Epigraphy Summer Course

International Summer Course in Greek and Latin Epigraphy: July 30 - August 10, 2007

The Center for Epigraphical and Palaeographical Studies, with sponsorship from the American Society of Greek and Latin Epigraphy, has held two Summer Epigraphy Courses, in 2003 and in 2005. Both sessions were very well received by the students. The Center intends to offer the course every other year; the next course is scheduled for July 30 - August 10, 2007.

Aim: The course does not aim to turn out epigraphers. Its aim is more modest: to acquaint senior graduate students and junior faculty with the tools, methods and problems of epigraphy and to encourage and enable them to use the wonderful resource of inscriptions in their teaching and their research. If the bacillus epigraphicus should infect a participant even more deeply, all the better!

Method: To achieve this goal, the course lasts two intensive weeks, during which the students attend seminar-like sessions of instruction but are also challenged to do considerable work of their own. At the beginning of the course, students receive a squeeze and/or photographs of an inscription for which they will prepare an edition with commentary and translation to present to the class at the end of the two weeks.

Costs: The course fee covers the use of the Center and its facilities, tuition, campus housing (in units that comprise study, bedroom, and bath; breakfast included). There are four options for housing that determine the course fee:

1. Full housekeeping (includes linen and towels) - double occupancy: course fee 800.00, single 1100.00
2. Limited housekeeping (linen only) - double occupancy: course fee 720.00, single 1000.00

The participants arrange their own travel to Columbus.

Application: The course has limited enrollment. Deadline for application is April 16, 2007. Send your letter of application with two letters of recommendation directly to the Center for Epigraphical and Palaeographical Studies, Ohio State University, 190 Pressey Hall, 1070 Carmack Road, Columbus, OH 43210.

To give a better impression of how the course works, here is the syllabus of the Summer 2005 course:

Summer Course Syllabus, 2005

Place: Center for Epigraphical and Palaeographical Studies, 190 Pressey Hall, 1070 Carmack Road

Course Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:30-11:30 AM and 2:00-4:40 PM

Instructors:
Fritz Graf, OSU
Gil Renberg, Case Western Reserve University
Jinyu Liu, DePauw University and A.E. Gordon Fellow, Center for Epigraphical and Palaeographical Studies, OSU

Week 1
Week 2

(*) Each participant (or, if preferred, groups of 2) will receive a squeeze with an assignment to produce an edition and an epigraphical and short historical commentary, to be presented and discussed in Thursday/Friday of the second week.

Comments on the course by instructor Fritz Graf and participant Rose McLean:

For the second time since 2003, the Center for Epigraphical and Palaeographical Studies organized an Epigraphy Summer Course for senior graduate students and young faculty. Again, it was generously sponsored by the American Society for Greek and Latin Epigraphy. Our aim is not to train future epigraphers, but to introduce young scholars to working with inscriptions in their teaching and research by showing them the basics of the discipline and building their confidence in dealing with inscriptions. The course consisted of two weeks of intensive work, alternating between topic-oriented seminars and individual or group work by the students. The main emphasis was on Greek epigraphy, but Gil Renberg gave an introduction to Latin inscriptions and one participant worked on a somewhat overlooked Latin inscription from Petra.

At the end of these two weeks, the participants were not only able to work with inscriptions in their specific fields, ranging from Athenian financial history to New Testament Studies, but they were also able to prepare an edition with commentary of an inscription based on a squeeze and/or photograph, in one case confirming a rare reading and restoration in the first aparche decree made by Kevin Clinton of Cornell a few years ago. The course had eight participants; they came from several American universities, from Colorado to Princeton and - adding a truly international note - from University College, London. All participants left the course highly satisfied, even if somewhat exhausted. Reason enough to repeat the experience in two years' time.



This summer, before entering my first year of graduate school, I attended a two-week course in Greek epigraphy at Ohio State University's Center for Epigraphical and Palaeographical Studies. The seminar was led by Fritz Graf, OSU professor and director of the Center. Like most of this year's nine participants, I came in hopes of acquiring basic techniques that would allow me to use inscriptions more effectively in my research. Because my interests focus on Roman social history and non-elite populations, I was particularly curious to know what Greek inscriptions might tell us about everyday people and their cultural practices.

The course met and exceeded these expectations. It began with a review of bibliography and research methods, with emphasis on the use of up-to-date editions and a photograph or squeeze. We went on to cover such technical issues as dating and letter forms, as well as restoration and editorial conventions. The majority of the course was devoted to the discussion of various types of inscriptions, from Athenian decrees to leges sacrae. Concrete examples helped illustrate the processes by which one moves from an epigraphic text to its physical, linguistic and historical contexts.

The greatest challenge was putting these skills into practice. At the beginning of the course, we each received a squeeze to edit and present with a translation and short commentary. I worked on a royal letter from Pergamum that was largely intact, but several other participants dealt with stones in much poorer condition. The few lines that I did need to restore-and the experiences of my less fortunate colleagues-quickly made clear how difficult and subjective this endeavor can be. Our own attempts at restoration proved the strongest warning against having blind faith in square brackets.

Overall, the course demonstrated inscriptions' ability to convey the texture and diversity of Greek culture. This was particularly evident in the material relating to ancient religion. Among other examples, we saw tombstones bearing imprecations against desecrators; evidence for ephebe's role in religious life at Athens; and a fascinating series of orphic and lead curse tablets. At the same time, the limitations of epigraphic evidence were clearly defined, and I came away with a much better sense of what mistakes to avoid in the future.

No matter what your interests, I highly recommend this course to anyone considering a project that deals with inscriptions. Although accommodations were less than lavish, the sessions were well executed and debates were lively. Moreover, with support from the ASGLE, this all came with a reasonable price tag attached.

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