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，不仅关注荷马社会、雅典民主或罗马共和国内部不同寻常的参与程度，而且还关注罗马帝国的参与程度，在罗马帝国，帝国统治的特点是广泛多样的参与性仪式。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，即大多数决定是在公开的情况下做出的，并使用了两种分析工具：话语的极限和公共精神的修辞。例如，考察公共领域的交流形式，可以让我们更好地洞察政治文化，因为它只关注政治权利。有了什么可以说(Das Sagbaar)和什么可以做(Das Machbaar)之间的区别，人们可以强调首先是修辞，然后是行动在多大程度上被塑造和实际上受到话语规则的限制，这使得在不声称这样做是为了所有人的利益的情况下，公开宣布任何事情是不可能的。尽管这些对公共利益的典故往往只是伪装个人和党派利益，但这种修辞环境的影响比通常考虑的更重要：期望塑造了可以说的话，而说的话限制了可以做的事情。虽然我对参与的关注当然不意味着将其他重要方面边缘化，但它起到了很好的主旨作用，使我能够安排原本庞大的材料来了解古代世界，同时为古代和现代的一个关键方面提供新的曙光。我作为教授的12个月假期是申请的核心部分，这是为了给我写这本书的主要部分所需的时间。

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.