Three traditions: perceptions of history in other cultures
Not offered in 1997
Ian Mabbett
8 or 12 points
* One 2-hour seminar per week
* Second semester
*
Clayton
Objectives Students successfully completing this course should have familiarised themselves with the general character of the traditions of historical writing in Ancient Greece, in medieval Europe, and in Muslim culture, particularly the extracts in the subject handbook, and to reflect on the problems of interpretation posed by them. The subject is intended to promote sensitivity to the ways in which perceptions of history may be influenced by the cultural background.
Synopsis This subject examines three great traditions of historical writing: the classics of the ancient Greeks; the works of the Islamic literati of the Middle East, India and Indonesia; and the writings of European medieval and early Renaissance historians. The parallels and contrasts within and among these traditions illuminate such themes as these writers' views of causation and the purpose of the study of history, the narrative traditions they represent, the standing of history as an intellectual activity within these societies, the authors' search for meaning and pattern in time and the social order, the admonitory role of such texts, the relevance of these works to modern historians as sources for the societies which produced them and the critical methodologies available for their use. All students will read selected extracts from major works and will further pursue particular traditions or issues which bridge these traditions in a long essay.
Assessment fourth year (8 points) Essay (4000 words): 50%
*
Examination (2 hours): 50%
Assessment fourth year (12 points) Essay (4000 words): 40%
*
Extra assignment (3000 words): 30%
* Examination (2 hours): 30%
Assessment fifth year (8 points) Essay (4000 words): 50%
*
Examination (2 hours): 50%
Assessment fifth year (12 points) Essay (4000 words): 40%
*
Extra assignment (3000 words): 30%
* Examination (2 hours): 30%
Prescribed texts
Beveridge (tr.) The Akbar nama of Abu-l-Fazl 3 vols Rare Books, 1973
Guicciardini F History of Italy and history of Florence tr. C Grayson, ed. J R Hale Washington Square, 1964
Herodotus The histories tr. A de Selincourt Penguin, 1959
Ibn Khaldun The Mugaddimah: An introduction to history tr. F Rosenthal 3 vols Pantheon, 1958
Machiavelli N Discourses on the first ten books of Livy Penguin, 1983
Machiavelli N Florentine histories Princeton UP, 1988
Polybius The rise of the Roman Empire tr. I Scott-Kilvert Penguin, 1979
Ricklefs M C (ed. and tr.) Modern Javanese historical tradition: A study of an original Kartasura chronicle and related materials School of Oriental and African Studies London, 1978
Thucydides The Peloponnesian War tr. R Warner, Penguin, 1959
| Published by Monash University, Clayton, Victoria
3168 Copyright © Monash University 1996 - All Rights Reserved - Caution Authorised by the Academic Registrar December 1996 |