Literary works as a source for studying food. Research Project: Literary Works as a Historical Source
A.Yu. Kovaleva
Kazan National Research Technical University them. A.N. Tupolev - KAI, Kazan
Source: collection " Problems studying the history of the 20th century in higher school <…>"(Kazan, 2011). Original in doc format
A historical source is usually called everything that can provide any information about the past. Many historians and source scholars, in the course of their research, formed definitions of the term “historical source”. Among domestic experts, one of the successful definitions of the concept of “historical source” belongs to Leonard Derbov:
“...In modern science, a historical source means all the remnants of the past, in which historical evidence reflecting real phenomena has been deposited public life and patterns of development of human society. In fact, these are a wide variety of products and traces of human activity: objects material culture, monuments of writing, ideology, morals, customs, language, etc.”
Any source is a product social activities of people. Any source is subjective, because reflects the past in the form of personal, subjective images. But at the same time, it is a form of reflection of the objective world, eras, countries and peoples in their real historical existence. In this sense, historical sources can be considered as the basis for knowledge of historical reality, making it possible to reconstruct events and phenomena social life of the past.
When extracting information from a source, you need to remember its specificity - subjectivity. Here there is a need for it scientific criticism, analysis, extraction of true and determination false information. In order to extract the necessary information from a source that subjectively reflects the objective world, a number of conditions and rules must be observed. First of all, you need to determine the authenticity of the sources. Undoubtedly, this requires extremely high qualifications. It is necessary to know a lot: the nature of writing, writing material, features of the language, its vocabulary and grammatical forms, the specifics of dating events and the use of metric units, if we talk about written sources. But even proof of the authenticity of a source does not mean that you can safely use the information it contains. The authenticity of a source does not guarantee its reliability.
However, the reliability of information, although it is an important component of the specificity of a historical source, does not exhaust it. This also includes the fact that some evidence that is of great importance for science has not been preserved at all. Some of them were contained in sources that, for various reasons, have not reached us. But the problem is not only that a significant number of important materials are irretrievably lost. The thinking of people of past eras was significantly different from the worldview and worldview modern man. What seems to us random, without serious consequences, attracted their attention. Many aspects of social life, which seem extremely important to us, have not found adequate reflection in the sources.
In this work, we consider fiction, as a historical source. However, works of art studied in this context have their own specifics. A fair question is: does the use of fiction have the right to be scientific in historical research? The question is not idle enough and has every right to be asked, because in modern history the scope of scientific issues has expanded, especially those that affect the sociocultural aspects of the development of society, individual layers and groups of the country's population, and even an individual. Many researchers are convinced that a somewhat straightforward approach to fiction does not exhaust the possibilities of using it as a source of historical knowledge. The uniqueness of literature lies in the recognition of its ability to reflect intangible, sometimes elusive, but no less effective factors of the historical process. It is this feature of fiction that many scientists see as a priority when turning to it as a source of understanding the past; it is especially important when clarifying the inner truth of eras that are distinguished, for example, by special tragedy. The interweaving of literary and source studies techniques in the analysis of works makes it possible to show their deep, moral meaning. The reliability of details of everyday life, clothing, manners, and speech allows the researcher to draw clear conclusions about the era, which only emphasizes the importance of fiction in historical research. Thus, by analyzing a certain historical era and studying the fiction of that era, one can see much more interesting facts and details.
The policy of “war communism”, world and civil war led the country to an acute political and economic crisis. During this period, the country had a mixed economy. The leading position in it was occupied by the public sector, because in the hands of the state were the so-called. commanding heights: political power, financial system, Natural resources, heavy industry, transport, foreign trade monopoly. The time period that the author is considering is the transition period from the policy of war communism to the period of the NEP. Terror and dictatorship reign in the country. The government resorted to mass and individual terror against the population, looking for communists and representatives of the Soviets, participating in the burning and execution of entire villages. In the face of declining morality, terror quickly gained momentum. Due to the fault of both sides, tens of thousands of innocent people died. Another form of revolutionary terror, as we know, were concentration camps.
The emergence of despotic power was predetermined by the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the presence of a single party, the prohibition of factions in it, the elimination of a multi-party system, individual rights and freedoms. Analyzing the politics of that time, and focusing on the life of the intelligentsia, which is undoubtedly related to the topic of this work, it should be noted that any influence of the intelligentsia on the life of the country, and especially ideological influence, was eradicated. The end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries was marked by a deep crisis that engulfed the entire European culture, which was a consequence of disappointment in previous ideals and a feeling of the approaching death of the existing socio-political system. But this same crisis gave rise to great era - era Russian cultural renaissance at the beginning of the century - one of “the most refined eras in the history of Russian culture.” This was the era of the creative rise of poetry and philosophy after a period of decline. At the same time, it was an era of the emergence of new souls, new sensitivity. Souls opened up to all kinds of mystical trends, both positive and negative. Never before have all kinds of deception and confusion been so strong among us. At the same time, Russian souls were overcome by premonitions of impending catastrophes. The poets saw not only the coming dawns, but something terrible approaching Russia and the world.
At that time, the Bolshevik Party completely placed Soviet literature and art at the service of communist ideology, turning them into a propaganda tool. From now on, they were intended to introduce Marxist-Leninist ideas into the consciousness of people, to convince them of the advantages of a socialist community, of the infallible wisdom of party leaders. Carrying out this policy, Proletkult, the union of proletarian cultural and educational societies, acted. Proletkultists were especially active in calling for a revolutionary overthrow of old forms in art, a violent onslaught of new ideas, and the primitivization of culture.
