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.
