Production, Transmission and Reception of Ancient and Medieval Texts
Code: 44059 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4313137 Prehistory, Antiquity and the Middle Ages | OT | 0 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Cándida Ferrero Hernández
- Email:
- Candida.Ferrero@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
Teachers
- Agustí Alemany Vilamajó
- Oscar Luis de la Cruz Palma
- Jordi Pàmias Massana
Prerequisites
Previous studies in History, Archeology, Classical Studies or other official degree of the field of Arts and Humanities or Social and Legal Sciences.
Objectives and Contextualisation
Competences
- Correctly present historical research results orally or in writing.
- Critically analyse the theoretical and methodological standpoints that have guided research in prehistory, ancient history and medieval history.
- Discuss and compare scientific opinions and issues in open academic debate.
- Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
- Organise, plan and manage research work.
- Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
- Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.
- Use the auxiliary philological sciences in the approach to textual sources related to specific periods and issues in ancient and medieval history.
- Use the typical categories and vocabulary used in research and dissemination of prehistory, antiquity, and the Middle Ages.
- Work in interdisciplinary teams.
Learning Outcomes
- Apply information from Greco-Latin texts to historico-archaeological research in the ancient and medieval world.
- Critically analyse the relation between literary, epigraphic and manuscript sources and their value as historical documents.
- Critically evaluate the value of the different tools needed for research in Greco-Latin Philology.
- Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
- Organise, plan and manage research work.
- Show familiarity with the specific technical vocabulary of the auxiliary philological sciences.
- Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
- Systematise data from texts and data from scientific tradition orally and in writing.
- Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.
- Work in interdisciplinary teams.
Content
The module, Production, Transmission and Reception of Ancient and Medieval Texts, is integrated by four specific parts that achieve several perspectives of research of the sphere of the Philologies, as a Auxiliary Sciences of the History.
1. Charter Myths: Myths as an Institutional and Religious Foundation
Prof. Jordi Pàmias
Sessions: February 18, 25 & March 4, 11
The aim of this course is to provide practical examples of the philological method being used as a source of a better understanding of some particular topics of Greek Civilization. Close reading and analysis of selected mythographic texts will be carried out. Their content will particularly concern institutional and religious aspectes of ancient Greece and special emphasis will be put on the continuity with second millenium BC institutions and religious notions.
2. The transmission of Ancient and Medieval sources on Central Eurasia
Prof. Agustí Alemany
Sessions: March 18, 25
The goal of these sessions is to introduce students to the problem of the production, transmission and reception of Ancient and Medieval sources –both from Classical and Eastern tradition– on Ancient and Medieval Central Eurasia. We will deal with [1] a brief historical and cultural background of Central Eurasia from the origins down to the Mongol period (about 8th c. B.C.–14th c. A.D.), [2] a survey of the main literary traditions which inform us about these regions and [3] some selected case studies in order to illustrate specific applications of the philological method to historical research.
3. Learn about Islam. Sources of information about Islam in the Middle Ages
Prof. Óscar de la Cruz
Sessions: April 8, 22, 29
Medieval Latin literature alludes to Islam for several reasons, especially with a willingness to refute. The objective is to observe some of the most relevanttopics about Islam and study its origin and dissemination. This review will lead us to locate a set of texts that inform the authors and those who are used in their anti-Islamic production.
4. Religious polemics. Sources for your study
Prof. Cándida Ferrero
Sessions: April 29 & Mai 6, 13
From late antiquity, the fathers of the Christian church built an effective religious discourse, first against pagans and Jews, later, against the various heresies that arose from Christianity, a category in which, in the Middle Ages, they also considered Islam. The formulation of controversies, and dialogues, had a strong patristic component in its beginnings, but, from s. XII, the Christians incorporated the scholastic hermeneutics of the Disputatio. On this premise, I will focus the sessions on studying concrete cases, through texts of different typology, such as conciliar canons, chronicles, sermons and treatises, which will serve to give a perspective of how Christianity elaborated and transmitted a rhetorical model of religious controversy that it became, in many cases, polemic, especially in moments of war confrontation, with arguments centered on the legitimation of territorial power and of history itself.
Methodology
The topics of this module are organized with a common methodology that is specified in:
Directed activities: theoretical classes, public presentation of works, text discussion seminars, study and discussion of documentary sources.
Supervised activities: tutorials and performance of guided learning exercises (individual or in small groups).
