What does an historian do?
What does an historian do?. Definition. What is history? History … is a form of discourse about the past that emphasizes critical analysis and interpretation, though historians disagree violently about how to use the evidence is usually presented in prose narrative
What does an historian do?
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Definition • What is history? • History … • is a form of discourse about the past that emphasizes critical analysis and interpretation, though historians disagree violently about how to use the evidence • is usually presented in prose narrative • claims to offer a trustworthy account of past events.
Tools: Primary sources – texts and archaeological remains • Written word: Alphabets (abecedarium), dialects • “Stuff” of philologists: texts • Prose • Historical – e.g, Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius, Livy • Philosophical – e.g., Plato, Arisototle, Cicero • Rhetorical – e.g., Demosthenes, Cicero • Poetic • Epic – e.g., Homer, Vergil • Epinician (victory) – e.g., Pindar • Lyric – odes and hymns: e.g., Horace • Dramatic – tragedies and comedies: e.g.,Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes
How would an historian use any of the following and with what cautions? • Homer’s Odyssey? • Herodotus’ Histories? • Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War? • Aeschylus’ Agamemnon? • Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannos? • Euripides’ Trojan Women? • Aristophanes’ Clouds? • Plato’s Symposium or Phaedo? • Livy’s History of Rome from the Foundation of the City? • Polybius’ Histories? • Cicero’s Against Verres I?
Historians’ tools: Primary sources – media • Papyrus(literature, 8th c.) • Parchment(pergamenum, literature, 3rdc.) • Stone(decrees, laws, epitaphs, honorifics, 7th c.) • Metal(bronze, lead: oracles, curse tablets) • Perishable materials(wood: correspondence)
Ancient historians’ methodology • Ancients and moderns do not use the same approach • Cause and effect was not applied systematically • “Great deeds by great men” the norm • Ancient historians focused on values and morals, politics and the affairs of the citizen
Modern historians’ methodology • Don’t reinvent the wheel – read scholarship before producing more • Ask questions • Interrogate evidence • Analyze evidence • Postulate solutions • Test solutions • Share with intellectual community • Receive feedback and critiques • Use comparative data and studies
My scholarly discipline: epigraphy, or the study of inscriptions • Definition • Purpose: read and interpret • Challenges: not all extant • Analogy: unfinished crossword puzzle • White spaces = missing letters • Clues = knowledge
Epigraphy: genres • Public: laws and lawcodes,treaties with other city-states,military operations, political andfiscal decrees, religious regulations,dedications to the gods, inventories, ballot-box tickets • Private: curses, epitaphs, letters, economic and marital contracts • Private and public: dedications
The epigrapher’s skill set • Linguistics • Cultural content • Stylistic formulae • Dialectal differences • Alphabetical variations • Difference between error and new knowledge • Understanding of the stonemason’s craft • Patience!
The epigrapher’s toolbox • Cameras • Raking light • Magnifying glass • Measurement scales • Eyesight and touching • GPS to calculate location • PCs/PDAs to record data
How would you restore it?What knowledge/skills would you employ?
A restored text … [Fo]ur sc[or]e a[n]d [se]venyears a[go o]ur [fa]thers b[ro]ugh[t f]or[t]h [on t]his [cont]inen[t a ne]w na[ti]- [o]n c[on]cei[ved] in [liber]ty [an]d ded[icate]d [to t]- [h]e [pro]posit[ion] th[a]t [all men] are created [eq]- [ua]l[.] Now [we are] engaged in a gr[eat ci]vil [war] t- [es]t[i]ng [whe]the[r th]at [nati]on [or an]y nation s- o c[on]cei[ved] and [s]o ded[icate]d [can long] endu- re[.] We are [met on] a great ba[tt]l[efi]eldof th[at] [war.] We have [come to] ded[icate] a portion of th- at [fiel]d as a [fin]al res[ting pl]ace for those [who] here gave [their l]ivesthat [that] nat[ion] migh[t li]ve[.] It [is al]toget[her fi]ttingand [pr]- oper[th]at we should [do th]is. - Gettysburg Address, A. Lincoln, November 19, 1863
