Approaches to ancient history

11: Reception and History of Scholarship

Reception

Primarily a theory from literary criticism focusing on the way a text acquires meaning.

Meaning not intrinsic in text (so no ‘true’ meaning is possible) but is constructed in the process of reading (hence alternative name, ‘reader-response’ criticism).

Therefore meaning changes in relation to cultural contexts and in response to earlier readings – tradition of reception develops.

Implications for ancient history 1

Tradition of reception of key sources, e.g. Thucydides or Tacitus; read differently at different times.

Clearly affects our own readings; influenced both by our own cultural context (effects of Iraq on reading the Melian dialogue?) and by earlier interpretations.

Always aiming to get back to ‘orginal’ meaning; is this possible?

Implications for ancient history 2

Subject largely based on tradition of reading and re-reading predecessors; agenda set by earlier generations.

Inherited problems, e.g. racism underlying ideas of temporal and geographical scope of ancient history.

Dangers of relying on old books – but also dangers of ignoring tradition altogether.

And further…

Not just response to traditions within ancient history; wider context includes tradition of reception of antiquity at large.

Popular portrayals: novels, films, art. Should historians play along or deliberately oppose?

Tradition of using antiquity to critique modernity, set up as ideal model of art, politics, culture.