New Books in Ancient History Ellen Muehlberger, "Things Unseen: Essays on Evidence, Knowledge, and the Late Ancient World" (U California Press, 2025)
Nov 10, 2025
Ellen Muehlberger, a Professor of History at the University of Michigan, dives into fascinating discussions about how ancient people understood knowledge and identity. She examines how bodies served as evidence in recognizing individuals and challenges how pedagogy shaped notions of women in the late ancient world. Muehlberger also discusses the role of councils in revealing power dynamics, the significance of Fayoum portraits, and the interplay between authority and forged texts. Her insights bridge ancient perspectives with modern understanding, making knowledge approachable for all.
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Ways Of Knowing Opens New Windows
- Studying "ways of knowing" reveals other cultures' logic rather than judging them by modern progress narratives.
- This approach makes sparse sources meaningful by asking what those people valued and how they inferred causes.
Write Lectures To Spark Debate
- Use lecture-format essays to take bigger interpretive swings that provoke new research and debate.
- Embrace generative, less nitty-gritty pieces to invite corrective and follow-up scholarship.
Classroom Roleplay Creates Persistent Characters
- Rhetorical schools trained boys with exercises where they spoke as impossible characters like eunuchs or repentant prostitutes.
- Those classroom performances made stereotyped characters mentally persistent across the culture.
