72438 - Social History of the Byzantine World (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course aims at conveying to the student the knowledge of mentality and values of the Byzantine society, as well as the evolution of its social structure and features of its economic life (landscape and settlements, money, factors of production, distribution and consumption). At the end of the course the students is able to contextualize critically the acquired notions in the framework of the socio-economic history of late antique and medieval Mediterranean. He is able to read specialised literature in at least one foreign language.

Course contents

The course will be divided into two parts:

A) general part dedicated to a historical introduction to the Byzantine world (14 hours).

B) monographic part dedicated to the topic: Magic, magical objects, and exorcisms in the late antique and Byzantine world (16 hours).

 

A) General part:

It consists of a brief introduction to the key aspects of the Byzantine world. Designed as a preparatory unit for the contents of the monographic part, it will focus particularly on themes concerning political ideology, mentality, religion and social values.

 

B) Monographic part:

Magic, in its essence, is the ability to influence divinity, nature, or the will of humans through words, objects, formulas, or rituals. A socio-religious practice known in all ancient and pre-modern societies, magic lends itself to being studied from multiple perspectives and fields. This course will primarily concentrate on the religious and cultural content of exorcisms, which are the incantations used by a person with sacred power to drive away malevolent forces or resolve a negative situation for a specific community. The theme will be addressed through reading, analysis, and commentary on a series of written and visual testimonies related to the magical realm.

Readings/Bibliography

1) Introductory part

Reading is required of:

― Georg Ostrogorsky, Storia dell'impero bizantino, It. trans. Turin 1968 (or following editions).

 

2) Monographic part:

— V. A. Foskolou, “The Magic of the Written Word: The Evidence of Inscriptions on Byzantine Magical Amulets”, in Deltion tes Christianikes Archaiologikes Etaireias (Δελτίον της Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας) 35 (2014), pp. 329-348.

— Arja Karivieri, “Magic and Syncretistic Religious Culture in the East”, in D. Gwynn, S. Bangert (eds.), Religious Diversity in Late Antiquity (Late Antique Archaeology, 6), Leiden-Boston 2010, pp. 401-434.

— John G. Gager, Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World, New York – Oxford 1992, pp. 3-41.

— G. Bevilacqua, S. Giannobile, “ ‘Magia’ rurale siciliana: iscrizioni di Noto e Modica”, in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 133 (2000), pp. 135-146.

 

P.S. Non-attending students are required to read:

― F. Graf, Magic in the Ancient World, Engl. transl. London 1997.

 

Teaching methods

The first part of the course is designed as a series of traditional lectures in which the lecturer will present, with the aid of PowerPoint images, the salient developments of the Byzantine Empire from the foundation of Constantinople to its conquest by the Ottomans. The second part, on the other hand, is organised in seminar mode; in it the lecturer will read and translate documents in the original language, trying to stimulate students towards an understanding (and discussion) of the methodological and terminological aspects of historical research.

 

P.S. Foreign students wishing to follow the course are required to have a knowledge of Italian of at least level B 2.

Assessment methods

Passing the examination requires an oral test.

It consists of assessing the knowledge related to both the general part and the monographic part.

 

The final grade for the exam is determined by the following scores: maximum 14/30 for part A) the general section of the course, and maximum 16/30 for part B) the monographic section of the course.

 

Teaching tools

― Translations of sources

― distribution of photocopies

― power-point presentations.

Office hours

See the website of Salvatore Cosentino