UC Berkeley

I argue that the physical media through which literature was experienced (books, statues, and especially libraries) are crucial for understanding how liberal studies functioned in the economy of prestige. This is a study of the interactions between literature and society. The focus is not strictly on how society influenced literature, or how literature influenced society, but rather on how material manifestations of literature can shed light on the power dynamics of Roman society. In a domestic context, libraries could be used to define the meaning of places in the house, and their physical structure could be used by a dominus to reinforce and justify his place in the social hierarchy, in particular in relation to guests. At the same time, the very materiality of libraries had a tendency to undermine their place in elite ideology by implicating them in the discourse of luxuria. Finally, control over the material trappings of the library (especially author portraits) could function as a proxy for the exercise and establishment of cultural authority, which was inextricably bound up with political power. As such, fights over library statuary provide a window into the inter-relationship between power and paideia.