30109 - Greek Institutions (1) (LM)

Academic Year 2022/2023

  • Docente: Manuela Mari
  • Credits: 6
  • SSD: L-ANT/02
  • Language: Italian

Learning outcomes

Students will learn how to arrange and update knowledge concerning some of the most important public and private Greek institutions. They will learn how to use different historical sources (literary, documentary, archaeological, iconographic) and how to select the most appropriate methodologies for the explanation and the interpretation of data.

Course contents

1. Sources and tools for the study of Greek institutions (lectures 1-2).

2. Institutions of the Hellenistic cities: honorary decrees as a source on the economic and social history of the Hellenistic world and on the relationship between cities and territorial states.

Training for institutional topics will be offered through:

a. the analysis of selected inscriptions concerning the institutions of the Hellenistic cities (lectures 3-10);

b. a collaborative exercise concerning an epigraphic source of the Hellenistic age assigned by the teacher and to be presented by the students during the course (lectures 11-15).

A detailed list of inscriptions and sources will be provided during the course and will be included among the teaching materials online (cf. virtuale.unibo.it).

It should be noted that knowledge of ancient Greek language (reading and 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.

First lesson: November 9, 2022; last lesson: December 19, 2022

Readings/Bibliography

Students who have no prior knowledge of Hellenistic history are invited to read F. Muccioli, Storia dell'ellenismo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2019 or A. Chaniotis, Età di conquiste. Il mondo greco da Alessandro ad Adriano, Milano, Hoepli, 2019.

Attending students are required to study the followings:

1. P.J. Rhodes – D.M. Lewis, The Decrees of the Greek States, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997, pages 1-34, 475-563.

2. M. Mari (ed. by), L'età ellenistica. Società, politica, cultura, Roma, Carocci, 2019, from chapter 1 to chapter 7.

3. Inscriptions and sources analyzed during the course (see virtuale.unibo.it).

Students who won't be able to attend lectures must study:

1. P.J. Rhodes – D.M. Lewis, The Decrees of the Greek States, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997, pages 1-34, 475-563.

2. M. Mari (ed. by), L'età ellenistica. Società, politica, cultura, Roma, Carocci, 2019, from chapter 1 to chapter 8.

3. C. Antonetti – S. De Vido (ed. by), Iscrizioni greche. Un'antologia, Roma, Carocci, 2017, nrs. 51, 52, 53, 54, 57, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70 (text and commentary).

Bibliographic resources are available at the DiSCi Library of Ancient History (Bologna, via Zamboni 38).

Teaching methods

The course consists mainly of workshops: students will take part in lessons and practise studying institutions (mainly related to the topic of the course) and solving related problems.

Those who never studied ancient Greek language and alphabet before are strongly recommended to start immediately. The knowledge of ancient Greek will be strengthened through the reading of selected inscriptions.

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

The oral examination will test the knowledge of the course contents (including selected inscriptions) and of the individual study texts. It will take place in two steps: 1. a question about the individual study texts with discussion of related problems; 2. students will be required to read, translate and explain one of the Greek inscriptions studied during the course and to answer a question about the lessons' contents (in case of non- attendant students, a question about the additional study text, cf. Readings/Bibliography, point 3).

The assessment will test:

- the basic knowledge of the discipline;

- the critical approach to ancient sources and modern historiographical interpretations;

- the ability to communicate orally, in particular skills in synthesis and in logical organization of the topics and the mastery of an appropriate vocabulary.

Students who show a mature understanding of the topics covered in class and/or of the bibliography indicated and the ability to use them critically, expounding them correctly and with correct terminology, will be evaluated at the maximum; a mnemonic knowledge of the subject (especially translations of the texts), counterbalanced by general analytical and framing skills, and a correct but not always appropriate language, will lead to a good evaluation; minimal knowledge of the subject, some gaps in content and/or inappropriate language will receive grades that do not exceed sufficiency; serious or extensive gaps in the knowledge of texts and/or bibliography, inappropriate language, inability to correctly frame the topics covered, and no skills in reading and commenting upon the texts do not allow to pass.

Punctuality to the exams is recommended. Please remind that no students are allowed to give exams out of the public lists.

Students enrolled in the course as part of an Integrated Course (I.C.) are required to pass the oral examination of the two parts – Greek Epigraphy (1) (LM) and Greek Institutions (1) (LM) – in the same date (the final grade will result from the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two parts).

Teaching tools

Original sources and sources to be read will be supplied online (cf. virtuale.unibo.it).

Office hours

See the website of Manuela Mari

SDGs

Quality education

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.