DSMB28 Memory and Past in the Ancient Greek World

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2021
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Manolis Pangalos, PhD (lecturer), doc. Mgr. Michal Habaj, PhD. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Michal Habaj, PhD.
Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Erlebachová
Supplier department: Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 16. 11. 16:00–19:40 A21, Fri 19. 11. 14:00–17:40 A21, Tue 23. 11. 16:00–19:40 A21, Fri 26. 11. 14:00–17:40 A21
Prerequisites
Basic overview of ancient Greek history. Basic knowledge of Ancient Greek is an advantage but not mandatory.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 15 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Knowledge of the past, or the construction of one, has a central role in our modern lives. Today, people ranging from political parties to mass media and beyond understand the power of the past and much discussion concerns the social and political construction of time. Similar workings took place in Classical antiquity. The past and its use are social and cultural forces, which is understood from early on in Greek history.
This module examines the significance of the past in the Greek world, introducing the students to recent scholarly discussions on social and collective memory and its application to ancient material. By using a variety of sources (literary, epigraphic, numismatic, and archaeological) it investigates the connections between identity formation, myth, politics and the past for ancient Greeks. How did the different poleis construct their past? What is the role of memory in politics? What can we learn from the primary sources when we consider the element of time? The seminar will look at imaginations of the past, ideas of history and tradition, origins, and representation. Students will be able to determine the social function of the past and the formative powers of memory in Ancient Greece, also relevant to modern societies.
Learning outcomes
- understand the primary current and historiographical developments in historical sciences with regard to themes, theory, and methodology
- gather, select and organise literature and source material independently, efficiently, and effectively, using the relevant bibliographical and IT skills
- formulate clear, relevant, and empirically testable and/or well-answerable research questions, bearing in mind the existing historiography (status quaestionis)
- critically analyse historical-scientific studies (and other research output) and textual, visual, material, audio-visual and quantitative sources
- write, present and defend a research proposal using the correct terminology with constant attention to style and argumentation, in line with the requirements of the historical sciences
- reflect on the contextual relevance of their own social and academic judgements and historical interpretations, as well as those of others
- exchange views with peers based on their own judgement in a critical and effective way
- communicate reliably, accurately and in the correct language, both orally and in writing, on research results within the historical sciences to an audience comprising specialists or non-specialists
Syllabus
  • Introduction: Collective Memory and the Classical Past
  • From Myth to Society: The Formation of Polis Ideology
  • History and Historiography as Evidence: Memory and Identity
  • Sources of Cultural Memory: Space, Time and Religion
  • Sources of Cultural Memory: Language and Narratives
  • From Memory to Commemoration: The Timeless Past
  • Conflicting Narratives, Remembering and Forgetting
  • Case Study: Hellenistic Athens
  • Case Study: From Achaia to Polybios
  • Retracing Motifs: The (Classical) Past and Contemporary Realities
Literature
    required literature
  • ASSMANN, Jan. Cultural memory and early civilization : writing, remembrance, and political imagination. 1st English ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, xii, 319. ISBN 9780521763813. info
  • CLARKE, Katherine. Making time for the past : local history and the polis. 1st pub. in pbk. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, xii, 408. ISBN 9780199694983. info
    recommended literature
  • CONSTANTAKOPOULOU, C. & FRAGOULAKI, M. (eds.) 2020. Shaping Memory in Ancient Greece: Poetry, Historiography, and Epigraphy, Histos Supplements 11. Newcastle: Histos. [Open Access: https://histos.org/SV11ShapingMemoryinAncientGreece.html]
  • Historical and religious memory in the ancient world. Edited by Beate Dignas - R. R. R. Smith. 1st pub. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012, xix, 338. ISBN 9780199572069. info
  • GRETHLEIN, Jonas. The Greeks and their past : poetry, oratory and history in the fifth century BCE. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, xii, 350. ISBN 9780521110778. info
  • POHL, W. & WIESER, V. (eds.) 2019. Historiography and Identity I: Ancient and Early Christian Narratives of Community. Turnhout: Brepols. [Open Access: https://www.brepolsonline.net/action/showBook?doi=10.1484%2FM.CELAMA-EB.5.116056&]
  • STEINBOCK, Bernd. Social memory in Athenian public discourse : uses and meanings of the past. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2013, xii, 411. ISBN 9780472118328. info
  • Archaeologies of memory. Edited by Ruth M. Van Dyke - Susan E. Alcock. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2003, xiv, 240. ISBN 063123585X. info
  • ALCOCK, S. E. 2002. Archaeologies of the Greek Past: Landscape, Monuments and Memory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • CASTAGNOLI, L. & CECCARELLI, P. (eds.) 2019. Greek Memories: Theories and Practices, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Ethnic constructs in antiquitythe role of power and tradition. Edited by Ton Derks - Nico Roymans. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2008, 344 p. ISBN 9789089640789. info
  • FOXHALL, L., GEHRKE, H.-J. & LURAGHI, N. (eds.) 2010. Intentional History: Spinning Time in Ancient Greece, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.
  • MAC SWEENEY, N. (ed) 2015. Foundation Myths in Ancient Societies: Dialogues and Discourses, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • MARINCOLA, J., LLEWELLYN-JONES, L. & MACIVER, C. (eds.) 2012. Greek Notions of the Past in the Archaic and Classical Eras: History without Historians, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • LORAUX, N. 1986. The Invention of Athens: The Funeral Oration in the Classical City, London: Harvard University Press.
  • POWNALL, F. A. 2003. Lessons from the Past: The Moral Use of History in Fourth-Century Prose, Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
  • THOMAS, R. 2019. Polis Histories, Collective Memories and the Greek World, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • YATES, D. C. 2019. States of Memory: The Polis, Panhellenism, and the Persian War, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Teaching methods
Lectures on theoretical/methodological concepts and historical examples;
Peer Learning Activities (PLA): Group work on primary sources;
Presentation of research topics;
Peer-review.
Assessment methods
The course evaluation is based on participation (10%), presentation (20%), peer-review (10%) and a final historical essay (60%).
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught only once.
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