History of the Classical World - Book Project

我的目标是写一部从公元前800年到公元650年的古典世界的全面历史。虽然这个时间框架和对希腊罗马文化的强调本身并不是非常规的，但我的论证路线提供了一种新的方法来研究古代世界，通过关注不寻常的参与程度，不仅在荷马社会，雅典民主或罗马共和国，而且在罗马帝国，帝国统治的特点是广泛多样的参与仪式。将参与作为理解古典世界的关键，我的研究赞扬了这样一个事实，即大多数决策都是在公共场合做出的，并使用两种分析工具：话语的限制和公共精神的修辞。例如，观察公共领域的交流形式，可以让我们更好地了解政治文化，因为它只关注政治权利。通过对能说什么（das Sagbare）和能做什么（das Machbare）的区分，我们可以强调首先是修辞，然后是行动在多大程度上受到话语规则的塑造和限制，这使得不可能在公开场合宣布任何事情而不声称这样做是为了所有人的利益。尽管这些对共同利益的暗示通常只是掩盖了个人和党派利益，但这种修辞背景的影响比通常考虑的更重要：期望塑造了什么可以说，而什么可以说限制了什么可以做。虽然我对参与的关注当然并不意味着将其他重要方面边缘化，但它作为一个主题很好地发挥了作用，使我能够安排其他大量材料来理解古代世界，同时为古代和现代的一个关键方面提供新的亮点。作为申请的核心部分，我想请12个月的教授假，以便有时间写本书的主要部分。

My aim is to write a comprehensive history of the classical world ranging from ca. 800 BC to ca. 650 AD. While this timeframe and the emphasis on Greco-Roman culture is itself not unconventional, my line of argumentation offers a new approach to the ancient world by focussing on the unusual extent of participation not only within the Homeric Society, the Athenian Democracy or the Roman Republic, but also in the Roman Empire, where imperial rule was characterized by a broad diversity of participatory rituals. Using participation as a key for understanding the Classical world, my study pays tribute to the fact that most decisions were made in public and works with two analytical tools: the limits of discourse and the rhetoric of the public spirit. Looking at forms of communication in the public sphere, for example, provides us with far better insights into the political culture as the focus on political rights alone. With the distinction between what-can-be-said (das Sagbare) and what-can-be-done (das Machbare), one can highlight to what extent firstly rhetoric and then, secondly, actions were shaped and indeed limited by the rules of the discourse, which made it impossible to announce anything in public without claiming to do so in the interest of all. And notwithstanding that these allusions to the common good often only camouflaged personal and partisan interests, it is the repercussion of this rhetorical setting which mattered more than is commonly taken into account: expectations shaped what could be said, and what was said limited what could be done. While my focus on participation certainly does not mean to marginalize other important aspects, it works well as a leitmotiv, allowing me to arrange the otherwise vast material for understanding the ancient world while at the same time shedding new light on a crucial aspect for both ancient and modern times. The 12 months leave from my duties as a professor, which is the central part of the application, is sought in order to allow for the time needed to write the major part of the book.