Fall 1994 - Timothy D. Barnes - Townsend Lectures

Timothy D. Barnes, Professor of Classics at the University of Toronto, delivered seven Townsend Lectures in the Fall of 1994 on the "Representation and Historical Reality in Ammianus Marcellinus."

The dates and titles of his seven lectures were:

September 27, 1994 - "The Representation of Reality"
Barnes details the life of Ammianus Marcellinus, a Greek-born, Roman soldier and historian. Marcellinus' writings have historically been the primary source of information about fourth-century Rome, the era when Christianity flourished there. Although Marcellinus has traditionally been considered accurate and dependable, Barnes contends that he is often biased and full of personal animus.

October 4, 1994 - "Structure and Narrative"
The decisions of a historian as to what sources to consult and how to present that material are difficult to make, according to Barnes. He argues that the form of Ammianus' writings has been incorrectly interpolated. He wrote not 31 books, but rather 36 books (6 hexads), which would be consistent with the Roman tradition of symmetry.

October 18, 1994 - "Learning and Mockery"

October 25, 1994 - "The Vocabulary of Prejudice"

November 1, 1994 - "Incompetence and Tyranny"

November 8, 1994 - "The New Achilles"

November 15, 1994 - "Past, Present and Future"
 

Book cover: Ammianus Marcellinus and the Representation of Historical Reality by Timothy D. Barnes.

Ammianus Marcellinus and the Representation of Historical Reality is a part of the Townsend Lectures Series of Cornell Studies in Classical Philology.

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