Education in Late Antiquity offers the first comprehensive account of the Graeco-Roman debate on education between c. 300 and 550 CE. Jan Stenger traces changing attitudes towards the aims and methods of teaching, learning, and formation through the explicit and implicit theories developed by Christian and pagan writers during this period. Whereas the postclassical education system has been seen as an immovable and uniform field, Stenger argues that writers of the period offered substantive critiques of established formal education and tried to reorient ancient approaches to learning. Bringing together a wide range of discourses and genres, Education in Late Antiquity shows how educational thought was implicated in the ideas and practices of wider society, addressing central preoccupations of the time, including morality, religion, the relationship with others and the world, and concepts of gender and the self. The key idea was that education was a transformative process that gave shape to the entire being of a person, instead of merely imparting formal knowledge or skills. Thus, the debate revolved around attaining happiness, the good life, and fulfilment, and so orienting education toward the development of the notion of humanity within the person. By exploring the discourse on education, this book recovers the changing horizons of Graeco-Roman thought on learning and formation.

About the Author
Jan R. Stenger is Professor of Classics at the University of Wurzburg, Germany. He studies the intellectual and religious history of the later Roman Empire. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Greek lyric poetry, the Greek literature of late antiquity, and ancient Christianity.

Reviews
Stenger's book appears to be an essential contribution to the study of education in the Graeco-Roman world: it is not simply a book about schools and didactics, but a book with new ideas and an innovative approach to that constellation of ancient thinkers who looked at the self as well as an individual's relationship with the divine and society as a resource for self improvement. * Anna Motta, Classical Review *
This is a very good book that has proven itself necessary for a balanced view of education in Late Antiquity. * Raffaella Cribiore, New York University, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
This is a very good book that has proven itself necessary for a balanced view of education in Late Antiquity. * Raffaella Cribiore, New York University , Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
This is a timely, persuasive, and highly enjoyable study, accessible to students as well as specialists. * Teresa Morgan, Yale Divinity School *
In Education in Late Antiquity, Stenger examines how the idea of education was debated, developed, and reformulated between 300 and 550 CE...Recommended. Graduate students and faculty. * Choice *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198869788
Author Jan R. Stenger
Format Hardback
Page Count 336
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 646g
Dimensions(mm) 244mm * 164mm * 27mm