Autonomous activities: search of documentation, reading of texts, writing of works, study.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Theoretical and practical sessions | 36.5 | 1.46 | 2, 1, 3, 6, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Documentation work, readings, exercises | 36 | 1.44 | 2, 3, 6, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Personal study: specialized bibliography research. Final module work. | 73 | 2.92 | 2, 1, 3, 6, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9 |
Assessment
The assessment of the module will be made from the following items and scales:
1. Attendance and participation: documentation work, readings, exercises: Class attendance is COMPULSORY. Absences must be duly justified. 30%.
2. Writing an academic paper, under the supervision of a module teacher. 40%.
3. Dissertation of module work, a date will be set for the oral presentation of the work. The student body will have 15 minutes to defend the work before the faculty and in open session. 30%
The faculty will issue the FINAL NOTE based on the evaluation of these items and scales that intervene in the evaluation.
RECOVERY: Only written work can be recovered. The recovery will consist in the presentation of a new paper. The maximum note of the recovery will be a 5.
To qualify as "Not evaluable" it will be necessary that the minimum mark of the whole of the evaluation is equal to or less than 4 points.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTES
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student willbe given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance and participation: documentation work, readings, exercises | 30% | 1 | 0.04 | 2, 1, 6, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
| Dissertation of module work | 30% | 1.5 | 0.06 | 2, 1, 6, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9 |
| Writing an academic paper | 40% | 2 | 0.08 | 2, 1, 3, 6, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9 |
Bibliography
1. Charter Myths: Myths as an Institutional and Religious Foundation
Bremmer, J. (1997), “Myth as Propaganda: Athens and Sparta”, ZPE 117 (p. 9-17).
<pclass="xmsonormal">Fowler, R. L. (1998), “Genealogical Thinking, Hesiod’s Catalogue, and the Creationof the Hellenes”, PCPhS 44 (p. 1-19).
Gehrke, H.J (2001), “Myth, History, and Collective Identitiy: Uses of the Past in Ancient Greece and Beyond”, in Nino Luraghi (ed.), The Historian’s Craft in the Age of Herodotus, Oxford (p. 286-313).
—— [1994] (2011b), “Myth, History, Politics—Ancient and Modern”, in John Marincola (ed.), Greek and Roman Historiography. Oxford Readings in Classical Studies, Oxford (p. 40-71).
Hall, J.M. (1997), Ethnic Identitiy in Greek Antiquity, Cambridge.
Luraghi, N. (2008), The Ancient Messenians. Constructions of Ethnicity and Memory, Cambridge & New York.
Vansina, J. (1985), Oral Tradition as History, Madison.
2. The transmission of Ancient and Medieval sources on Central Eurasia
Bretschneider, E. (1937). Mediaeval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources. Fragments towards the Knowledge of the Geography and History of Central and Western Asia from the 13th to the 17th Century, i-ii. London.
Coedès, G. (1910), Textes des auteurs grecs et latins relatifs à l’Extrême-Orient depuis le IVe siècle av. J.-C. jusqu’au xive siècle. Paris (reimp. Chicago 1979).
Göckenjan, H.–Zimonyi, I. (2001), Orientalische Berichte über die Völker Osteuropas und Zentralasiens im Mittelalter. Die Ǧayhanī-Tradition. Wiesbaden.
Harmatta, J. (1979), Prolegomena to the Sources on the History of Pre-Islamic Central Asia. Budapest.
-------(1984), From Hecataeus to al-Huwarizmi: Bactrian, Pahlavi, Sogdian, Persian, Sanskrit, Syriac, Arabic, Chinese, Greek and Latin Sources for the History of Pre-Islamic Central Asia. Budapest.
-------(1990), From Alexander the Great to Kül Tegin: Studies in Bactrian, Pahlavi, Sanskrit, Arabic, Aramaic, Armenian, Chinese, Türk, Greek and Latin Sources for the History of Pre-Islamic Central Asia. Budapest.
Hennig, R. (1938-50), Terrae Incognitae. Eine Zusammenstellung und kritische Bewertung der wichtigsten vorkolumbischen Entdeckungsreisen an Hand der darüber vorliegenden Originalberichte, i-iv. Leiden.
Hirth, F. (1885), China and the Roman Orient. Shanghai-Hong Kong (reimp. Chicago 1975).
Hulsewé, A.F.P.–Ban, G.–Loewe, M. (1979), China in Central Asia: The Early Stage, 125 b.c.-a.d. 23. An Annotated Translation of Chapters 61 and 96 of The History of the Former Han Dynasty. Leiden.
