29685 - Greek Historiography (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will have specific scientific research training in the field of Greek historiography of the Classical and Hellenistic age. They will know the essential features of ancient historiography and, in particular, those of the Greek one over the Classical and Hellenistic age. They will know and will be able to use research methods and tools. They will be able to have oral presentations by using proper registers and techniques; they will be able to critically evaluate different cultures. They will be able to update their knowledge through the tools developed by the scientific community.

Course contents

 

Historiography and Theatre in the Classical Age

 

The first part of the course (12 hours) will be devoted to the presentation of Greek historians of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, through the reading of notable passages from their works.

The second part (18 hours) will analyse specific themes present in the works of historiography as well as in the fifth-century dramatists, who represent on the stage "l'eco della politica (e della storia) dopo che è stata realizzata e il pre-sentimento della politica non ancora compiuta" (Quoted by Anna Beltrametti; italics mine).

The following topics will be analysed:

violence and revenge

The loimos in the polis

the role and form of laws

autochthony

criticism of power

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students will study

- M. Bettalli (ed.), Introduzione alla storiografia greca, Carocci, Roma 2009 (second edition): only the parts indicated by the teacher in class

- D. Amendola - A. Magnetto - E. Rosamilia - J. Thornton, Le fonti per lo studio della storia ellenistica, in M. Mari (ed.), L’età ellenistica. Società, politica, cultura, Roma 2019, 211-236.

-  C. Bearzot, Cittadinanza e autoctonia: un mito di uguaglianza, in C. Bearzot, I Greci e gli altri. Convivenza e integrazione, Salerno editrice, Roma 2019, pp. 47-53.

- A. Beltrametti, Pensare, raccontare e rappresentare la violenza. Anche questo abbiamo imparato dai Greci?, "Quaderni di Storia" 60, 2004, pp. 5-45.

- D. Musti, Demokratía. Origini di un'idea, Bari 1997 (I ediz. riv.), pp. 19-53.

- C. Pelling, Aeschylus'Persae and History, in C. Pelling (ed.), Greek Tragedy and the Historian, Oxford 1997, 217-268

- L. Spina, Il trapianto del trauma: la memoria condivisa del male, in "Quaderni del Ramo d'Oro on-line" 2, 2009, pp. 192-203 (http:/www.qro.unisi.it/frontend/node/53).

The volumes from which these contributions are taken will be available for consultation in the library of the Ancient History section of the Department or online.

Sources will be provided by the teacher with translation; nevertheless knowledge of Greek is strongly recommended.

Students who are not going to attend the classes will follow this program:

In addition to the readings mentioned above:

- Greek translation of the entire Book II of Thucydides, (eds. P. Rosa - R. Tosi, Santarcangelo di Romagna 2016)

- Greek translation of Aeschylus, The Suppliants (it is possible to use one of the commercially available editions)

- M.E. De Luna, La comunicazione linguistica fra alloglotti, Pisa 2003 (Chap. about Herodotus, Thucydides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides)

ps The reading of  D. Musti, Demokratía. Origini di un'idea, Bari 1997 (I ediz. riv.) will be complete

Teaching methods

The course is mainly taught through lectures, with discussions on the sources and the teaching material.

Assessment methods

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

The final exam is oral and develops through the knowledge assessment of the handbook firstly, and of the monograph secondly – the latter through questions about both the lectures topics and the textbooks. Also, the Greek original texts knowledge will be examined

If the student achieves a complete and detailed vision of the topics discussed in class and required for the discipline, provides an effective critical commentary, shows mastery of expression and of the specific language, he obtains excellence in the evaluation (28-30L).

Those students who demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the main topics of the subject, basic analytical ability and ability to synthesize, and a correct command of the language, will be given a good mark (25-27).

Those students who demonstrate a mnemonic (and/or non-exhaustive) knowledge of the subject with a more superficial analytical ability and ability to synthesize, a correct command of the language but not always appropriate, will be given a satisfactory mark (22-24).

A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability that is not always appropriate will be rewarded with a ‘pass’ mark (18-21).

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology (< 18).

Teaching tools

PDF documents and research material from specialised websites will be provided

Office hours

See the website of Maria Elena De Luna