NO ‘GREAT’ FLAVIAN WOMEN? PROCESSES OF SILENCING IN ANCIENT SOURCES AND (EARLY) MODERN SCHOLARSHIP

Researchers routinely stress that, compared to the Julian-Claudian period, the Flavian period had no ‘great women’. But what do these researchers mean by ‘greatness’? This contribution examines processes of inclusion and exclusion of women in ancient, early modern and modern historical narratives ab...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Akroterion Vol. 68; no. 1
Main Author: Foubert, Lien
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Researchers routinely stress that, compared to the Julian-Claudian period, the Flavian period had no ‘great women’. But what do these researchers mean by ‘greatness’? This contribution examines processes of inclusion and exclusion of women in ancient, early modern and modern historical narratives about the Flavian period. Drawing on the conceptual frameworks advanced by Linda Nochlin and Michel-Rolph Trouillot, the article argues for more complex and more diverse grand narratives about Flavian women: instead of continuing the practice of making these women ‘invisible’, we would gain more by focusing on the subtleties of the act of silencing in both past and present.
ISSN:0303-1896
2079-2883
DOI:10.7445/68--1058