Research Seminar: Antiquity [LCLAB304]

Learning outcomes

- To develop new skills in the analysis and interpretation of historical sources, as well as a reflective thought and critical awareness in the practice of historical research; - Develop critical thinking and scientific reasoning; - To learn how to implement a research question in history and to use the relevant tools and working methods; - Develop skills in disciplines that overlap with history; - Acquire experience in the critical assessment of information, in reviewing and outlining a scientific content, and in writing scientific essays; - Acquire strong abilities in scientific communication while also developing awareness to the current referencing and publication regulations in the field of history.

Objectives

- To introduce students to the assessment methods of a historical question, from the framing and structuring of the scientific issue, to the communication of research results in various forms (written essay, oral presentation) ; - To deepen their knowledge of the diversity of ancient sources, as well as of the tools and concepts that are available to the historian to exploit these sources; - To raise their awareness to the difficulties and drawbacks that are specific to the field of Ancient history, and that derive from the fragmentary state of the sources and the particularly long transmission process; - to become familiar with the main published works on a given topic in Ancient history, and to use those as a guide to the selection, analysis and use of ancient sources.

Content

The research training course is structured around a given topic chosen annually, and which relates to the current research activities of the professor. 

Every year, the topic of study is chosen so as to highlight the specificities of the sources and methods of the ancient historian (use of documents in classical languages, analysis and interpretation of fragmentary sources, use of sister disciplines of history). 

Moreover, the topic is chosen so as to find applications (i.e. specific research questions to be investigated by the students) in various cultural and chronological contexts within the Classical world. In this context, the students are also encouraged to use a diversity of sources in a pluridisciplinary perspective, thereby preparing themselves to the daily routine of the ancient historian.