The author considers the novel by E.I. as an artistic source. Zamyatin "We" novel written in 1921. The time was difficult, and therefore, probably, the work was written in the unusual genre of “utopian book”, fashionable during this period. XX century - century of the Great ideas too big to be fully understood by those not experienced in philosophical issues the mass of humanity. When Evgeny Zamyatin wrote his novel “We,” he, who took on artistic form to study and expose the destructiveness of the totalitarian system for the human personality, life gave us the opportunity to observe with our own eyes the birth of the United State in blood and chaos. A revolutionary by his spiritual make-up, sensing the utopianism of some of the ideas that formed the basis of the country’s councils, the writer wanted to study and expose them, believing in the power of the writer’s word, in the possibility of “cure” the Russian revolution. However, the reality of the twentieth century surpassed all the most terrible forebodings of the author of the novel. Surprisingly, the author seems to foresee future events; he deliberately exposes totalitarianism with all its consequences and characteristic features, but besides this, starting, it seemed, from the exposure, he comes to conclusions that may not have been his original goal - he understands that human nature cannot stand impersonal existence. This is the enormous value of the work; it captures not only facts, albeit skillfully disguised, but a deep philosophical thought.
Initially, the very title of the novel – “We” – arouses interest. It seems that by the title of the novel “We” the author understood the collectivism of the Bolsheviks in Russia, in which the value of the individual was reduced to a minimum. Apparently, out of fear for the fate of the fatherland, Zamyatin moved Russia a thousand years into the future in his novel. The leading theme of this novel is dramatic fate personality in a totalitarian social order. “We” is a word-slogan, a word-symbol of the consciousness of the masses. The writer shows the real essence of a utopia, implemented supposedly on behalf of the majority and for its benefit. The categorical “we” sounds like a ban on “I”. Starting point The totalitarian model is a declaration of some higher goal, in the name of which the regime calls on society to part with all political, legal and social traditions. The novel describes many features of totalitarianism. For example, about general ideology, Zamyatin writes immediately, in the first chapter: “Long live One State, long live the numbers, long live the Benefactor! The symbol of the totalitarian state here is a single State, for the benefit of which all the “numbers” work, the Benefactor is an undeniable and inviolable authority in the Single State, a symbol of the Russian ruler. In the One State, universal “mathematically infallible happiness” reigns. It is provided by the United State itself. But the happiness it gives people is only material, and most importantly, in general, identical and obligatory forms for all. Everyone receives satiety, peace, occupation according to his abilities, complete satisfaction of all physical needs - and for this he must give up everything that distinguishes him from others: living feelings, his own aspirations, natural affections and his own impulses. In a word from one’s own personality. The permanence and inviolability of the ruler, characteristic of a totalitarian regime, which Zamyatin foresees, is reflected in the novel. Zamyatin undoubtedly pays attention to this: “I continue. Tomorrow I will see the same spectacle, repeated year after year and each time in a new exciting way: the mighty Cup of Concord, reverently raised hands. Tomorrow is the day of the annual election of the Benefactor. Tomorrow we will again hand over to the Benefactor the keys to the unshakable stronghold of our happiness.” It should be noted that in addition to the political regime itself, Zamyatin also touches on other issues, for example, the issue of revolution. This was one of the key points, taking into account which, the work was banned in Russia. It is known that the country was just beginning to recover from the revolution, and any hints about it were harshly suppressed. This was especially true for works of art and journalism, where censorship reigned. From the novel: “Isn’t it clear to you: what you are starting is a revolution? - Yes, a revolution! Why is this absurd? - Ridiculous - because there can be no revolution. Because our revolution was the last. And there can be no more revolutions. Everyone knows this... - My dear, you are a mathematician. So, tell me the last number.- That is?.. What is the last?- Well, the last, the top, the largest.- But, I, this is ridiculous. Since the number of numbers is infinite, what is the last revolution you want? - And what is the last revolution you want?” This dialogue fully characterizes the situation in society at that time. Zamyatin seemed to predict in advance the events of the history of our country.
It is wrong to assume that the novel is exclusively critical; the author focuses on this is not the only thing. He does not stop at the unfounded accusation, he also sees a way out of the situation. In the novel, this is the birth of a child, symbolizing hope for victory over a totalitarian utopia. Translating this from the images and symbols of Zamyatin into a form more familiar to us, this is the birth of a new idea, a new competent ruler, and, accordingly, a new people. The writer sees the danger of the policy of war communism and its consequences, hence such images appear - totalitarian state, strict control, dictatorship, permanent ruler, danger of revolutions. “We” is a protest. Protest to the existing order, protest to a policy that does not develop, but destroys society.
Novel “We” by E.I. Zamyatin is a work that can be a historical source in which all the characteristics of society are visible. The main thing is to note that society is not shown to us from any one side, but all spheres of a person’s life are affected, be it politics, public life, everyday life, personal relationships. Despite the fact that Zamyatin uses many symbols, various images-coverings, and even despite the fact that the events of the novel take place in the distant future, he describes precisely the era in which he lived, with all its shortcomings, quite harshly criticizing her. That is why the novel can be a historical source, albeit a rather specific one.
