Periodic Reporting for period 1 - COLLAPSE (Collaboration and Pseudepigraphy. Facing the Anonymous in Imperial Greek Literature)
Période du rapport: 2024-01-01 au 2026-06-30
The project, named COLLAPSE, aimed to challenge conventional disciplinary boundaries by focusing on the study of anonymous Greek literature, particularly texts that have no known authors or those attributed retrospectively to specific composers. This raises significant issues for literary studies and the writing of literary history, which often rests upon a strong author-based concept.
The research looked to address the need for a comprehensive understanding of how authorless works, frequently dismissed as 'non-literary', have contributed richly to Imperial Greek science writing. Moreover, it confronted the modern literary historical principle that operates on author-centeredness, spotlighting the historical dynamics where centrifugal forces served to anonymize authorship and create ownerless texts that acted as universal commons for those who used them.
COLLAPSE has transcended these limitations by bringing a large corpus of marginalized and inaccessible anonymous texts and fragments into prominence, making them widely accessible for the first time. The project's broader goal was to rewrite Greek philology fundamentally by integrating insights from literary theory with those from the study of fanfiction and rewriting practices. This involved creating a new approach that could change scholarly perspectives on Greek literature over the next five to ten years.
The project has planned to communicate its findings not just to the academic community but also to the public. Through science blogs and press statements COLLAPSE intended to engage with a wider audience, making scholarly research more visible and accessible to non-specialist readers. This knowledge transfer was expected to include contributions on popular topics, explaining complex scholarly points in an understandable way, which would also likely involve other disciplines of the humanities to ensure comprehensive engagement and impact.
The integration of other subjects and disciplines from humanities was evident in COLLAPSE's interdisciplinary nature and its exploration of historical, cultural, and social dimensions as it concerned the tradition of anonymous authorship. Understanding these traditions encompasses exploring the motivations behind anonymous text production, the cultural significance such texts held, and their influences on literature and society as a whole.
In sum, COLLAPSE positions itself as a groundbreaking venture that has hoped to significantly impact the study and appreciation of Greek literature, specifically its anonymous and authorless traditions. By reconceptualizing and recontextualizing these texts, the project has aimed to contribute profound knowledge and insight into a formerly understudied and undervalued area of literary history.
The research looked to address the need for a comprehensive understanding of how authorless works, frequently dismissed as 'non-literary', have contributed richly to Imperial Greek science writing. Moreover, it confronted the modern literary historical principle that operates on author-centeredness, spotlighting the historical dynamics where centrifugal forces served to anonymize authorship and create ownerless texts that acted as universal commons for those who used them.
COLLAPSE has transcended these limitations by bringing a large corpus of marginalized and inaccessible anonymous texts and fragments into prominence, making them widely accessible for the first time. The project's broader goal was to rewrite Greek philology fundamentally by integrating insights from literary theory with those from the study of fanfiction and rewriting practices. This involved creating a new approach that could change scholarly perspectives on Greek literature over the next five to ten years.
The project has planned to communicate its findings not just to the academic community but also to the public. Through science blogs and press statements COLLAPSE intended to engage with a wider audience, making scholarly research more visible and accessible to non-specialist readers. This knowledge transfer was expected to include contributions on popular topics, explaining complex scholarly points in an understandable way, which would also likely involve other disciplines of the humanities to ensure comprehensive engagement and impact.
The integration of other subjects and disciplines from humanities was evident in COLLAPSE's interdisciplinary nature and its exploration of historical, cultural, and social dimensions as it concerned the tradition of anonymous authorship. Understanding these traditions encompasses exploring the motivations behind anonymous text production, the cultural significance such texts held, and their influences on literature and society as a whole.
In sum, COLLAPSE positions itself as a groundbreaking venture that has hoped to significantly impact the study and appreciation of Greek literature, specifically its anonymous and authorless traditions. By reconceptualizing and recontextualizing these texts, the project has aimed to contribute profound knowledge and insight into a formerly understudied and undervalued area of literary history.
The COLLAPSE project, which aimed to explore anonymous Greek literature from the Imperial period, all in all only ran for only 14 months before its termination by the PI and therefore did not go beyond the initiation and preparation phase of the first year (January 2024 to almost mid-March 2025). During these almost 14 months, the project operated in its initiation phase and concentrated on setting the foundational framework for the broader research objectives.
Key technical and scientific activities included:
- Establishing the project team, which consisted in the first 13 months only of both the Principal Investigator Markus Hafner and the student assistant Manfred Karnaus. Manfred is currently studying for his Bachelor's degree and has acquired valuable skills for his further studies. The Principal Investigator (PI) dedicated 50% of his time to the project, directing both the overall project and the research for the specific work package II.3 (A brief history of anonymous Greek literature). It was planned to recruit four PhD students to enrich the research team, but the action could not be carried out anymore.
- Securing additional support from the University of Graz, which pledged to co-finance one PhD position and an additional PhD position for the team. The University of Graz provided expertise in the area of project consulting as well as support from an additional secretary.
