Project Details
Projekt
GRK 1144: Forms of Prestige in Cultures of the Ancient World
Subject Area
Ancient Cultures
Social and Cultural Anthropology, Non-European Cultures, Jewish Studies and Religious Studies
Social and Cultural Anthropology, Non-European Cultures, Jewish Studies and Religious Studies
Term
from 2005 to 2014
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 795603
Prestige, that is reputation recognised or ascribed by a particular part of a society, represents a central element of societal relations in the various cultures of the Ancient World. While prestige is based on exclusiveness, it is at the same time dependent on general acceptance. What precisely is implied by prestige at various times and in diverse cultures, how it was acquired or awarded and how it may have changed has not been elucidated by previous scholarship.
The purpose of this Research Training Group is thus to research prestige in the very broadest sense, as a social, economic, religious, legal and cultural phenomenon. In individual cases this involves detailed investigations of social and cultural factors and contexts in which prestige plays a role. In addition to the relationship between the assignment. and possession. of prestige and the fulfilment of expectations which are connected to it, this Research Training Group also investigates the representation of prestige in the written sources and in the material culture. In addition to societal and physical components, abstract cultural elements of prestige should also constitute part of the field of investigation, that is, the positive evaluation not only of individuals, social groups and objects but also of practices and ideal concepts, in other words the collective forms of cultural expression of prestige.
For this reason the Research Training Group has been assembled from representatives of research disciplines dealing with the diverse ancient cultures of Europe, the Near East, and Asia. This should provide the basis for a better understanding of culture-specific as well as transcultural aspects of prestige through interdisciplinary cooperation. In the process we can not only move beyond the traditionally observed and nowadays more intensively investigated connections between Europe and the Near East through the integration of the various fields of research on Southern and Eastern Asia. The cultural comparisons made possible by this work lead us to expect important insights into the character and development of prestige as a socio-cultural phenomenon in pre-modern cultures.
The purpose of this Research Training Group is thus to research prestige in the very broadest sense, as a social, economic, religious, legal and cultural phenomenon. In individual cases this involves detailed investigations of social and cultural factors and contexts in which prestige plays a role. In addition to the relationship between the assignment. and possession. of prestige and the fulfilment of expectations which are connected to it, this Research Training Group also investigates the representation of prestige in the written sources and in the material culture. In addition to societal and physical components, abstract cultural elements of prestige should also constitute part of the field of investigation, that is, the positive evaluation not only of individuals, social groups and objects but also of practices and ideal concepts, in other words the collective forms of cultural expression of prestige.
For this reason the Research Training Group has been assembled from representatives of research disciplines dealing with the diverse ancient cultures of Europe, the Near East, and Asia. This should provide the basis for a better understanding of culture-specific as well as transcultural aspects of prestige through interdisciplinary cooperation. In the process we can not only move beyond the traditionally observed and nowadays more intensively investigated connections between Europe and the Near East through the integration of the various fields of research on Southern and Eastern Asia. The cultural comparisons made possible by this work lead us to expect important insights into the character and development of prestige as a socio-cultural phenomenon in pre-modern cultures.
DFG Programme
Research Training Groups
Applicant Institution
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Spokesperson
Professor Dr. Martin Zimmermann
Participating Researchers
Professor Dr. Franz Alto Bauer; Professor Dr. Günter Burkard; Professor Dr. Hans van Ess; Professor Dr. Jens-Uwe Hartmann; Professor Dr. Martin Hose; Professor Dr. Thomas O. Höllmann; Professorin Dr. Carola Metzner-Nebelsick; Professor Dr. Jared Miller; Professor Dr. Stefan Ritter; Professor Dr. Michael Roaf; Professor Dr. Walther Sallaberger; Professor Dr. Rolf Michael Schneider