By the mid-20s. censorship was introduced, strict ideological control was present in all spheres of life, including culture. Military suppression was abandoned, but repression continued. All this, undoubtedly, was reflected in fiction. It is known that this is why many works were banned, like the novel “We” by Zamyatin. After all, in his novel he completely exposes the current situation in society, this inevitable path to totalitarianism. The work spells out all the prerequisites for this phenomenon, which could, as Zamyatin sees it, come true. That is why the novel “We” can be considered with full confidence as a historical source.
During the study, we can conclude that fiction can be considered as a historical source, but its specific qualities, both positive and negative, must be taken into account. It must be remembered that works, in addition to the historical era, also reflect the subjective opinion of the author. But what is important in the study of fiction is that the reader can observe the emotional side of the described event, which many other written sources cannot convey.
Works of fiction from the early twentieth century as a historical source
Content
p.
Introduction 2
1.1.Characteristics of Homer’s poems as a historical source8
1.2.Development of a lesson on the topic “Homer’s poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”” 13
Conclusion 17
List of sources and studies 19
Application
Introduction
Currently, in domestic source studies the question of the role and place of fiction in the historical aspect is being actively raised. However, fiction is a controversial historical source. The question has found wide circulation in articles by domestic scientists. A.G. Bolebrukh in his work “Fiction in the Historical Aspect” examines the system of factors that contribute to the connection of fiction with history and the use of writers’ works as a source base for I.A. Mankiewicz, in the article “Literary and artistic heritage as a source of cultural information,” highlights the common goals of both aspects to reproduce reality. The author believes that fiction is a documented expression of the spiritual history of the country.
Fiction includes written works that have social significance, aesthetically express and shape public consciousness.
The subject of independent historical research can be not only the works of fiction themselves, but also their social existence and popularity literary genres and the demand for authors, which reflects the tastes of the readership and the moral climate in society as a whole.
The value of fiction (which is understood as literature with fictional hero, fictitious circumstances that are perceived by the reader as such) as a source lies in the ability to reflect the mentality of its time, to contribute to the reconstruction of certain historical types of behavior, thinking, perception, i.e. reproduce subjective aspects of social reality. This makes works of fiction similar to memoirs and folklore sources.
The first method of using fiction as a historical source dates back to 1887. It was the work of a luminary national science IN. Klyuchevsky “The Minor” by Fonvizin: the experience of a historical explanation of an educational play.” The author shows us that the heroes of the work are not fiction, they are taken directly from the reality around him. Reasoning about this, Klyuchevsky concludes that historical explanation plays can help make it an important source. The following also designed their works in this vein: domestic historians as Kostomarov N.I., Danilov V.P., Mironets I.I.
When extracting information from a source, you need to remember its specificity - subjectivity. Here there is a need for its scientific criticism, analysis, extraction of true and identification of false information. In order to extract the necessary information from a source that subjectively reflects the objective world, a number of conditions and rules must be observed. First of all, you need to determine the authenticity of the sources. Undoubtedly, this requires extremely high qualifications. It is necessary to know a lot: the nature of writing, writing material, features of the language, its vocabulary and grammatical forms, the specifics of dating events and the use of metric units, if we talk about written sources. But even proof of the authenticity of a source does not mean that you can safely use the information it contains. The authenticity of a source does not guarantee its reliability.
However, the reliability of information, although it is an important component of the specificity of a historical source, does not exhaust it. This also includes the fact that some evidence that is of great importance for science has not been preserved at all. Some of them were contained in sources that, for various reasons, have not reached us. But the problem is not only that a significant number of important materials are irretrievably lost. The thinking of people of past eras differed significantly from the worldview and worldview of modern man. What seems to us random, without serious consequences, attracted their attention. Many aspects of social life, which seem extremely important to us, have not found adequate reflection in the sources.
The works of art studied in this context have their own specificity. A fair question is: does the use of fiction have the right to be scientific in historical research? The question is not idle enough and has every right to be asked, because in modern history the scope of scientific issues has expanded, especially those that affect the sociocultural aspects of the development of society, individual layers and groups of the country's population, and even an individual. Many researchers are convinced that a somewhat straightforward approach to fiction does not exhaust the possibilities of using it as a source of historical knowledge. The uniqueness of literature lies in the recognition of its ability to reflect intangible, sometimes elusive, but no less effective factors of the historical process. It is this feature of fiction that many scientists see as a priority when turning to it as a source of understanding the past; it is especially important when clarifying the inner truth of eras that are distinguished, for example, by special tragedy. The interweaving of literary and source studies techniques when analyzing works makes it possible to show their deep, moral meaning. The reliability of details of everyday life, clothing, manners, and speech allows the researcher to draw clear conclusions about the era, which only emphasizes the importance of fiction in historical research.
Fiction used in teaching history can be divided into two groups of works: a) literary monuments of the era being studied and b) historical fiction.
Literary monuments include works created in the era that we are studying, that is, works written by contemporaries of the described phenomena and events of social life.
The works of this group are original documents of the era and serve to historical science one of the sources of knowledge about the past.
Of course, literary monuments of the era depict the life of their time through the prism of the views of the author as a representative of a certain class of his time. Therefore, a critical approach to a work of art is necessary, as, indeed, to any historical document.
It’s a different matter - works of historical fiction - a historical novel, a story on historical topic, - i.e. works of fiction about the era under study, created by writers of later times. Such works are neither literary monuments of the era depicted, nor living evidence of its contemporaries, and therefore cannot serve as a historical source. They themselves are based on the author’s study of historical sources, memoirs and documents, scientific research and monographs about the era and represent a more or less successful attempt to recreate the past in artistic form.
