Reorientation of the subject Classical Archaeology at Vienna

The planned research project will develop fundamental parts of the university discipline Classical Archaeology during the 1st half of the 20th century. The historically interesting period has been elected because of the existing of only few preliminary works and the strong political disruptions, occurrences and the wish to re-establish continuity. The aim of this fundamental research is the representation of the history of Classical Archaeology as part of the Archäologisch-Epigraphische Seminar at the University of Vienna on the basis of six elected aspects: Within university politics the main foci finances, public relations, human resources, relationships to foreign countries plus excavations shall be investigated, inclusively a comparison with other university institutes. Scientific research will examine the consideration of specific scientific currents or the autonomous development of archaeological theories or methods; because of the preservation of many preliminary studies and drafts within the Archaeological Institute of the University never printed researches shall be incorporated. Within teaching and qualification the process and doctrine of studying will be examined by means of preserved illustration media or handwritten lecture notes; a focal point will be laid on the conserved bequest of the doctoral candidate Alexander Uhlenhuth, who has completed his dissertation on the issue of the Aeginetans in 1914. Archaeological and teaching collection will consider aspects of acquisition (purchase, donations) and restoration of original ancient objects or plaster casts within the Archaeological collection, but also their inclusion to lessons, research of provenance plus arrangement and access to the public. Selected biographies will begin with a historical network analysis at three levels (within the seminar; within the university; between seminar and the international archaeological community), furthermore prosopographic investigations of three personalities because of incomplete previous research: full Prof. Emil Reisch (18981933), extraordinary Prof. Emanuel Löwy (19181938) and the assistant Hedwig Kenner (since 1936). Within student history aspects like the geographic or social provenance of the graduates, discrimination (based on their religion, race or political opinion), gender and the career after doctoral graduation will be examined. The basis of this research consists of the analysis of many of them so far unknown files within the archives (inside and outside the university, of the state, of the city plus a private archive within Vienna), but also of printed journals and four archives outside Austria. As dissemination strategies are planned besides active participation in national and international conferences a group of lectures at the university, two annual milestone meetings with Austrian colleagues and a international advertised conference with participation of the European cooperation partners (from the UK, Germany and Switzerland). The results should also be distributed with an exhibition at the end of 2015, an own website, several papers plus a monograph after finishing the research project.

The Lise Meitner project funded for two years has investigated the dynamic development of the discipline Classical Archaeology within its scientific environment at the University at Vienna with the professorships of Emil Reisch and Camillo Praschniker. For doing that the project leader recorded files in 14 archives nine at Vienna (of the University, of the state and one private) and five abroad (Czech Republic, Germany); both written and photographic documents were made available in digital manner from another four archives. During this work a few thousand relevant files were recorded as full text or as extract, classified and analyzed. The main result was the discovery that historical disruptions must not cause in every case a sharp break for the discipline as well as the superior institution, the Archäologisch- epigraphisches Seminar, in which Archaeology was joined with the subject Ancient History resp. Epigraphy. Often the impacts came into effect considerably later: for instance it was possible to postpone the end of close scientific relationships to regions which belonged not longer to Austria after 1918 for about twenty years. Also some consequences could be opposed to, such as after the abolition of the two full per annum stipends in autumn 1914 Prof. Reisch enforced with tenaciousness the payout of stipend-like donations for two students at the ministry of education during and after the First World War. In this way he was capable to create a connection to the stipends paid out again in 1924. On the contrary, some results of the breakdown of the Habsburg Empire in 1918/19 were unmodifiably, for example thus the loss of territory, when the geographic origin of the graduates, relating to their year of birth, changed abruptly: until 1918 almost every Habsburg Main- and Crownland is represented, since 1919 only Vienna, Lower Austria and Carinthia with a single exception did occur. The inclusion of the Archaeological Collection into the University lessons could be guaranteed continuously without any gaps: By the temporarily establishment of an extra chair (19181934) the position was filled with first Emanuel Löwy and second Camillo Praschniker the discipline was possible to educate the students in handling with original ancient objects, which has been seen as one of the most important tasks of the studies. By at least one example historical facts led unavoidable to discontinuity: In the context of denazification Hedwig Kenner, assistant of the Archaeological collection since 1936, was disposed from her position in summer 1945 due to have been member of the NSDAP; later the accusation of being an illegal member during 19331938 was added. In the long term the personal engagement of her superiors (for her reemployment in January 1948, or the recovery of her lectureship in February 1949), top-level political decisions (the amnesty for minor burdened people in April 1948) and the fact of being capable to resume the unofficial substitution of the professorship after the sudden death of Praschniker in autumn 1949 made her being able to gain ground again at the University. Therefore the discipline Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna has been a dynamic organization from the late Habsburg Empire to the first years of the 2nd Austrian Republic, which has been able to overcome breakings by precocious intervention or by a concrete response to problems of historical origin, and for this reason the subject was more often capable to create a continuity as to resort to reorientation.