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History 209: A-M Coll.-2013
Time: Wednesday 1800-2045
Location: CL 231
Description
This colloquium will introduce Ancient-Medieval and Modern European graduate students and teachers to the historical genre of biography—ancient, medieval and modern—and through this genre to diverse important historical personages in the Ancient and Medieval world. We will begin by examining the genre itself to ascertain the qualities of good biography, the techniques of writing them, and the role of biography in the study and teaching of history. Next, we will read, analyze, and discuss two short examples of ancient biography (Plutarch) and four modern historical biographies of ancient figures, examining a grand narrative, a classic political biography, a military biography, and a modern account of a female character. Next, we will we will read, analyze, and discuss two short examples of medieval biography (a secular and a sacred vita) and thereafter four modern biographies (a religious, a female and gendered approach, an intellectual, and a grand narrative). Students will prepare assigned topics for a class presentation, take active part in discussions, and prepare a comparative and analytical bibliographical essay on the biographies. This final essay will focus on the genre of historical biography and the differences in technique used by different authors to produce a biography of a specific historical subject, taking account of the limitations imposed by the kinds of evidence available within differing historical eras.
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