12998 - Ancient Historiography (1)

Academic Year 2019/2020

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in History (cod. 0962)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student knows the essential outlines of ancient historiography. He can analyse, explain and contextualise literary texts with historical knowledge of original sources. He is able to read texts and to define issues and significant problems in the field of ancient historiography.

Course contents

The course will be structured in three parts:

1. Introduction (3 hours):

1.1. Discipline’s object and methods (sources, databases, bibliographies)

1.2. Interactions between Greek and Roman historiography: models and innovations; historical convergences and historiographical analysis.

2. Contents and methodological choices in Greek and Roman historiography (from the origins to the 2nd century AD), through the following select authors:

2.1. Hecataeus of Miletus and the origins of Greek historiography; Herodotus; Thucydides; Xenophon; Polybius; Diodor; Dionysius of Halicarnassus; Plutarch; Pausanias (10 hours)

2.2. Quintus Fabius Pictor and the origins of Roman historiography; Sallust; Caesar; Livy; Tacitus; Suetonius (7 hours)

3. Seminar «The Greece “of the past” in the Age of Antonines: history, monuments, traditional tales, cults in the Pausanias’ Periegesis » (10 hours)

 

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students will have to study:

  1. For the problems and sources discussed in class: the lesson notes and documents distributed by the teacher
  2. Select chapters (assigned by the teacher at first lesson) from D. Ambaglio, Storia della storiografia greca, Bologna, Monduzzi, 2009, or M. Bettalli (ed.), Introduzione alla storiografia greca, new edition, Roma, Carocci 2009
  3. Select chapters (assigned by the teacher at first lesson) from M. Manca, F. Rohr Vio, Introduzione alla storiografia romana, Carocci 2010
  4. R. Vattuone, Le fonti letterarie, in G. Poma (ed.), Le fonti per la storia antica, Bologna, Il Mulino 2008, 115-139
  5. A selection of texts from G. Squillace, Memorie di Clio. Fonti per lo studio della storia greca dell'età micenea all’Ellenismo, Utet università, Torino 2019

Non-attending students will have to study:

  1. D. Ambaglio, Storia della storiografia greca, Bologna, Monduzzi 2009 oppure M. Bettalli (a cura di), Introduzione alla storiografia greca, n. ediz., Roma, Carocci 2009 (in its entirety).
  2. M. Manca, F. Rohr Vio, Introduzione alla storiografia romana, Carocci 2010 (in its entirety).
  3. P. Tuci, Le fonti letterarie greche, in La storia antica. Metodi e fonti per lo studio, Bologna, Il Mulino 2016, 131-156
  4. E. Alcock, J.F. Cherry and J. Elsner (eds), Pausanias: Travel and Memory in Roman Greece, Oxford University Press 2001.
  5. M.E. De Luna, Arkadika. Testimonianze e Frammenti, Tivoli-Tored 2017, Appendice 2, pp. 279-304.
  6. M. E. De Luna, Il mito di Enea da una prospettiva periferica: elementi della tradizione epica nella storia locale arcadica, in V. Foderà: Le tradizioni del Peloponneso fra epica e storiografia locale, Tivoli, Tored 2016, pp. 161-187.
  7. M. Moggi, Pausania e Roma (nota di lettura a VIII 27,1), Gerion, XX 2002/1, pp. 435-449.

Teaching methods

Lectures. Seminar discussions.

Assessment methods

Oral examination will check the student’s knowledge and understanding of:

a) the topics and texts discussed in class; b) the parts of the handbooks of Greek and Latin Historiography indicated by the teacher (see above); c) the studies listed above.

Attending students will be requested to answer five questions:

  1. A question on the handbook of Greek historiography cited above
  2. A question on the handbook of Roman historiography
  3. A question on the paper cited above (n. 4)
  4. A question about the selection of texts (n. 5)
  5. A question on the seminar part

Non-attending students will be requested to answer seven questions:

  1. A question on the handbook of Greek historiography cited above;
  2. A question on the handbook of Roman historiography cited above;
  3. A question on each of the five texts cited above (nn. 3-7);

In the oral exam questions will be aimed at testing the student's ability in exposing with an appropriate language issues rising from the teaching material, as well as his/her skills in making connections between different texts in order to build an argument.

Proper language and the ability to critically speak about the original texts and books' content will lead to a good/excellent final grade.

Acceptable language and the ability to resume the books' content and class discussion on the original sources will lead to a sufficient/fair grade.

Insufficient linguistic proficiency and fragmentary knowledge of the books' content and class discussion on the original sources will lead to a failure in passing the exam.

Teaching tools

Guide to the use of informatic tools for the study of the discipline. Bibliographic repertories, online databases.
Research's materials will be indicated in class and onpublished in IOL.

Office hours

See the website of Maria Elena De Luna

SDGs

Quality education

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