Learning outcomes of the course unit
The first Unit of the course allows students to acquire a general knowledge of the political, social, and institutional history of the Greek world from the archaic age to the beginning of the Hellenistic period. At the same time, it aims at providing them with the basic critical and methodological tools necessary for reading and understanding the different types of sources.
The second Unit of the course, of monographic character, aims at showing how one can construct a research about a specific topic – a topic that may also be broad enough to involve a fruitful interaction between different kinds of sources and the different aspects of the historical reality. In this Unit students are urged to a more active participation, so that in addition to acquiring knowledge and understanding, they can apply these competences to definite topics and develop their capacity for independent judgment as well as their communication skills.
Prerequisites
No particular prerequisite is asked for, but for a good general preparation given in the secondary schools in historical disciplines.
Course contents summary
The course of Greek History will be divided into two Units: the first one will focus on the basics, while the second one will consist of in-depth analyses.
Unit of basic knowledge (6 credits = 36 hours, comprehensive of frontal lessons and tutorials): February, 16th – March, 24th 2016.
This Unit, which has a preparatory and methodological character, will serve as an introduction to the history of the ancient Greek World, from the early archaic period to the death of Alexander the Great (ca. 800-323 BCE). Through the study of several translated literary and epigraphic texts and a few figurative documents, the teacher will illustrate: a) the sources, research tools, and methodologies which allow us to reconstruct the history of archaic and classical Greece; b) the broad lines of the history of Greek historiography; c) some of the main political, social, and economic issues of the pre-hellenistic Greek world.
Unit of in-depth knowledge (6 credits = 36 hours, comprehensive of frontal lessons and tutorials): April, 12th – May, 19th 2016.
This Unit, whose title is "Politics and Society at Sparta: between tradition and innovation", will be dedicated, in a first part, to the exposition of the peculiar political and social organization of the Spartan State. In the second part the teacher will illustrate, through the portraits of a few outstanding Spartan figures (the king Cleomenes I, Pausanias the Regent, the generals Brasidas and Lysander, the kings Agis IV and Cleomenes III), the tension which is characteristic of many phases of Spartan history, from the late archaic age to the early Hellenistic period, between the force of the tradition and the pushes for reform and innovation.
Recommended readings
Unit of basic knowledge.
Students will prepare this Unit on the following material:
1. M. CORSARO – L. GALLO, "Storia greca", Firenze, Le Monnier Università, 2010 (to be studied with the support of a good historical atlas);
2. the topics dealt with and the sources read in class (the teacher will upload this material by the beginning of the course on https://didattica.unipr.it).
Students who can not attend classes will prepare for the exam the following program:
1. M. CORSARO – L. GALLO, "Storia greca", Firenze, Le Monnier Università, 2010;
2. M. BETTALLI (ed.), Introduzione alla storiografia greca, nuova edizione, Roma, Carocci editore, 2009 (limitatamente alle pp. 1-154).
Unit of in-depth knowledge.
Students will prepare this Unit on the following material:
1. E. LÉVY, "Sparta. Storia politica e sociale fino alla conquista romana", trad. it., Lecce, Ed. Argo, 2006;
2. the topics dealt with and the sources read in class (the teacher will upload this material by the beginning of the course on https://didattica.unipr.it).
Students who can not attend classes will prepare for the exam the following program:
1. E. LÉVY, "Sparta. Storia politica e sociale fino alla conquista romana", trad. it., Lecce, Ed. Argo, 2006;
2. PLUTARCH, "Life of Lysander". The recommended editions are the following:
- Plutarco, "Le Vite di Lisandro e di Silla", ed. by M.G. Angeli Bertinelli, M. Manfredini, L. Piccirilli, . Pisani, Milano, Fondazione Lorenzo Valla-Mondadori, 1997 (with introduction, Italian translation and detailed commentary);
- Plutarco, "Vite parallele. Lisandro e Silla", ed. by L. Canfora e F. Muccioli, Milano, Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, 2001 (with introduction, Italian translation and notes).
Teaching methods
Teaching will consist mainly of frontal lessons (not less than 30 hours), integrated with practice and training activities. These activities will consist of visits to the libraries, in order to directly consult collections of sources and bibliographical as well as research tools, and of workshops with small groups of more actively involved students, aimed at the close analysis of literary and epigraphic texts.
Assessment methods and criteria
Learning assessment will consist of an oral examination. Tests are not planned during the course, but the final grading will duly take into account the level of participation of the students, including training activities and workshops. In the final oral test, questions will aim at ascertaining that students, as a minimum requirement to pass the exam, master the basic knowledge of the historical development of the Greek world from the archaic age to the Hellenistic period and the main research tools, while showing the capacity to set the evidence studied in class in its proper context and find their way, with significant self-confidence, among the sources and texts pertaining to the in-depth monographic Unit.
