- Booking Form (, 38 KB)
- Final Programme (, 80 KB)
- Conference Poster (, 394 KB)
A mode of the utmost value to those who are studiously inclined (Diodorus Siculus 1.3.6)
Universal History is a type of history that attempts to explain the world beyond the immediate surroundings of the author. It reflects a desire to synthesise the mass of written and oral knowledge about the past and perhaps to introduce a systematic interpretation. The purpose of this conference is to re-examine the notion of Universal Historiography with a focus on its appearance in the Greek and Roman world. Our attention will be directed not only at those historians well-established as practitioners of Universal Historiography (Ephorus, Polybius, Diodorus Siculus, Pompeius Trogus, Velleius Paterculus, Ammianus Marcellinus etc.), but we welcome interpretations of other historians and ancient writers as Universal Historiographers and their employment of ideas and concepts familiar to Universal Historiography. We will be open to papers on any aspect of the subject, in particular definitions, the evidential basis, content and form, the intellectual context and reception of the subject. While this conference will focus on antiquity (600BC - AD600) papers are welcomed from other periods; we are particularly interested in the impact that ancient concepts of Universal Historiography on its later manifestations.
For more information, contact Andy Fear (andrew.fear@manchester.ac.uk) and Peter Liddel (peter.liddel@manchester.ac.uk).
Definitions:
- What is Universal History and how can it be identified?
- Is it anything more than history which tries to explain and recount all rather than a part of the author's known world?
- Can Universal History be universal in space if not time?
- In what sense, if any, does Universal History tend to be more ideological than other forms of history?
Evidence:
- How does Universal History deploy second-hand material for different purposes?
- Universal Historians' use of evidence (in particular documentary evidence and local historiography)
- Universal Historiography's relationship with local historiography.
Content and Form:
- How were Universal Histories structured and how did their balance variety and continuity in their narratives?
- Were its practitioners particularly suited to the elucidation and analysis of causation?
- What are the common themes of Universal Histories?
- Did Universal Historians have coherent views on subjects like imperialism, politics, authority, economy, fortune, and models of rise and fall?
- Is Universal History 'philosophical' and/or 'pragmatic?
- What was the significance of the idea of 'progress' to ancient Universal Historiography?
- What are the shortcomings of Universal Historiography?
Context and Reception
- What were the intellectual, political and social contexts that gave rise to Universal Historiography? Does it imply a particular mindset?
- What was the reputation of Universal Historiography in antiquity?
- The modern reception of ancient Universal Historiography: how have the works of medieval and modern Universal Historiographers like Ibn Kaldun, Ranke, Hegel, Toynbee and Spengler made employed, or reacted to, ancient models,