72438 - Social History of the Byzantine World (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course aims at conveying to the student the knowledge of mentality and values of the Byzantine society, as well as the evolution of its social structure and features of its economic life (landscape and settlements, money, factors of production, distribution and consumption). At the end of the course the students is able to contextualize critically the acquired notions in the framework of the socio-economic history of late antique and medieval Mediterranean. He is able to read specialised literature in at least one foreign language.

Course contents

The course will be divided into two parts:

A) general part dedicated to a historical introduction to the Byzantine world (12 hours).

B) monographic part dedicated to the topic: Practices and rhetoric of 'good governance' in the written sources from the Justinian era (18 h).

 

A) General part:

It consists of a brief introduction to the key aspects of the Byzantine world. Designed as a preparatory unit for the contents of the monographic part, it will focus particularly on themes concerning political ideology, mentality, religion and social values.

 

B) Monographic part:

Starting from the Principate, a model of the virtuous governor emerged, emphasizing notions of wisdom, justice, honesty, and courage. This model remained essentially unchanged in its core content throughout late antiquity, except for a heightened sensitivity in public debate towards the theme of ‘honesty’ during this period. This focus reflected real situations where governors acted unscrupulously towards the communities they administered, deriving personal economic benefits from their positions of power. In the Justinian era, the practice of suffragium (i.e., the payment of a sum of money for obtaining a position) was identified as one of the main causes fostering corruption, as those who secured public office tended to demand various payments from provincials to recoup the costs of their investment in purchasing the office. Justinian abolished suffragium and increased the salaries of governors, hoping to curb the phenomenon. During this period, the moral stature of public officials also began to be influenced by their loyalty to the emperor. The notion of ‘good governance’ will be investigated primarily with reference to certain laws of Justinian, such as Novel 8 (535), which will be compared with narrative texts like those of John the Lydian and Procopius of Caesarea.

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

 

Readings/Bibliography

1) Introductory part

Reading is required of:

 — Warren Treadgold, A Coincise History of Byzantium, Houndmills 2001.

 

2) Monographic part

Reading is required of:

― Christopher Kelly, Ruling the Later Roman Empire, Cambridge Mass. 2004.

― Charlotte Roueché, «The Functions of the Governors in Late Antiquity: Some Observations», Antiquité Tardive 6 (1998), pp. 31-36.

― The reading of Kelly, Ruling, can be replaced with: A. H. M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire (284-602), Oxford 1964, vol. I, pp. 366-410.

 

Teaching methods

The first part of the course is conceived  as a series of traditional lectures during which the instructor will present, aided by PowerPoint slides, the key developments of the Byzantine Empire from the foundation of Constantinople to its conquest by the Ottomans. The second part, on the other hand, is organized in a seminar format. In this part, the instructor will not only present phenomena,  definitions and concepts of history but also analyze documents in their original language, aiming to stimulate students to understand (and discuss) methodological aspects of historical research.

 

The source texts that will be read during the course will be distributed during the lectures.

 

P.S. Foreign students wishing to follow the course are required to have a knowledge of Italian of at least level B 2.

Assessment methods

Passing the examination requires an oral test.

It consists of assessing the knowledge related to both the general part and the monographic part.

 

The final grade for the exam is determined by the following scores: maximum 12/30 for part A) the general section of the course, and maximum 18/30 for part B) the monographic section of the course.

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

― Translations of sources

― distribution of photocopies

― power-point presentations.

Office hours

See the website of Salvatore Cosentino