources for the study of Greek institutions, public as well as private. They will get knowledge of the basic topics concerning the institutions of the Greek city through the direct approach to ancient authors and documentary sources. Students will learn how to employ epigraphic collections of texts available online and to use traditional and digital research tools concerning Greek epigraphy and institutions.

Course contents

1. Sources and tools for the study of Greek institutions (lectures 1-3).    
2. Greek institutions of the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic period (lectures 4-15). The institutions will be explored through: 

a. passages of ancient authors; 

b. analysis of selected inscriptions (reading, translation, dating, historical interpretation).

It should be noted that knowledge of ancient Greek language (understanding a text with the dictionary or at least understanding the correspondence with the translations offered), if not already acquired, must be reached before the oral examination. Inscriptions are to be read in ancient Greek also during the oral examination.

Lessons: MO TUE WED 9-11, Aula C, via Zamboni 34, starting from November 12th, 2018

Readings/Bibliography

Students are required to study:

1. G. Camassa, Forme della vita politica dei Greci in età arcaica e classica, Bologna 2007.  
2. Selection of ancient sources supplied online (cf. Teaching material).

Students who will not attend lessons are required to study:

1. G. Camassa, Forme della vita politica dei Greci in età arcaica e classica, Monduzzi, Bologna 2007.
2. Aristotele, Costituzione degli Ateniesi (if possible in one of the following annotated editions: A. Santoni, Cappelli, Bologna 1999; P.J. Rhodes, Mondadori-Valla, Milano 2016).

Teaching methods

The course requires students' active participation in studying institutions and solving related problems. 

Those who never studied ancient Greek language and alphabet before are strongly recommended to start immediately. Please check the page Didattica, Corsi di Greco zero. The knowledge of ancient Greek will be strengthened through the reading of selected inscriptions.

Assessment methods

The oral examination will test the knowledge of the course contents (including knowledge of selected inscriptions) and of the individual study text. It will take place in three steps: 1. a question about the text by Camassa with the discussion of related problems; 2. a question about one of the passages of ancient authors examined during the course; 3. students will be required to read, translate and explain one of the Greek inscriptions studied during the course.

Students not attending lessons, in addition to step 1., will answer to questions concerning Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians.

If the student achieves a complete vision of the topics discussed in class and required for the discipline, provides an effective critical commentary, shows mastery of expression and of the specific language, he obtains excellence in the evaluation.

Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Students enrolled in the course as part of an Integrated Course (I.C.) are required to pass the oral examination of the two parts in the same date (the evaluation will be the arithmetic mean resulting from the final grades of the two courses).

Teaching tools

Original sources will be shown during lectures with the aid of video projector.

Office hours

See the website of Alice Bencivenni