Age of Augustus

1
Age of Augustus

• Source Criticism

2
What do we need to know about a literary source?

• Who is the author?
• What type of document is this?
• What does this document contain?
• Why was this document written, and who is the
  intended audience?
• What assumptions does this document make?
• Can I trust this document to be accurate?
• What can I learn about the society that produced
  this document?
• What scholarship should I consult to learn more?

3
Source criticism details

• Who is the author?
• full name / name by which he is known
• place of birth and nationality
• dates of birth, death
• career
• military
• political
• literary

4
Source criticism details

• What type of document is this?
• name(s) and date(s) of written work(s)
• degree of preservation (how extant?)
• genre
• prose
• history, biography, autobiography, correspondence
• poetry
• lyric, epic, dramatic, elegiac

5
Source criticism details

• What does this document contain?
• thesis / main issues
• articulated methodology
• sources consulted
• structure and organization
• style

6
Source criticism details

• Why was this document written, and who is the
  intended audience?
• does this document seek to set the record
  straight, to criticize or to praise the
  subject(s)?
• does this document have a patron?
• is this written for the elite? the masses? Roman
  society or some other culture?

7
Source criticism details

• What assumptions does this document make?
• does the author assume knowledge on the part of
  the reader?
• does the author assume a particular bias on the
  part of the reader?

8
Source criticism details

• Can I trust this document to be accurate?
• every author brings biases to bear on a written
  work
• are this authors biases transparent?
• do they color the authors methodology?
• do they hinder a balanced approach?
• does the author consult opposing sources
  sufficiently?

9
Source criticism details

• What can I learn about the society that produced
  this document?
• does this document reveal aspects of political,
  social, economic, religious or cultural history?
• does this document capture specific cultural
  values?
• How does this document speak to me?
• how is this document relevant today?

10
Source criticism details

• What scholarship should I consult to learn more?
• does the editor provide a bibliography or notes
  to consult?
• are there keywords in the document that will help
  me launch research?

11
What do we need to know about evidence from
material culture?

• Who is the artist?
• What type of object is this?
• What is the content of this object?
• Why was this object made, and who is the intended
  audience?
• What assumptions does this object make?
• Can I trust this object to be accurate?
• What can I learn about the society that produced
  this object?
• What scholarship should I consult to learn more?

12
Source criticism details

• Who is the artist (if known)?
• full name / name by which he is known
• place of birth and nationality
• dates of birth, death
• career
• military
• political
• literary

13
Source criticism details

• What type of object is this?
• name(s) and date(s) of object(s)
• degree of preservation (how extant?)
• genre
• monument
• temple, political building, altar, domestic space
• sculpture
• relief, free-standing
• vase-painting
• small-finds
• jewelry, coins, dedications, etc.

14
Source criticism details

• What is the content of this object?
• description size, material, visual content
• style of workmanship
• similarities to other objects (comparanda)
• ideological program of image(s)

15
Source criticism details

• Why was this object made, and who is the intended
  audience?
• does this object seek to set the record
  straight, to criticize or to praise the
  subject(s)?
• does this object have a patron?
• is this made for the elite? the masses? Roman
  society or some other culture?

16
Source criticism details

• What assumptions does this object make?
• does the artist assume knowledge on the part of
  the observer?
• does the artist assume a particular bias on the
  part of the observer?

17
Source criticism details

• Can I trust this object to be accurate?
• every artist brings biases to bear on an artistic
  work
• are this artists biases transparent?
• do they color the artists methodology?
• do they hinder a balanced approach?
• does the author draw upon an existing tradition,
  or does he create something novel?

18
Source criticism details

• What can I learn about the society that produced
  this object?
• does this object reveal aspects of political,
  social, economic, religious or cultural history?
• does this object capture specific cultural
  values?
• How does this object speak to me?
• how is this object relevant today?

19
Source criticism details

• What scholarship should I consult to learn more?
• does the editor provide a bibliography or notes
  to consult?
• are there keywords associated with the object
  that will help me launch research?

20
Source criticism details

• What is the provenance of the object?
• is the provenance the same as the objects
  original location?
• if not, can we discern why it was moved?
• does the objects archaeological context reveal
  anything about the use or meaning of the object?
• what buildings or other artifacts are directly
  associated with this object?