32727 - History of Classical Tradition in the Modern Age (1) (LM)

Course contents

The course aims to deepen students' knowledge of the transmission of Classical texts during the European network known as the "Republic of Letters". From the many themes transmitted from ancient literature to subsequent ages, chooses those concerning ancient, military treatises and, relating to European scholars, chooses in particular those concerning Lodovico Antonio Muratori, who animated this "Republic". His books and epistolary have allowed modern philologists to reconstruct his interests, making it possible not only to witness almost firsthand the events of the "Republic", but also to follow step-by-step the philological and content-related problems linked to many Latin authors (e.g. Vegetius, Urbicius/Mauricius et al.), explained by these scholars making reference to citations from  Latin and Greek tradition, which is analysed in a series of extremely wide-ranging (historical, literary and epigraphic).

Readings/Bibliography

In addition to lecture notes and the material given out by teachers during classes, the didactic material consists of recommended textbooks, namely:

A.General Bibliography: A. Buck, L'eredità classica nelle letterature neolatine del Rinascimento, edizione italiana a cura di Agostino Sottili, Brescia, Paideia, 1980; H. Bots, F. Waquet, La Repubblica delle Lettere, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2005; A. Maranini, F. Marri, Riscoperta ed esegesi di classici tra Sei e Settecento. Muratori e Cuper su Paolino da Nola, «Giornale italiano di filologia», 65, 2013, pp. 247-274.

B. Selected Bibliography: L.A. Muratori, Antiquitates italicae Medii aevi, sive Dissertationes de moribus, ritibus, religione, regimine, magistratibus, legibus, studiis literarum, artibus, lingua, militia, nummis, principibus, libertate, servitute, foederibus, aliisque faciem et mores Italici populi referentibus post declinationem Rom. Imp. ad annum usque 1500, Mediolani, Ex typographia Societatis Palatinae in Regia curia, I-VI, 1738-1742 (spec. II 1739, coll. 990-1078 - diss. XXXII De origine linguae italicae - coll. 1084-1332 - diss. XXXIII De origine sive etymologia italicarum vocum (italian translation in: Dissertazioni sopra le antichità italiane, ‪già composte e pubblicate in latino del proposto Lodovico Antonio Muratori e da esso poscia compendiate e trasportate nell'italiana favella ‬, opera postuma, data in luce dal proposto Gian-Francesco Soli-Muratori, Milano, G. Pasquali‬, 1751, II ad l.)

V. Ilari, ‘Imitatio', ‘Restitutio', ‘Utopia': la storia militare antica nel pensiero strategico moderno, in: Guerra e diritto nel mondo greco e romano, by Marta Sordi, Milano, Vita e pensiero, 2002, pp. 269-381 ( http://www.academia.edu/3982644/2002_ILARI_La_Storia_Militare_Antica_nel_pensiero_strategico_moderno)

M.D. Reeve, The Transmission of Vegetius's 'Epitoma rei militaris', «Aevum», 74, 2000, pp. 243-354; Id. (ed.), Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2004 (ital. transl. of Vegetius: P. Flavio Vegezio Renato, L'arte della guerra romana, prefazione di Corrado Petrocelli, introduzione, traduzione e note di Marco Formisano, Milano, BUR, 2003).

Teaching methods

Classroom sessions (30 hours of lectures). The classroom sessions, in seminar form, will involve close teacher-student interaction . They will be organised in such a way as to allow this interaction to take place, with the distribution of texts in original language (with the transcription and translation together with the students - use of dictionary allowed in these sessions). The general notions provided by the reference bibliography will thus be assimilated with the reading of original-language and translated pages, with particular regard to the parts citing Classical authors and themes, either Latin or Greek. This may also be combined with the analysis of incunabula and ancient editions and, if necessary, with excursuses regarding textual criticism techniques (text constitution).

Assessment methods

The examination consists of an oral interview, the main aim of which  is to assess the acquisition of the knowledge specified in the course objectives (marks will be out of thirty). T he student will be deemed to have passed if he/she replies correctly to at least three questions on the main topics covered in the course (the candidate's level of knowledge may, however, be assessed with further questions on specific aspects of the main questions). The student will be allowed to submit a dissertation on one of the topics covered in the course, chosen at his/her discretion, to be delivered orally at the time of the examination. This work is personal, voluntary and not compulsory and does not substitute any part of the examination; if well delivered and argued, however, it will be assessed positively, as independent work. The aim of the oral interview, in fact, is to assess the critical and methodological skills developed by the student, who will also be tested (comprehension and translation) on personal work on the original texts. The student's ability to orient him/her self within the texts, not only to identify useful information for illustrating aspects of the culture and philological techniques of the time, but also (and above all) to create a critical text starting from the surviving evidence, will be viewed particularly favourably. In the marking in the assessment, the following aspects, taken all together, will be considered worthy of distinction: the  apprehension of an organic view of the topics covered in the lectures and their critical use, the use of philological tools and textual criticism skills. Gaps in learning and inappropriate language, even if related to a basic knowledge of the examination topic, will result in marks that will not amount to a pass. Gaps in learning, inappropriate language and a lack of orientation with regard to content and form will be viewed negatively. The oral will last an average of 30 minutes and the only texts allowed in the examination will be the letters in the original language (without the use of dictionaries). Practical Information. Students can book their oral examination via the online Alma Esami system (for further information, visit the Website https://almaesami.unibo.it/almaesami/welcome.htm ). Examination sessions will be proposed throughout the academic year, for both internal and external students. Depending on the frequency of the sessions, the examination board reserves the right to set a maximum number of candidates for an oral examination. In any event, the maximum number of candidates for each examination date is ten. The lecturer will reply to e-mail messages of an urgent nature duly signed by the student and bearing the student's first name, surname and enrolment number. For explanations of topics illustrated in lectures and/or examination topics, the student is invited to make use of the lecturer's consultation times (posted on the lecturers' Website and displayed next to the lecturer's office door).

Teaching tools

Teaching material will be distributed and shown to students during classes to allow them to read original texts (at the end of the course, however, these texts, if subject to library copyright, will be withheld and replaced with typewritten transcriptions and  printed didactic material already published on the subject) . The theoretical discussion will be integrated with the analysis not only of these documents, but also of incunabula and original ancient editions   

Office hours

See the website of Anna Maranini