- Planning for the collaborative research environment, with networking activities with renown scholars in the field of Classics as well as from neighboring disciplines. Due to the short duration of the project of just over a year from its termination, activities such as seminars, workshops and conferences were no longer organized.
- Launching of a digital platform that gave information about the team and the aims of the project to a broad, non-academic audience. Moreover, science blogs were published online in advance to make the project topics known to a wider public.
Due to the project's termination after the first 14 months, designated activities largely revolved around these preliminary stages. The outcomes of the action thus encompassed mainly the building-up of a small team including the PI and the student assistant, and the further planning of foundational project components. The COLLAPSE project’s scientific and technical achievements in this phase laid the groundwork for potential future research.
Key technical and scientific activities included:
- Establishing the project team, which consisted in the first 13 months only of both the Principal Investigator Markus Hafner and the student assistant Manfred Karnaus. Manfred is currently studying for his Bachelor's degree and has acquired valuable skills for his further studies. The Principal Investigator (PI) dedicated 50% of his time to the project, directing both the overall project and the research for the specific work package II.3 (A brief history of anonymous Greek literature). It was planned to recruit four PhD students to enrich the research team, but the action could not be carried out anymore.
- Securing additional support from the University of Graz, which pledged to co-finance one PhD position and an additional PhD position for the team. The University of Graz provided expertise in the area of project consulting as well as support from an additional secretary.
- Planning for the collaborative research environment, with networking activities with renown scholars in the field of Classics as well as from neighboring disciplines. Due to the short duration of the project of just over a year from its termination, activities such as seminars, workshops and conferences were no longer organized.
- Launching of a digital platform that gave information about the team and the aims of the project to a broad, non-academic audience. Moreover, science blogs were published online in advance to make the project topics known to a wider public.
Due to the project's termination after the first 14 months, designated activities largely revolved around these preliminary stages. The outcomes of the action thus encompassed mainly the building-up of a small team including the PI and the student assistant, and the further planning of foundational project components. The COLLAPSE project’s scientific and technical achievements in this phase laid the groundwork for potential future research.
The COLLAPSE project undertook foundational efforts within its initial phase of 14 months to establish the groundwork for an extensive study of anonymous Greek literature from the Imperial period. The expected impacts of COLLAPSE were ambitious, aiming to establish a new field of research within five to ten years that would fundamentally change how scholars view Greek literature, particularly the place of authorless texts.
In the initial phase, the PI has produced three research papers, all of which are currently under peer review; one further paper has already been accepted for publication in an edited volume for Cambridge University Press.
The potential for impact rests on creating broad access to a large corpus of previously marginalized and inaccessible texts, integrating insights from literary theory with studies of early Christian and scientific writing. For further uptake and success beyond the initial phase, key needs will most likely include:
- The further cultural history of anonymous authorship, as well as current concepts such as fan fiction, which have not yet been fully theorised; classical studies will benefit greatly from further dialogue with cultural and other literary studies.
- Continued interdisciplinary collaboration and recruitment of expertise.
- Active participation in professional international conferences to share research outputs.
- Establishing a supportive network for validation of results through ongoing dialogue with international researchers, conference guests, and peer reviewers.
- Dissemination of the results not only through excellent publication activity in high-esteemed journals and monograph series, but also the dissemination of research results to wider international audiences, e.g. on digital platforms, to ensure further knowledge transfer and public engagement.
- Participatory projects, such as the demonstration of early research findings to interested stakeholders or broader citizen science initiatives to inform and activate the public in interactive settings.
As a result of its termination after 14 months, the action was limited to these initial achievements. Thus, the achieved results have to be measured against this short funding period.
In the initial phase, the PI has produced three research papers, all of which are currently under peer review; one further paper has already been accepted for publication in an edited volume for Cambridge University Press.
The potential for impact rests on creating broad access to a large corpus of previously marginalized and inaccessible texts, integrating insights from literary theory with studies of early Christian and scientific writing. For further uptake and success beyond the initial phase, key needs will most likely include:
- The further cultural history of anonymous authorship, as well as current concepts such as fan fiction, which have not yet been fully theorised; classical studies will benefit greatly from further dialogue with cultural and other literary studies.
- Continued interdisciplinary collaboration and recruitment of expertise.
- Active participation in professional international conferences to share research outputs.
- Establishing a supportive network for validation of results through ongoing dialogue with international researchers, conference guests, and peer reviewers.
- Dissemination of the results not only through excellent publication activity in high-esteemed journals and monograph series, but also the dissemination of research results to wider international audiences, e.g. on digital platforms, to ensure further knowledge transfer and public engagement.
- Participatory projects, such as the demonstration of early research findings to interested stakeholders or broader citizen science initiatives to inform and activate the public in interactive settings.
As a result of its termination after 14 months, the action was limited to these initial achievements. Thus, the achieved results have to be measured against this short funding period.