Thread by @LivAncWorlds

Our first flagship seminar of 2018-19 features @nmacsweeney speaking on Fragmentation theory and Classical texts. Keep an eye out for #ACEFlagship to follow the fun!

Archaeology deals with fragments through examining things at the level of the assemblage. An assemblage approach can also be useful for looking at fragmentary classical texts.
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A chocolate orange is now making it's way around the room... 🤔
@nmacsweeney takes us into theories of fragmentation!
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Fragments can refer back to the lost whole, creating relationships between people through fragments- enchainment.
(The chocolate orange has been eaten, thus spoiling the analogy somewhat...)
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We can think about Hekataios' original text as an original whole. What about those who quote from him?
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When quoting an author, you establish a relationship with everyone else who quotes/has quoted the original whole.
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@nmacsweeney takes us through some ancient authors who engage with Hekataios in various ways
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We find two traditions od quotations, led by Herodotus & Strabo (historical/geographical approaches). As such, we see a mirage of his work through the prism of others' quotations.
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@benjcartlidge introduces respondent Prof Mark Collier who will bring an Egyptological twist to our discussions this evening.
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Prof. Mark Collier takes examples of the tale of Sinuhe at Deir el-Medina as part of his discussions of fragmentation and change. How does the story change in the New Kingdom?
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Prof. Mark Collier turns to adjectives to explore linguistic fragmentation and language change. How does this change happen? Ancient Egyptian shows us the longest record of change in any language!
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When we come to Coptic, we find fragmentation in the adjectival category: Prof. Mark Collier highlights and explains the additional morphology of attributive/predicative adjectives.
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@benjcartlidge challenges the audience to consider differences between deliberate/non-deliberative fragmentation before opening the floor to questions
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How deliberate is language change? Our panel tackles the big questions!
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@nmacswe and @benjcartlidge discuss the minimum basis for enchainment (returning to the excellent earlier example of the chocolate orange)
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What about when we copy texts? @benjcartlidge challenges the audience to copy out #Homer's Iliad without making mistakes...
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Question from the floor: What about copying or paraphrasing information? Are manipulations carried through and then lost during fragmentation?
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Prof. Chris Tuplin: To have a fragmentary author people, must have stopped copying the whole original text. At what moment did this happen for Hekataios? Was this deliberate? Did the last person to copy Hekataios know that they would be the last?
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Dr Georgia Petridou: how do we deal with compilations (which were popular in the 2nd Sophistic)? How do we deal with making a new whole out of old material?
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Prof. Mark Collier: the idea of accumulation can help our understanding of compilation. Enchainment deals with the retention of parts when the whole is broken. Accumulation deals with the new role/historical place of these parts.
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Dr. Alexei Zadorozhny: can this discussion of fragmentation help with our understanding of examples/anecdotes? Can we think of these as fragments 'floating' in the tradition?
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@benjcartlidge: When people quote Hekataios, are they actually going back to Hekataios? When people quote, do they necessarily know they are quoting? Enchainment divorced from its original whole?
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@fiohob: chains suggest connections- what does enchainment create? A linear entity or a nexus of connections in a 'weaving pattern'?
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@benjcartlidge: what do we do about 'uncertain' fragments? What are these connecting us to?
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Dr Marco Perale: how would perspectives on Hekataios change if new material appeared regarding his work's circulation?
@nmacsweeney: I would be delighted by this! 😁
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Prof. Zosia Archibald introduces entropy to the discussion
(With reference to the fampus chocolate orange). Textual data can seem to exist in an 'imaginary' space... are we less confident about what we think we know?
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@BGibson434: are there possible refinements to be made to our modern methods around fragments? (no mischief meant! 😉)
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@nmacsweeney: digital projects could help us see fragments in broader contexts and help us think in a 'web-like' rather than 'linear' ways. How could these look?
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Formal proceedings from tonight's seminar are drawing to a close. Informal proceedings to follow at @GarstangMuseum!
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The last fragment of the chocolate orange...
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