Ancient Texts and Digital Corpora
Introduction:
Classical Studies is first and foremost a literary field. While it is true that material culture (i.e. art and archaeology) contribute immensely to our understanding of Greco-Roman antiquity, adding new knowledge with each dig season, most of what we believe we know about the ancient world comes from ancient literature. The ancient Greeks and Romans produced a considerable amount of literature in a great variety of genres, such as historiography, epic and lyric poetry, drama, satire, philosophical tracts, scientific and technical writing to name but a few. Even though it is estimated that less than one percent of the total literary output of antiquity survives to the present age, there is nonetheless a massive collection of works that have survived. It is from the surviving literature of antiquity that we have come to know the most about life in ancient Greece and Rome. Indeed, even material culture requires context for it to be used effectively as evidence when we attempt to reconstruct the culture(s) of the ancient world, and that context is provided by and large by the surviving textual evidence.
But ancient texts do not always have the answers to questions modern researchers might wish to ask. While these texts might in a certain sense speak for themselves, we must bear in mind that the authors of these texts did not write them for us. They wrote for readers, or often listeners, since many people experienced literature by hearing others read it aloud, of their own time and community. Classical Studies researchers must therefore find ways to make ancient texts yield the answers they seek. In other words, we must find ways to derive meaning from text. Recovering meaning from text is the domain of ‘literary theory,’[1] and the first lecture of Module 2 provides an overview of literary theory and its place in Classical Studies scholarship. The second lecture of Module 2 then addresses the topic of how to conduct basic analysis of a literary text using some of the many digital collections of ancient Greek and Roman texts central to Classical Studies research.
Classical Studies has been at the forefront of the Digital Humanities in general, largely because text lends itself to digitization and is easily organized in formats that allow scholars to manipulate text in many useful ways.[2] Traditional methods of analyzing ancient texts so as to derive meaning is a time-consuming process requiring access to the texts themselves. Digitization of ancient literary texts has not only made all manner of ancient writing, both in the original ancient Greek and Latin and in translation, available to students and researchers whose local library holdings might be less than extant, but it also allows Classical Studies scholars to analyze larger volumes of text with greater efficiency and precision.
There are, however, several important cautionary notes. First, there is no substitute for reading entire texts fully, deeply, and in context. Thus, while digitization might increase the breadth, speed, and precision involved in seeking meaning from ancient literature, there really are no shortcuts. Digitization and machine learning techniques should not be seen as superseding methods of literary analysis traditional to Classical Studies scholarship so much as complementing and augmenting those methods. Second, the limitations of digital repositories of ancient texts must always be kept in mind. Thus, while many digital collections contain vast holdings, none are in any way ‘complete.’ Moreover, the coding requirements that underpin the functionality of digital repositories shape the way digital texts are presented, searched, and manipulated, with varying degrees of sophistication and usefulness. It therefore behooves researchers to familiarize themselves with the limitations and idiosyncrasies of these otherwise very powerful resources.
Module 2 Lectures:
Module 2, Lecture 1 of 2 here:
Module 2, Lecture 2 of 2 here:
Module 2 Supplementary Materials:
Module 2, Supplementary Material 1, Cultivating Learning: Deconstructing Text with Critical Reading, Smithsonian Education, 2022 (Video): Cultivating Learning: Deconstructing Text with Critical Reading – Bing video
Module 2, Supplementary Material 2, Introduction to the TLG, Columbia University, 2021 (Video): Introduction to the TLG (Thesaurus Linguae Graecae) – Bing video
Module 2, Supplementary Material 3, The Abridged TLG: TLG – Abridged (uci.edu)
Module 2, Supplementary Material 4, Using Perseus Digital Library for Basic Textual Study (Video)
Module 2, Supplementary Material 5, Perseus Digital Library Homepage: Perseus Digital Library (tufts.edu)
Module 2, Supplementary Material 6, Intro to the Scaife Viewer (Video): Intro to the Scaife Viewer – Bing video
Module 2, Supplementary Material 7, Scaife Viewer Homepage: Scaife Viewer | Home (perseus.org)
Module 2, Supplementary Material 8, Introduction to Lacus Curtius (Video)
Module 2, Supplementary Material 9, Lacus Curtius Homepage:
Module 2, Supplementary Material 10, Introduction to Digital Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum (Video)
Module 2, Supplementary Material 11, DFHG Homepage: Digital Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum (DFHG) (dfhg-project.org)
Module 2, Supplementary Material 12, How to use CSL (Video)
Module 2, Supplementary Material 13, CSL Homepage: Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum (forumromanum.org)
Key Terms:
Literary Theory, Hermeneutics, Historicism, The New Criticism, Structuralism, The New Historicism, Marxist Literary Theory, Feminist Literary Theory, Psychoanalytic Literary Theory, Postmodernism, Deconstruction, Literary Methodology, Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, Perseus Digital Library, Scaife Reader, Lacus Curtius, Fragmentary Texts, Digital Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, Corpus Scriptorum Latinorum,
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- For a more detailed overview of literary theory, see “Literary Theory.” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Literary Theory | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (utm.edu) ↵
- G. Crane (2004). ‘Classics and the Computer: An End of the History.” A Companion to Digital Humanities. S. Schreibman, R. Siemens, and J. Unsworth eds. Oxford. P. 46-55. ↵