However, while not being a documentary source for historical science, a good historical novel serves as an excellent means of introducing students to the results of studying the past, moreover, in specific images, fascinating plots and expressive characters - in artistic form, i.e. most accessible and interesting. It is known that for many schoolchildren, interest in history is awakened for the first time as a result of reading historical novels and stories. The distinction between these two types of works of art is of significant importance not only for historical science, but also for school history teaching.
Literary monuments of the era being studied are most often used in history lessons as a basis for conclusions and generalizations. As for works related to historical fiction, they provide the teacher with the means to concretize and illustrate the material being presented, and help to make the presentation itself more picturesque.
It is necessary to develop in students a different attitude towards these two groups of works of art and the ability to distinguish between them.
When selecting fiction for history lessons, the teacher is guided by two main points. First of all, the cognitive and educational value of the material, consisting in a truthful presentation and coverage of historical phenomena in accordance with historical reality and the laws of its development.
The second determining point in the selection of material is its high artistic value.
The teacher will select passages for use in history lessons that contain:
1) a live image of historical events, the study of which is provided school curriculum and a textbook;
2) images of historical figures, representatives masses and the depiction of the masses themselves;
3) a picture description of the specific situation in which the events of the past unfolded.
The greatest difficulty for a history teacher is to recreate the mental makeup of people of a certain era, their thoughts, feelings, and aspirations. Fiction makes it extremely easy to solve this problem in history lessons. This material is presented in works of art in the form of statements by literary characters expressing typical aspirations, ideas of their class and their time. Their statements can be included in the teacher's presentation.
The main techniques for working with fiction are:
- inclusion of images of fiction in the teacher’s presentation, in which the material of a work of fiction is perceived not as a literary quotation, but as an inseparable element of a colorful presentation;
- a brief retelling of a work of art;
- short poetic quotes. They are usually compressed, expressive, producing strong impression, easy to remember;
- reading excerpts from historical novels. This not only helps the solution educational objectives lesson, but is also one of the methods for developing cognitive interest in the “propaganda” of the book.
Thus, by analyzing a certain historical era and studying the fiction of this era, you can see much more interesting facts and details.
Characteristics of Homer's poems as a historical source
"Odyssey" and "Iliad" are among the most important and for a long time the only sources information about the period that followed in Greek history beyond the Mycenaean era. However, in addition to the content of these works, scientists have for a long time been concerned with the question of the origin of the poems, the identity of their author or authors, and the time of creation. According to ancient tradition Homer was considered the author of both poems. His name opened and continues to open the history of literature, not only Hellenic, but also other European ones. Since the time of Plato, the Iliad and the Odyssey have been singled out from the many epic works as the only ones worthy of the name of Homer.
Despite the lack of any reliable information about Homer as a real person, his existence has not been questioned. There were only disputes about the place of his birth, about the years of his life. According to the most common version, he was a native of the island of Chios. However, already in ancient times there were fierce disputes between Greek cities for the right to be called the homeland of the great poet. Evidence of the significance of such a dispute can also serve as a couplet composed in ancient times: “Seven cities argued about the birth of the wise Homer: Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Pylos, Argos, Ithaca, Athens.” Absence biographical information about Homer (except for the absolutely mythical ones that he was the son of the river god Meletus and the nymph Cripheis) allowed some researchers ancient greek history and literature to doubt historical reality personality of the poet. However, this happened already in the 18th century, until that time the ancient tradition remained unshakable, the scientific literature was dominated by the conviction that it was this real person, with the power of extraordinary talent and comprehensive experience, who conceived and miraculously executed two immortal poems. However, with the development of historical science in the 18th century. the question of the origin of Homeric poems (the so-called Homeric question) is again raised, and it is still one of the unresolved issues scientific problems. But the fierce controversy was not fruitless. Scientists have managed to establish at least approximately the time and place of their creation. Judging by a number of signs, both poems attributed to Homer were created in the 8th century. before i. e. The Iliad predates the Odyssey by about half a century. Homer's life was dated differently - from the 11th to the beginning of the 8th century. BC e. Ancient historians still assumed that Homer lived around the middle of the 9th century. BC e. and was a native of one of the Greek cities on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor.
Over the past two centuries, the so-called Homeric question has been the subject of study by specialists of various directions: the literature on this issue numbers thousands of titles. Indeed, the history of the Homeric question is a long string of hypotheses, doubts and constructions. In the history of criticism of the Odyssey, the main place is occupied by the German researchers Kirchhoff and Wolf. All subsequent hypotheses were formed under the influence of these two scientists. Thus, Wolf's school was of the opinion that the Iliad and the Odyssey are a mechanical combination of many songs, gradually completed by various aeds. To resolve scientific discussions among historians and philologists, numerous studies of the language of the poems were carried out, their composition was analyzed, and almost every line of the works was carefully examined. The data from these studies were then compared with the epics of other peoples, archaeological sites Mycenaean and subsequent periods of Greek history. However, some hopelessness is given to all these searches by the fact that many scientists, when considering the poems, proceed from the positions and concepts of another time and another society. They require compositional, logical harmony from them. We must not forget that the Iliad and the Odyssey were in turn prepared by numerous previous experiences of singers, typical representatives of which the images of Thamiris, Demidok, Phemius appear in Homer's poems. The name of Homer, thus, completes a long period of creativity, in which images of gods and heroes, songs about modern and past events and personalities were formed, a language was developed for literary purposes, a poetic meter and various so-called accessories of the epic type of poetry were established.
The poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey” were created on the basis of a popular cycle of works about the war of the allied leaders of the Greek (Achaean) tribes against Troy. The name of these epic works is directly related to the content of the poems. So the name of the first “Iliad” comes from the Greek name Troy-Ilion. The Iliad describes the events of the last, tenth year of the siege of Troy. This was one of the most difficult periods of the siege. The poem begins with a description of Achilles' quarrel with the leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon, over the division of spoils. Achilles refused to participate in the battles, which led to victories for the Trojans. And only after the death of his friend Patroclus, who was killed in battle with Hector, mighty son King Priam, Achilles decides to take part in the battles again. The Iliad ends its narrative with a description of the burial of the strongest defender of Troy, Hector, who was killed by Achilles. But the Iliad does not tell about the events of either the previous wars or the first years of the war with Troy. She also does not bring the story to the victory of the Greeks - the capture of Troy.
The Odyssey describes the ten-year wanderings of one of the Achaean leaders in Trojan War - cunning Odysseus, king of the small island of Ithaca. Having provoked the wrath of Poseidon, he cannot return and is forced to seek salvation in a foreign land. After a series of fantastic adventures, overcoming many dangers, Odysseus returns to his homeland. Here he is forced to fight for his property. With the help of his son Telemachus and his loyal slaves, he kills numerous suitors from the noblest families of the island who sought the hand of his wife Penelope; thus he restores his rights to rule Ithaca. It also provides information about future fate a number of heroes of the Iliad. Thus, the plots of the poems are closely related to each other by the same characters and unity of theme. However, the Odyssey is not a logical continuation of the Iliad. In addition, they differ sharply from each other in the nature of their presentation. If in the “Iliad” the life of wartime is vividly depicted - battles, exploits of heroes, the cruelty of war, then in the “Odyssey” the poet paints mainly pictures of the peaceful life of the ancient Greek tribes. Other episodes Trojan cycle were presented in the so-called cyclic poems, which took shape in the form of songs no earlier than the 8th century BC. e. and came to us only in the form brief retellings, mentions in the works of authors of a later period. In all likelihood, they were based, just like the Iliad and the Odyssey, on heroic songs and tales related to the Trojan War. They were performed by aeds (singers) who roamed the land of Ancient Hellas, and were very popular. They were passed down from generation to generation, like legends and myths, traditions of other peoples of antiquity, and over time they were replenished with tales of real historical events, uniquely reflecting the phenomena of the natural and social environment in which they arose. The poems were transmitted orally and only in the 6th century. BC e. they were recorded in Athens and turned into literary works. And Homer, who may have been an Aed, only collected and reworked all those legends, creating on their basis two epic poems exceptional scale and outstanding artistic merit.
The historical material included in Homer's narrative is very complex. It undoubtedly contains elements that go back to the Mycenaean era, perhaps even earlier than the Trojan War itself. At the same time, poems are also works folk art: rich language, rich in images and comparisons, excellent characteristics of the characters, complex composition are clear evidence of the long path of development of Greek heroic epic. The ancient turns of the epic language, the very image of the world in which heroes fight with bronze weapons, take us to the era of the Achaean kings of the Mycenaean period. The epic tradition had all its roots in the Mycenaean culture. However, despite the fact that the influence traditional material very large, the poems are not entirely immersed in the past, but are also addressed to the modern era.
With all the conditions and reservations, the Homeric epic is the most important source reflecting the historical life of Greece not so much in the Mycenaean, but in the post-Mycenaean period, with its characteristic predominance of features of the tribal system. For a researcher, Homer’s works are invaluable sources about the life and everyday life of the Hellenes at the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e.
Development of a lesson on the topic “Homer’s poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey””
The purpose of the lesson.
To develop in students the skill of working with historical sources, to teach them to distinguish factual material from fiction; expand knowledge about culture Ancient Greece, to introduce to the study of world culture. Continue developing the skills to write a story and draw conclusions.
Tasks:
determine how the events described in the poems are related to each other;
find out what information about the development of the spiritual and economic spheres the poems contain;
find out which religious beliefs existed among the ancient Greeks;
identify what customs were characteristic of the inhabitants of Ithaca;
find out how thoroughly you can study the religion of the ancient Greeks by becoming familiar with the content of the poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”.
Lesson type: generalization lesson.
Equipment:
§26-27 teaching aid"Story ancient world"A. Vigasina, V. Sventsitskaya M., “Enlightenment” 2013;
map “Ancient Greece”;
cards with the names of heroes of myths and names of cities of Ancient Greece for distribution into groups for active and interactive forms of work;
Lesson plan.
1. Organizational moment.
2.Motivation for the lesson.
3.Work on the topic of the lesson:
a) distribution into groups;
b) individual work with the text §26-27
c) summing up the results of individual work;
d) studying material for working in groups;
4. summing up the work.
During the classes
1. Organizational moment.
2.Motivation for the lesson.
Teacher's word:
Period XI–IX centuries. BC. in the history of ancient Greece is traditionally called “Homeric”, since the main sources for this era are Homer’s epic poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey” - the first literary monuments of antiquity that have reached us. Other sources, primarily archaeological, are extremely scarce, so those researchers who deny the possibility of using Homer’s poems as a historical source call this era the “Dark Ages.” In relation to this period, the term “pre-polis period” is also increasingly used in science, focusing attention on the conditions that led to the formation of the main phenomenon of the newly emerging civilization - the polis.
Write the topic of the lesson on the board. Invite students to determine the purpose of the lesson. Correction of student answers.
Distribution of cards with the names of mythical heroes among students.
Aegeus, Ariadne, Theseus, Daedalus, Athens, Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Hera, Aphrodite, Paris, Menelaus, Euboea, Crete, Ithaca, Thera. Placing on the board boards with classifying characteristics:
islands of ancient greece
heroes of the myth of the Minotaur
heroes of the myth about the beginning of the Trojan War
cities of ancient Greece
Work on the topic of the lesson.
Dividing students into groups. (since September, students have been divided into three groups, taking into account their cognitive abilities, 1 group with high level(6 people), 2nd group with an average level (10 people) and 3rd group with low level(5 people)).
Work in groups (15 min)
1 group 2 group 3 group
Dramatize any part of the poem.
Find information about reliable and fictitious information. Evaluate the actions of the heroes. What attracts you to them? What are you condemning? Why? Read and draw conclusions about the morals and traditions of the ancient Greeks. What did the ancient Greeks value in people? Retell
One excerpt from the poem. What events did the ancient Greek poet Homer reflect in his poems?
Summing up group work
Group 3 should list the following when answering the question: In the poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, the ancient Greek poet Homer talks about the Trojan War and about one surviving hero - Odysseus.
Group 2 should draw the following conclusions: the kings themselves fought and were an example for ordinary warriors; There have been cases of deception; the main thing for war is courage and courage; they relied on the gods, and the gods constantly interfered in people's lives; the dead were burned on a funeral pyre. They value strength, courage, friendship, compassion.
Group 3: shows a sketch based on the selected passage, evaluates the actions of the characters, expresses my opinion about what attracted them and what they condemned in them. Reliable information - the Greeks had a slave state, Greek kings waged wars, prisoners became slaves, warriors wore special armor that was made of metal: the head was protected by a helmet, the chest was protected by a special shell.
Summing up the lesson.
Can Homer's poems be called a historical source?
In what cases are they used? idioms: “between Scylla and Charybdis”, “Achilles’ heel”, “apple of discord”, “Trojan horse”.
Homework: Get acquainted with the myths of ancient Greece, prepare a retelling of one myth.
Conclusion
Solving the goals and objectives set during the lesson helped students conclude that Homer’s works are not only of artistic value, but also of historical value. The specific historical events described by Homer gave students an idea of the life, religion, and customs of the ancient Greeks. We expanded our knowledge about the culture of Ancient Greece and saw the effective factors of the historical process.
Based on this, we can safely state that the use of fiction in the process of teaching history at school not only contributes to solving educational problems, but also helps to understand the essence of the era being studied, to feel its flavor, the specifics of historical phenomena, and broadens the horizons of students. It also solves educational problems: pictures of the past evoke certain emotions, make you worry, sympathize, admire, hate. Are being formed life ideals students. Images from fiction contribute to a more durable consolidation of historical material in the memory of students.
Fiction is the most important means of understanding socio-historical phenomena, and also contributes to the development of imaginative thinking, the ability to analyze the information received, compare, highlight the main thing.
An artistic image increases the emotional impact of the teacher’s story and fosters a certain attitude towards the historical phenomena being studied, arousing sympathy, admiration, indignation, and hatred. Being a rich source of information, fiction contains valuable material for establishing in the minds of students the high moral principles developed by humanity.
However, there is a problem of children's reading, it is one of the most pressing problems modern world. Literary education susceptible to the influence of destructive external factors, which have especially actively manifested themselves in last decade: in connection with the development of computer and other information technologies One of the consequences is a decline in interest in literature in general. For this reason, children stopped reading, which means that literacy, intelligence, emotional and moral education, and many components of the harmonious development of a child’s personality suffer.
However, it should be noted that these same Newest technologies can help the teacher in teaching history, diversify lessons, and make them more attractive to children.
History lessons using fiction can be multifaceted and varied. Excerpts literary texts are introduced to help in understanding the historical past, to solve educational and educational tasks of the lesson, and increase interest in the subject.
Thus, the use of interdisciplinary, intercourse and intrasubject connections is very important. At the same time, there is an integration of various school subjects: literature, history, music, visual arts and so on.
We can conclude that it is necessary to optimally use works of art in all types of history lessons in high school to achieve high results and the most effective learning by students.
List of sources and studies
Schmidt S.O. Fiction and art as a source of formation of historical ideas // Shmidt S.O. The historian's path. Selected works on source studies and historiography. – M., 1997. – P.113–115. [Electronic resource]
Blum A.V. Fiction as a historical and book science
Literary works as a historical source
XIV-XV centuries were the last stage in the development of the Russian epic epic. Main monuments Russian epic epic of this period are:
1. The Legend of the Battle of the Neva .
2. The Legend of the Battle of the Ice .
3. Novgorod epics about Vasily Buslaev and Sadko.
Major works Russian literature of the second stage of feudal fragmentation :
1. Unknown author. “The Word about the Destruction of the Russian Land” (between 1238 and 1246) – an excerpt from a work that has not reached us about the fate of Rus' during the period of the Tatar-Mongol conquest. The work was created in Vladimir in the period between 1238 (the capture of the city of Vladimir and the conquest of North-Eastern Rus') and 1246 (the death of the Vladimir prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, who received the label of reign in 1243 and recognized the vassal dependence of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality on the Tatar-Mongols ). The surviving passage contains a historical retrospective of the author, where he examines the beginning of princely civil strife after the death of Yaroslav the Wise. He sees in the disunity of the Russian princes main reason"the destruction of the Russian land" from Tatar-Mongol invasion. Probably, the final part of this work, which has not survived, was dedicated to the fall of the Vladimir principality in 1238. Certain images and stylistic devices of this work are reminiscent of the “laments” and “glories” of folk poetry and are close in content and poetic structure to “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”
2. Unknown author. "The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu" (XIV century)- a monument of Russian literature telling about the defeat of Ryazan by the Mongol-Tatars in 1237. The story was created in the middle of the 14th century unknown author, came to us in lists no earlier than the 16th century as part of a collection of Ryazan works, which bears the code name “The Tale of Nikola Zaraisky” and is dedicated to the legendary history of the icon of Nikola Zaraisky (Zaraisk is a city in the Ryazan principality). Highest value has the central part of the vault - “The Tale of the Ruin of Ryazan by Batu”. The story about the hero Evpatiy Kolovrat included in it is regarded by many researchers as a book adaptation of a folk song.
3. Zephanius. "Zadonshchina" (80s of the XIV century)- a poetic story about the Battle of Kulikovo, the author of which was the Bryansk boyar Sophony.
Fiction as a historical source
Fiction includes written works that have social significance, aesthetically express and shape public consciousness.
It is generally accepted that historical ideas human knowledge are not formed under the influence of the works of professional historians, but are based on works of fiction and folklore sources. According to S. O. Schmidt, “the influence of the science of history on society is determined to a greater extent not by the direct research (or educational) works of historians (designed, as a rule, for a narrow circle of readers - mainly specialists), but by their journalistic writings or their concepts, conclusions and observations expressed in the writings of other publicists and masters of fiction."
In traditional source studies, only the most ancient literary texts were considered as historical sources. One of the reasons for the lack of attention on the part of professional historians of modern and contemporary times to fiction lies in the belief that the latter represents an extremely subjective, often biased, and therefore distorted picture of life that does not meet the source study criteria of reliability.
Supporters of the so-called “new intellectual history,” a movement that emerged in the 1970s. in foreign historiography, they questioned the usual understanding of historical truth, suggesting that the historian will create a text in the same way as a poet or writer. In their opinion, the historian's text is a narrative discourse, a narrative, subject to the same rules of rhetoric that are present in fiction. E. S. Senyavskaya also rightly notes that not a single historian, like a writer, is able to completely recreate the past (even following the principle of “getting used to” it), since he is inevitably pressed by the burden of knowledge and ideas of his time.
In Russian historiography, the question of the possibilities of using fiction as a historical source has been raised before. Back in 1899, V. O. Klyuchevsky, in a speech on the occasion of the opening of the monument to A. S. Pushkin in Moscow, called everything written by the great poet " historical document“: “Without Pushkin it is impossible to imagine the eras of the 20s and 30s, just as it is impossible to write the history of the first half of our century without his works.” In his opinion, incidents alone cannot serve as factual material for a historian: “... ideas, views, feelings, impressions of people of a certain time - the same facts and very important..."
The author of one of the first Soviet textbooks on source studies, G. P. Saar, included fiction and poetry among historical sources, but gave preference to “social novels” created by contemporaries of the events described. In subsequent years, the prevailing point of view was that works of art can be used in the study of social relations only by those historical eras, from which not enough other evidence has survived.
During the discussions that took place in 1962–1963. on the pages of the magazines "New and recent history" and "Questions in the History of the CPSU", a variety of opinions were expressed regarding the source study perspective of fiction: from categorical objections to a call not to neglect sources that reflect "the multifaceted activities of the party and the ideological life of society."
Literary sources are works that, based on the plot, tell about historical events and personalities. Features of studying literary sources:
2. Availability in the source fiction– invented events and heroes.
When working with these sources, you need to separate truth from fiction, artistic descriptions from objects of reality. It also needs to be taken into account that individual genres(primarily hagiography) are built according to rigid canons, departure from which is not possible, as a result of which various invented events appear. Literary works do not so much record facts as reflect the author’s thoughts, feelings, and author’s thoughts about events and phenomena. These sources are very valuable for studying the history of culture and ideology.
52. Main features of literary works of the 11th – 13th centuries. “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” as a source on the history of Belarus.
The works of this period have two main points:
1. religious literature predominates
2. journalistic nature of secular literature
In the XI-XIII centuries. On the lands of Rus', works of Christian content predominated, the authors of which were Russian bishops and monks. The main genres and traditions of religious literature were adopted from Byzantium at the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11th centuries. due to the adoption of Christianity. Already in 1055, the first original work of the Russian metropolitan appeared in 1051-1055. Hilarion's "Sermon on Law and Grace", in which Prince Yaroslav the Wise was glorified. At the end of the 11th century, the monk Nestor created the first lives in Rus' - “The Life of Theodosius of Pechersk” and “The Life of Boris and Gleb”.
A good example of literature that is difficult to separate from journalism is the work of Kirill Turovsky. From him we have received more than 40 works: legends, teachings on the Gospel, writings of the prophets, prayers and a canon of repentance, stories. Behind the religious form of his works are real facts life contemporary writer society, the tough struggle of social and cultural trends. Therefore, the literary and journalistic heritage of K. Turovsky is an important source not only for studying the writer’s activities, but also the spiritual atmosphere of that era.
One “Epistle to Presbyter Thomas” has survived, written by Clement Smolyatich, who in the 12th century “was a scribe and philosopher, the likes of which had never existed in Rus'.”
An interesting source of educational content (but, of course, of a secular nature) is the “Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh”, written in 1117, but erroneously included in the Laurentian list of PVL in 1097. The author gives instructions to the younger generation, shares the experience of his eventful life life. Grand Duke, sharing his memories, talks about his relations with the Polotsk princes and his campaigns on the Belarusian lands.
One of the first secular literary sources on the lands of Rus' was “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign,” written in 1185–1187. Chernigov boyar Pyotr Borislavich (attribution to B. Rybakov). The source is dated by the mention of the living Galician prince Yaroslav Osmomysl, who died in 1187. The “Lay” tells about the campaign of Prince Novgorod-Seversk Igor Svyatoslavovich in April-May 1185 against the Polovtsians. The dating of the campaign is established by solar eclipse, which caught Igor’s troops in the bend of the Don on May 1, 1185.
The “Tale of Igor’s Campaign” mentions the activities of the Polotsk prince Vseslav Bryachislavovich (1044–1101). While he was in Kyiv (in the cuttings in 1068, and then as a prince in 1069), he heard the ringing of the Polotsk Sophia, which indirectly indicates the construction of this temple in the 50-60s. XI century Vseslav, having turned into a wolf, ran the distance from Kyiv to Tmutarakan (Tamatarkha on the shore of the Kerch Strait) overnight (“before the chickens”), crossing the path of the Iranian solar deity Khorsu. This prince’s campaign against Tmutarakan is not reflected in the chronicles. “The Word” emphasizes the prince’s witchcraft abilities and the speed of his movements. The Battle of the Nyamiga River on March 3, 1067 is colorfully described in the Lay, which is compared to a bloody harvest and threshing with “haraluzhny” (steel) caps.
The Tale mentions the struggle of Prince Izyaslav Vasilkovich against the “filthy” (pagan) Lithuanians, who were located in the swamps along the (Western) Dvina.
The list of “Words” was found by Musin-Pushkin in the Yaroslavl monastery. Then a copy was made from this list for Catherine II. In 1800, “The Lay” was published with parallel text in Old Russian and Russian. The list of “The Word”, which was in the Musin-Pushkin library, was lost during the fire of Moscow in 1812.
Hagiographic literature as a source on the history of Belarus.
The first “pasions” (passions) and martyrias (testimonies), which narrated the martyrdom of the first Christians, arose at the beginning of the 3rd century (pasion Perepetui and Felicites during the anti-Christian persecution of Septimius Severus 203-210).2 The first East Slavic hagiographic work was description in the Tale of Bygone Years of the pagan sacrifice of a Varangian father and son in Kiev on July 12, 983 (in later tradition they were called Theodore John).
The peculiarity of the Lives is that the author strictly followed the canon (as when writing an icon), used entire expressions and scenes from other Lives. For example, in the life of Euphrosyne of Polotsk there are many similarities with the life of Euphrosyne of Alexandria. Ephraim, the author of the life of Avramius of Smolensk, deliberately adopted the writing style of Ephraim the Syrian, creator of the life of John Chrysostom. Lives usually lack dating, and all events are usually indicated by the year of the saint’s life.
In Lives in accordance with the literary task biographical facts are only forms for determining ideal image saint Indeed, the pathos of the entire life and activity of an ascetic is based on the acceptance of the ideal image of behavior of an ancient saint, martyr, apostle, and, ultimately, Christ. Only those facts that correspond to the task are taken from the biography. Selected traits of the “ideal saint” suppress the individual personality. The hagiographer sets the task of finding a reflection of the ideal in the character, and not describing her as real historical character. Klyuchevsky said that the difference between a life and a biography is the same as between an icon and a portrait.
The Life of Euphrosyne of Polotsk (1130 - 1173 according to V. Orlov or 1105 - 1167 according to A. Melnikov) was written at the end of the 12th century. and was preserved in later revisions of the 16th – 18th centuries. More than 100 lists of lives can be divided into 6 editions: Collections, Degree Book, Makaryevsky great Chetyev Miney, two Prologues and the edition of the “Book of Lives of Saints” by Dmitry Rostov. The author of the life was a man close to the servant Michael, with whom Euphrosyne made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This pilgrimage is described in detail in the life.
At the end of the 12th-13th centuries, a prologue life-memory of Cyril of Turov was created. Archimandrite Leonid attributed the time of writing the life to the time of the life of the Tver bishop Simeon (died in 1289). Preserved in lists starting from the 16th century, although N. Nikolsky published a list of the 14th-15th centuries in 1907.
During the period of the XII-XIII centuries. Ageographic works such as:
1. A word about the Turov monk Martin, who lived in the first half of the 12th century. The word has been preserved in Prologues since the 15th century.
2. Life of Avramius of Smolensk (died no later than 1219), created by his follower Ephraim after the Mongol invasion in 1237;
3. The Life of Mercury, Martyr of Smolensk, written after the Mongol invasion in 1237. Preserved in 80 copies of the 16th–18th centuries. Many researchers consider him not a real figure, but a product of folk art, copied from the great martyr Mercury of Caesarea.
