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 is  articulated in two parts:

A) a general part devoted to an historical introduction to the Byzantine world (10 hours).

B) a monographic part devoted to: La magia a Bisanzio: gli oggetti, le immagini e le parole (20 ore)

 

Part A): Introduction to the Byzantine world

This part of the course consists of an introduction to the salient aspects of the Byzantine world. Being conceived as a propaedeutic unit to the contents of the monographic part, it will be focusing particularly on themes concerning political ideology, monasticism, social values, and economy.

 

Part B): Magic in Byzantium: the objects, the images and the words

Magic in its essence is the ability to influence the natural forces or the will of men through words, things, formulas or rituals. A socio-religious practice known to all ancient and pre-modern societies, magic lends itself to being studied from multiple points of view and areas. This course will focus mainly on the prophylactic meaning of objects, such as gems, amulets, foils, rings, necklaces and inscriptions (throughout a period stretching from the fourth to the seventh centuries) trying to examine them not only as artifacts per se, but as social markers of beliefs and mental attitudes imbued with strong interculturality and refractory to any religious orthodoxy.

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

General Part A)

Mandatory reading of the following texts is required:

- Entry, "Bizantino impero", by A. Carile, in Grande Dizionario Enciclopedico UTET, III, Torino 1985, pp. 394-405.

- G. Cavallo, L'uomo bizantino, Roma-Bari 1992.

 

Monographic Part B)

 Introductory reading:

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

 

The reading of at least four of the following essays (chosen by the student) is  required:

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

— S. Giannobile, “Malanni fisici e malanni spirituali nelle iscrizioni magiche tardoantiche”, in R. Marino, C. Molè, A. Pinzone (a cura), Poveri ammalati e ammalati poveri. Dinamiche socio-economiche, trasformazioni culturali e misure assistenziali nell’Occidente romano in età tardoantica, Catania 2006, pp. 335-363.

— — H. J. Magoulias, “The Lives of Byzantine Saints as Sources for the History of Magic in the Sixth and Seventh Centuries A.D.: Sorcery, Relics and Icons,” Byzantion 37 (1967), pp. 228-269.

— J. Russell, “The Archaeological Context of Magic in the Early Byzantine Period”, in H. Maguire, Byzantine Magic, Washington DC 1995, pp. 35-50.

— C. Sfameni, “Magic in Late Antiquity: the evidence of magical gems”, in D. Gwynn, S. Bangert (eds.) Religious Diversity in Late Antiquity (Late Antique Archaeology, 6), Leiden 2010, pp. 435-473.

— G. Vikan, “Art, Medicine, and Magic in Early Byzantium”, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 38 (1984), pp. 65-86.

 

N.B. For non-attending students the following reading is also recommanded:

— F. Graf, La magia nel mondo antico, trad. it. Roma-Bari 2009 (ed. orig. 1994).

 

Teaching methods

The course is organized as a seminar; during it, the teacher will translate and comment upon some sources (mainly in Greek). Attendance to it is therefore highly recommended.

 

P.S. Foreign students who wish to enroll in the course must have an Italian knowledge of at least level B 2.

Assessment methods

Passing the exam requires a paper and an oral exam.

- paperwork: consists of a paper (12-15 pages long, excluding bibliography: page layout: side margins 2 cm, margins at the top and bottom: 2.5 cm, body font 12, line spacing 2) to be delivered to the teacher as an e-mail attachment one week before the date of the oral exam. Paperwork aims at verifying the skills and concepts learned by the student during part B (monographic) of the course.

- oral exam: it consists in the assessment of the notions related to part A of the course (general) and in a discussion of the contents of the paperwork related to the part B of the course (monographic).

The final evaluation for passing the exam is determined by the following scores: 10/30 for part A; 20/30 for part B.

Teaching tools

- Translation of written sources.

- Distribution of photocopies.

- Powerpoint presentations.

Office hours

See the website of Salvatore Cosentino