Course teached as: B027595 - STORIA DELLA TARDA ANTICHITA'- EPIGRAFIA E STORIA ROMANA Second Cycle Degree in ANCIENT PHILOLOGY, LITERATURES AND HISTORY Curriculum STORICO
Teaching Language
Italian
Course Content
The course is divided into two parts, functional to the students' curricula. G.A. Cecconi will teach for the I: "Cassiodorus and the Roman Past". After an in-depth general historiographical and institutional introduction on the late antique age (III-VI cent.AD), which will guarantee students a good conceptual basis, the analysis on the "Caesars" will be held. Part II (EPIGRAPHY AND ROMAN HISTORY), reserved to the students of the historical curriculum, will be held by C. Slavich
For the first part (History of Late Antiquity), the following readings are required:
A) An handbook: L. De Salvo - C. Neri (edited by), "Storia di Roma. L'età tardoantica (III-VI secolo d.C.)", 2 volumes, Ed. Jouvence, Rome 2010
alternatively:
A1) The reading of ONE essay of your choice among the following essays, founding, or useful for, the late antique debate (these essays can be found in the library when no longer in commerce): P. Brown, Il mondo tardoantico, Torino 1974; P. Chuvin, Cronaca degli ultimi pagani, Brescia 2012; S. Mazzarino, La fine del mondo antico, Milano 1995; A. Momigliano, a cura di, "Il mondo tardoantico", Torino 1974; P. Chuvin, Cronaca degli ultimi pagani, Brescia 2012; S. Mazzarino, La fine del mondo antico, Milano 1995; A. Momigliano, a cura di, "La fine del mondo antico", Milano 1995. Momigliano, a cura di, Il conflitto tra paganesimo e cristianesimo nel secolo IV, Torino 1967; D. Vera, ed., La società del bassi impero. Guida storica e critica, Roma-Bari 1983; B. Ward-Perkins, La caduta di Roma e la fine della civiltà, Roma-Bari 2008;
alternatively:
5 short essays to be chosen among the portraits of great scholars of late antiquity in the volume The New Late Antiquity (edited by C. Ando and M. Formisano), Winter, Heidelberg 2021.
Required is:
B) - S. BARNISH (ed.), Cassiodorus: Variae. Selected letters, Liverpool - Introduction, pp. IX-LIII
C) - G. ZECCHINI, Ricerche di storiografia latina tardoantica voll. 1 e 2 (Roma 19923 e 2011): the papers on sixth century historiography
Useful (optional) in-depth studies will be indicated to the students with articles and additional bibliography that the teacher, if possible, will upload on the emoodle platform during the lesson period.
The Cassiodorean texts or those of other authors that will be read in class and checked will be uploaded by the teacher on the emoodle platform or suggested by him during the lessons.
PART II (Epigraphy and Roman history): A. Buonopane, Manuale di epigrafia latina, ed. Carocci, Roma 2009 (students are strongly advised to have it at hand during class). Further readings will be uploaded on the Moodle platform.
Learning Objectives
I PART
With reference to content and method, the educational objectives and the more strictly scientific and didactic part of the declaratory of the course of studies in Philology, Literature and History of Antiquity, the lessons will provide the course participants with the following information: - the ability to orient themselves on the main problems related to the very notion of late antiquity and concerned debate; a general knowledge of the social and political-institutional context of late antiquity and also of the figure of Cassiodorus - to develop autonomy of judgement within the historical and historiographical problems, and also methodological skill to understand, contextualize and evaluate the sources and historiographical passages examined in class.
II PART
See what has been indicated by teacher C. Slavich.
Prerequisites
The course is primarily intended for students of philology, literature and history of antiquity. For the I PART, it requires a good basic knowledge of Roman history, and in particular of the history of the Roman Empire from Augustus to the barbarian migrations of the fifth century. It should be useful that students attending the course refresh such previous knowledge.
Teaching Methods
For the first part, the teacher intends to develop in the students, consistently with the specific training objectives, critical skills in the analysis of sources, mastery of the main lines of historiographical debate, knowledge of relevant aspects of late antiquity. To this goal, the lessons, within the limits allowed by the evolution of Covid 19, will take place with the help of both information technology and power point, as well as handouts or document files. A part of the materials will be made usable by drawing on the emoodle platform. The lessons, while maintaining the nature of frontal lessons, will encourage discussion and will also have a seminar character.
PART II (C. Slavich): translation in progress, hang on...
Further information
Regular and active participation in the lessons is strongly recommended, whether in attendance or at a distance. Students are strongly encouraged to ask the teacher any questions they may have in order to establish a fruitful dialogue, resolve doubts and uncertainties and satisfy their curiosity.
PART II: up to four hours of practice sessions will be scheduled each week throughout the duration of the course. Participation is voluntary.
Type of Assessment
The final exam consists of an oral test (without the help of notes or books, of course).
PART I
The teacher, or other member of the examination committee, will urge candidates to set up an exposition on a historical question or a set of interconnected data in order to ascertain whether and how, qualitatively corresponding to the progress of their studies (second level of the training course), they have acquired the ability to understand and use knowledge, and whether and how they demonstrate communication and lexical skills in the discussion of problems, historiographic methods, events and processes of late antiquity history, with regard to the topics explained and the documents examined during the course and following the planned reference readings. Particular attention will be paid to the student's ability to contextualize on a spatio-temporal level and to critically analyze the general aspects, or more specific aspects dealt with during the course. Should the class agree that a part of the hourly monte-ore is dedicated to the presentation of specific written or oral reports on topics related to the main topics dealt with, the students who will engage in this exercise will have a lower load of reference readings.
PART II
The following pattern of conducting the examination has been prepared, with the agreement of Prof. Cecconi, by Dr. Carlo Slavich, de facto holder of the Epigraphy and Roman History module: [translation in progress, hang on...]
Course program
PART I- HISTORY OF LATE ANTIQUITY (CASSIODORUS AND THE ROMAN PAST)
Preliminary considerations on the historiographical notion of late antiquity. Its genesis and development. Succinct review of the major institutional, social and evenemential lines, from the 4th to the 6th century, in the West and East. After these lessons useful to provide the conceptual framework and the general historical grid, the in-depth studies will focus on the reading and commentary of the Cassiodorus' texts, Cassiodorus on whose figure we will also dwell extensively. Historiographical contributions will be read and discussed.
II PART EPIGRAPHY AND ROMAN HISTORY:
It will be inserted by the teacher as soon as possible