Humbach, H.–Ziegler, S. (1998), Ptolemy. Geography, Book 6: Middle East, Central and North Asia, China. Wiesbaden 1998.
Leslie, D.D.–Gardiner, K.H.J. (1996), The Roman Empire in Chinese Sources. Roma.
Lindegger, P. (1979-93), Griechische und römische Quellen zum Peripheren Tibet, i-iii (Opuscula Tibetana, fascicles 10, 14,22). Rikon, Zürich.
Minorsky, V. (1937), Ḥudūd al-‘ālam “The Regions of the World”. A Persian Geography. Oxford.
Moravcsik, Gy.(19583), Byzantinoturcica i. Die byzantinischen Quellen der Geschichte der Türkvölker. ii. Sprachreste der Türkvölker in den byzantinischen Quellen. Berlín (reimp. Leiden 1983).
Schmidt, M.G. (1999), Die Nebenüberlieferung des 6. Buchs der Geographie des Ptolemaios. Griechische, lateinische, syrische, armenische und arabische Texte. Wiesbaden.
Yule, H.–Cordier, H.(1913-162), Cathay and the Way Thither: being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China, i-iv. London (reimp. Taipei 1972).
3. Learn about Islam. Sources of information about Islam in the Middle Ages
Abumalham, M. (ed.) (2005), Textos fundamentales de la tradición religiosa islámica, Madrid.
Burman Th. E. (2007), Reading the Qur’ān in Latin Christendom, 1140-1560, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Daniel, N. (1993), Islam and the West. The Making of an Image, Edinburgh, 1960 [trad. francesa de A. Spiess, Islam et Occident, Paris].
Di Cesare, M. (2012), The pseudo-historical Image of the Prophet Muḥammad in medieval Latin Literature: a repertory, col. “Studien zur Geschichte und Kurtur des islamischen Orients” n. 26, Berlin-Boston.
Ducellier, A. (1996), Chrétiens d'Orient et Islam au Moyen Age VIIe-XVe siècle, Paris.
González Muñoz, F. (2015), Mahometrica. Ficciones poéticas latinas del siglo XII sobre Mahoma, Madrid: CSIC, col. “Nueva Roma” n. 42.
Maíllo Salgado, F. (2008), De historiografíaárabe, Madrid.
Maíllo Salgado, F. (2013), Diccionario de historia árabe e islámica, Madrid.
Martínez Gázquez, J. (2016), The Attitude of the Medieval LatinTranslators Towards the Arabic Sciences, Firenze: Sismel col. “Micrologus” n. 75.
Sénac, Ph. (1983), L'image de l'autre. Histoire de l'Occident médiéval face à l'Islam, Paris, (reed. L'Occident médiéval face à l'Islam. L'image de l'autre, Paris, 2000).
Southern, R. W. (1962), Western Views of Islam in the Middle Ages, Cambridge.
Tolan,J.V. (ed.) (1996), Medieval Christian perceptions of Islam, Routledge-New York-London.
Tolan, J.V. (2002), Saracens. Islam in the Medieval European Imagination, Columbia Univ. Press, New York.
4. Religious polemics. Sources for your study
Cardelle de Hartman, C. (2007), Lateinische Dialoge, 1200-1400: Literaturhistorische Studie Und Repertorium, Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Colominas Aparicio, M. (2018). The religious polemics of the Muslims of late medieval christian Iberia: identity and religious authority in Mudejar Islam. Leiden-Boston: Brill.
Ferrero Hernández, C. – Jones, L.G. (2020). Propaganda and (un)covered identities in treatises and sermons: Christians, Jews,and Muslims in the premodern Mediterranean, Bellaterra: Servei de publicacions UAB.
Jones Linda Gale (2012), The Power of Oratory in the Medieval Muslim World, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Martínez Gázquez J.- Tolan, J.V. (2013), RITVS INFIDELIVM: Miradas interconfesionales sobre las prácticas religiosas en la Edad Media, Madrid: Casa de Velázquez.
Nirenberg David (2014), Neighboring Faiths: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in the Middle Ages and Today, Chicago: University of Chicago.
Novikoff, A.J. (2013), The Medieval Culture of Disputation: Pedagogy, Practice, and Performance, Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press.
Santiago-Otero, H. (1994), Diálogo filosófico-religioso entre Cristianismo, Judaísmo e Islamismo durante la Edad Media en la Península Ibérica, Turnhout: Brepols.
Szpiech Ryan (2015), Medieval Exegesis and Religious Difference. Commentary, Conflict,and Community in the Premodern Mediterranean, New York: Fordham University Press.