This course offers an intensive introduction into Latin epigraphy from the Republican period up until Late Antiquity and is aimed at the acquisition and application of practical research skills in epigraphic research. The approach and focus of this course is strongly interdisciplinary with attention being paid to philological, socio-linguistic, literary, archaeological, and legal aspects of epigraphic texts. In addition, explicit attention will be paid to the theoretical and methodological aspects of epigraphic research. The course hopes to provide insight in the research potential of epigraphic sources regarding topics as diverse as identity and the treatment of the dead, family relationships and Roman law of succession, the administration of the Roman empire, patronage and professional associations, and content and organization of private and public cults.
Lecturers
Dr. A.M.J. Derks (VU Amsterdam, Archaeology) and prof. dr. C.H.M. Kroon (University of Amsterdam, Classics)
Target group and prerequisites
The course is intended for MA students (MA and research MA) as well as PhD students who are at the beginning of their doctorate research. The course can be taken as part of the MA programme at the own university, as part of the OIKOS education programme and/or as part of the Masterlanguage course for classicists (see www.masterlanguage.nl). The target group of the course are students of Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Law. While no specific knowledge of epigraphy is necessary, participants should at least have knowledge of Latin at the level of the Dutch VWO exam or have completed two courses in elementary Latin at university (10-12 EC). International students may be admitted to the course provided that they are registered as a student at a Dutch university.
Course set up and assessment
The course comprises lectures, and museum and site visits alternated with individual study and research (under supervision) in the library of the KNIR. As an individual task each student will be assigned one or more texts (on stone or bronze) kept in a museum or preserved in situ on an archaeological site in Rome or Ostia. By working on your assignment you will learn to read an epigraphic text, to produce a transcription and translation, as well as to write a short epigraphic commentary. For the commentary you will be allowed to give special weight to philological, literary, archaeological or juridical aspects, according to your field of specialization and competences.
The course will be concluded by presentations and discussions of the results from the assignments. Comments from fellow students as well as from the teaching staff need to be taken into account in the final written report which the participants are expected to submit no later than two weeks after conclusion of the course.
The intensive part of the course will be in Rome, but the course will start and end in Amsterdam. In the introductory sessions lectures on the history and organisation of the field, and a brief overview of different categories of Latin inscriptions are provided, alternated by small exercises which aim at a first acquaintance with the most important corpora of Latin inscriptions in print and in digital data bases. Introduction and concluding session will take place at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (3, 10, 17, 24 February, and 17 March).
Course material
Will be made available online.
Credits
The study load is the equivalent of 5 ects (140 hours) and comprises eight full days of study in Rome and some extra time for reading course materials in advance of the course as well as for writing up and editing the paper of the individual assignment after the final meeting. In consultation with the teaching staff the study load can be enlarged on an individual basis.
Costs
For all participants free accommodation in Rome will be arranged at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome. Entrance to museums and sites which we will visit as part of the course will be free. Local transport, meals and refreshments are at one’s own expense. There is a good cooking facility in the Royal Netherlands Institute free to use for all participants. Students book and pay their own tickets to and from Rome, but if you successfully complete the course you are eligible for a travel allowance of € 100.
Application and admission
If you are interested in taking this course, please register via the link below. Please mention the level of command of Latin (VWO exam, completed university courses elementary Latin, completed BA Classics, completed MA Classics) under “Other specifications”. To complete your registration you will be asked to upload the study results of the BA programme, your CV and a letter of motivation. All applicants except PhD students are kindly requested to register for the course on the Masterlanguage website as well.
The course can take up to fifteen students. In case more candidates apply, a selection will be made whereby students from Classics, research master students of Ancient Studies affiliated with the OIKOS research school, and other students from the six Dutch universities participating in the Netherlands Institute at Rome have priority (in that order). In addition, the motivation letter may be used as a means for selection.
Deadline applications
4 December 2022. Please note that the decision of the selection committee is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
More info
secretary@knir.it
This course is organized in collaboration with:
