Philologisches Seminar, Wilhelmstraße 36, 72074 Tübingen, tel. (07071) 29-6092 or 29-4977, Fax 0049-7071-29-6742
The "Philologisches Seminar" is one of the largest Classics Departments in Germany. Grown out of a seminary for secondary school teachers, founded in 1838, it was able by its continuous tradition of highly qualified teaching and research to attract hundreds of students every year from all parts of Germany and abroad. The departmental library with presently ca. 45.000 volumes and 80 seats offers good conditions for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for visiting scholars. The resources of the Institute for Ancient History, which is housed in the same building, the central library of the Modern Languages Department and the university library, which are both nearby, cover the whole range of classical languages and cultures including their tradition and reception until the present day.
Within the various disciplines that form the whole of "Altertumswissenschaft", Classical Philology has concentrated on edition and interpretation of the texts of Greek and Roman Antiquity in both the central areas and the periphery: the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, the Balkan countries and Western Europe. At Tübingen, two major interests determine teaching and research:
Within the concept of a European history of literature, ancient literature is conceived as the cradle of European literature, uniting a system of different cultures in which, for the first time, a set of genres and a thesaurus of themes and motifs was developed that was to influence later European literature and that is still strongly visible today. The same is true for ancient philosophy, the thoughts and concepts of Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, the Stoics and the Neoplatonists who have shaped European philosophy and religion for more than twenty centuries.
The other line of research operates within the concept of cultural studies. Greek and Latin texts, ranging from short inscriptions to the masterpieces of ancient literature, are seen as specific products of their own contemporary culture and as a major source for the reconstruction of this culture in a broader context of ancient history and mentality. Thus a close cooperation is necessary and, as a matter of fact, being practiced with historically and systematically related disciplines as, for instance, Ancient History, Classical Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology and History of Religion.
Four full professors , three associate professors and a number of lecturers and senior lecturers fulfill their tasks in teaching and research within the two above mentioned areas:
Interests in Greek literature focus on the archaic and classical periods, especially on poetic genres, on early lyric poetry and on the tragedies of Euripides. Research in Greek philosophy, marked by the longstanding tradition of the Tübingen Plato School, concentrates on Plato, Aristotle and the history of Platonism. The complete word index of Plato's dialogues and the bibliographical resources of the "Platon-Archiv " offer excellent conditions for further studies.
In Latin literature emphasis is given to late republican and Augustan poetry and prose, to narrative genres, to Patristic Studies (with a separate section) and to the literature of late antiquity. Members of the staff also participate in an interdisciplinary project on the history of ancient technology. There is also a growing interest in Neo-Latin literature that will form one of the future central fields of research. The gap between ancient Latin and Neo-Latin is bridged by a close cooperation with the department of Medieval Latin.
The history of Greek and Latin language is taught with special emphasis on archaic language, Greek and Latin dialects, social stratigraphy and comparative grammar. A close cooperation with the department of Comparative Linguistics has proven extremely fruitful.
The cooperation with the department of the History of Religion has led to the foundation of a separate section for the Religions of Classical Antiquity where several larger research projects are being carried out. This field is supplemented by the section of Cultural Anthropology that also belongs to the Philologisches Seminar.
For about thirty years computer-assisted research has been carried out with the emphasis on computer-generated analyses of language and metrics of Latin texts. Together with the department of Literary Data Processing, a number of relevant studies has been published. Computerized materials are also accessible for educational purposes.
The growth of the historical disciplines since the 19th century was mainly stimulated by the remains of Greek and Latin culture in the field of literature and archaeology. The history of reception and interpretation of antiquity since early modern time, its Nachleben or Wirkungsgeschichte, forms a central part in the Tübingen research activities. Consequently the "Neue Pauly ", whose concept was developed in Tübingen and whose volumes are edited by members of the Philologisches Seminar, tries to integrate the history of reception and classical scholarship into a new Reallexikon of Classical Antiquity.
The many areas of research result in a great variation of courses. While some lectures teach the major lines of the history of Greek and Latin literature, other lectures introduce into more specific areas of research. A wide range of seminars deals with more specialized topics: a single author or text, problems of style and genre, matters of language, philosophy and religion, or questions of methodology. Encouraging independent work and common discussion, the aim of these courses is to introduce the students to the specific methods of the discipline and to enable them to specialize in subjects that are not taught in the average courses.
In the first place, however, substantial knowledge of the classical languages themselves is required. More than a dozen elementary courses are offered for beginners without previous knowledge of Latin and Greek and for students of other departments who need proficiency in one or both of the classical languages. Language training courses in the first two years promote active and passive competence in grammar, semantics and stylistics. If the students have passed the examinations after the second year, they move on to the 3rd and 4th year at the end of which they do their final examinations - either M.A. or "Lehramtsexamen" in Greek or Latin - consisting of a thesis of c. 30.000 words and, in each language, two sessions with one paper each (prose composition, translation and interpretation) and an oral examination.
Stand: 21.04.95 - apsinfo@www.uni-tuebingen.de