“As on a Darkling Plain”: Practitioners, Publics, Propagandists, and Ancient Historiography

McCaskie, T. C.

doi:10.1017/s0010417511000624

Cited by 21 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…However, soon it developed into a theoretical position that actually should be characterized as anticolonial. Therefore, instead of becoming proactive for the field as a whole, I argue that post-colonial Roman archaeology soon became (and remains) too exclusively reactive (for the same criticism with regard to the so-called 'new (= post-colonial) Achaemenid history', in some aspects a comparable case to what is analysed here, see McCaskie (2012)).…”

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confidence: 85%

Understanding objects in motion. Anarchaeologicaldialogue on Romanization

Versluys¹

2014

Arch. Dial.

145

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This essay argues that Romanization revolves around understanding objects in motion and that Roman archaeologists should therefore focus on (1) globalization theory and (2) material-culture studies as important theoretical directions for the (near) future. The present state and scope of the Romanization debate, however, seem to prevent a fruitful development in that direction. The first part of this paper therefore briefly analyses the Romanization debate and argues that large parts of ‘Anglo-Saxon Roman archaeology’ have never been really post-colonial, but in fact from the mid-1990s onwards developed a theoretical position that should be characterized as anti-colonial. This ideologically motivated development has resulted in several unhealthy divides within the field, as well as in an uncomfortable ending of the Romanization debate. The present consensus within English-speaking Roman archaeology ‘to do away with Romanization’ does not seem to get us at all ‘beyond Romans and Natives’, and, moreover, has effectively halted most of the discussion about how to understand and conceptualize ‘Rome’. The second part of the article presents two propositions outlining how to move forward: globalization theory and material-culture studies. Through this focus we will be able to better understand ‘Rome’ as (indicating) objects in motion and the human–thing entanglements resulting from a remarkable punctuation of connectivity. This focus is important as an alternative perspective to all existing narratives about Romanization because these remain fundamentally historical, in the sense that they reduce objects to expressions (of identity) alone. It is time for our discussions about ‘Rome’ to move ‘beyond representation’ and to become genuinely archaeological at last, by making material culture, with its agency and materiality, central to the analyses.

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confidence: 85%

Understanding objects in motion. Anarchaeologicaldialogue on Romanization

Versluys¹

2014

Arch. Dial.

145

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“…11. For the problems of writing biblical history, see Banks (2006) and Davies (2007), and on the politics of writing history, see McCaskie (2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

The Logic of Welfare: Religious and Sociological Foundations of Social Policy Rationality

Rieger¹

2013

International Journal of Social Quality

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The article aims to contribute to the sociological theory of the welfare state by addressing a fundamental puzzle of social policy, namely, the weakness of its claim to be a rational effort of society dealing with problems of social integration. Drawing on the work of Franz-Xaver Kaufmann, I distinguish between the cultural or ideational side of the welfare state and the social engineering or outcome side, arguing to take the rhetoric and symbolism of social policy more seriously. The integration of society is more due to the communicative action of social policy than to its organizational quality. As early as the axial age civilizations, symbolism and ideology emerged as an autonomous field of social conflict and societal union. Taking ancient Israel as an example, I argue that societal integration may take place even in the absence of strong institutional correlates of social politics. This can help to explain why the welfare state in modern society is compatible with ever-increasing economic and social inequality.

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2021

The Herodotus Encyclopedia

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“As on a Darkling Plain”: Practitioners, Publics, Propagandists, and Ancient Historiography

Cited by 21 publications

References 23 publications

Understanding objects in motion. Anarchaeologicaldialogue on Romanization

Understanding objects in motion. Anarchaeologicaldialogue on Romanization

The Logic of Welfare: Religious and Sociological Foundations of Social Policy Rationality

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