- Docente: Giulio Iovine
- Credits: 6
- SSD: L-ANT/05
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
- Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in History and Oriental Studies (cod. 8845)
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from Sep 18, 2024 to Oct 25, 2024
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students know the methodological and practical problems originating from papyrological sources. They are able to decipher, transcribe, date the different kinds of papyrus texts and documents with methodological accuracy, and to use them for historical, philological and archaeological research. They are able to identify and decipher the various types of Latin script on soft material, and to trace their historical development. They can independently write an up-to-date commentary on texts, based on relevant parallels, bibliography and the historical or cultural context. They are able to use the most advanced methodologies and techniques, both traditional and digital, developed by the scientific community in different languages. Students will be aware of the relationship between Greek and Roman civilisation and other contemporary cultures of Egypt and the Near East; they will stress the importance of intercultural relations, and update their knowledge and methods of investigation through opportunities for comparison and learning appropriate to their abilities and inclinations.
Course contents
Course Contents
The main theme of the course is exploring the material presence of the Latin language (alphabet, words, complete texts). The course will survey evidence from papyri documents, ostrakon, and tablet produced in the Mediterranean basin from the 1st to 6th centuries AD, with a particular focus on Imperial Roman Egypt and Late Antique Egypt.
An essential criterion for attendance is the knowledge of ancient languages (Latin and Greek). It is desirable, although not necessary, for students to have attended or be attending at least one of Prof F. L. W. Reiter's courses (12870 - Papirologia; 39523 - Storia della scrittura e dei documenti papiracei; 75651 - Storia e cultura nei papiri).
Topics discussed in class will include:
- Why Latin is employed in the documents, where we find it, and what the scribe's grasp on the language is.
- The link between the use of Latin language and the practice of Roman law in the provinces.
- Scribal command of Latin language and script, and where/how scribes were taught.
- How Latin scripts evolved on the fringes of the Empire (especially if handled by non-native speakers) and in its center, including influences (or the lack thereof) from other alphabets.
- Linguistic policy, if there ever was such a thing, within the Roman state between the Early and Late Imperial periods.
The course will total 30 hours, divided between:
- Texts and contexts (ca. 20 hours): the professor will read a selection of original documents, elaborating on the context behind their production, circulation, and the historical circumstances in which they can be located.
- Reading exercises (ca. 10 hours): the professor will present students with a selection of Latin cursive writings (the Old and the New) using digital images. Students will then practice deciphering, transcribing and publishing Latin documents on papyrus.
The final distribution of hours in sections 1 and 2 may vary.
Readings/Bibliography
A) Mandatory Bibliography for Attending and Non-Attending Students.
- INDIVIDUAL LECTURE NOTES from class work (see 'Course contents, 1.);
- J. N. ADAMS, 'Latin in Egypt', in Id., Bilingualism and the Latin Language, Cambridge 2004, pp. 527-641;
- J. L. ALONSO, 'Juristic Papyrology and Roman Law', in P. J. Du PLESSIS - C. ANDO - K. TUORI (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Roman Law and Society, Oxford 2016, pp. 56-69;
- L. C. COLELLA, 'Gli accordi matrimoniali latini su papiro: aggiornamenti, considerazioni materiali e testuali, con osservazioni su PSI VI 730', Studi di Egittologia e Papirologia 18 (2021), pp. 67-84;
- J.-L. FOURNET, 'La pratique du Latin dans l’Égypte de l’Antiquité tardive’, in A. GARCEA - M. ROSELLINI - L. SILVANO (eds.), Latin in Byzantium I. Late Antiquity and Beyond, Turnhout 2019, pp. 73–91;
- A. GARCEA - M. C. SCAPPATICCIO, 'Per una geografia della circolazione letteraria in Egitto (V–VII s.): il contributo dei testi latini su papiro', Philologia Antiqua 12 (2019), pp. 37–50.
Non-attending students will be excused from reading item 1, and will instead read 5 additional articles/book chapters or a monograph approved by the professor (see 'Assessment Methods').
B) Bibliographical references for the reading exercises:
- G. CAVALLO, La scrittura greca e latina nei papiri. Una introduzione, Pisa-Roma 2008, pp. 141-190;
- G. CENCETTI, 'Note paleografiche sulla scrittura dei papiri latini dal I al III secolo D. C.', Atti della Accademia delle scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna. Rendiconti, s. 5 vol. 1 (1950), pp. 3-54;
- P. CHERUBINI - A. PRATESI, Paleografia latina. L'avventura grafica del mondo occidentale, Città del Vaticano 2010, pp. 29-158;
- A. PETRUCCI, Breve storia della scrittura latina, Roma 1992, pp. 21-71.
All the abovementioned material can be found on the Virtuale and IOL digital platforms together with several papers discussed during the course and further material for non-attending students.
Teaching methods
1) Lectures by the professor, where students will participate in analysis and discussion.
2) Reading exercises, where students are required to attempt to decipher ancient dopcuments in Latin script using practices taught in lectures.
It is the professor's prerogative:
- to invite further scholars and colleagues to enrich the content of the course.
- to propose further themes and case studies on the abovementioned topics.
Students will be given the prospective time-table of the seminar in the very first lesson; they will immediately be informed, should this time-table vary.
Assessment methods
Students who attend at least 25 hours of lessons will be considered attending. For attending students, the assessment will be based on regular attendance to the classes as well as an oral exam. This exam will be split in two parts:
- students will answer questions based on items 1-6 of part A of the 'Readings/Bibliography' section.
- students will demonstrate acquired skills in deciphering a Latin document on papyrus, ostrakon or tablet (using a digital or paper image) among those surveyed during the course. Students are welcome to improve their skills by consulting texts in part B of 'Readings/Bibliography' section.
Non-attending students will take an oral exam where they will answer questions on items 2-6 of part A of the 'Readings/Bibliography' section. They will also answer questions based on one additional volume or three additional articles/book chapters from the selection uploaded in Virtuale. Non-attending students must communicate their selection choice to the professor before they take the exam.
The assessment will be based on:
- the ability to comment on texts, i.e. the ability to identify, date, and contextualise the documents.
- mastery of content.
- the ability to synthesise and analyse issues and problems relating to texts.
- the ability to express oneself adequately and in the language appropriate to the subject matter.
Teaching tools
The lectures will be held using Powerpoint presentations. All texts presented and discussed in class, together with the PDF documents in the 'Readings/Bibliography' section, will be available on IOL and Virtuale.
Students who require specific services and adaptations to teaching activities due to a disability or specific learning disorders (SLD), must first contact the appropriate office: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students
Office hours
See the website of Giulio Iovine