Wars of Wissenschaft: the new quest for Troy* JOHANNES HAUBOLD This article looks at the recent debate in the German media and among German academics about the nature of Bronze Age Troy. It suggests that some of the more unusual features of the debate--such as its exceptional violence--should be seen as reflecting the cultural and political upheavals that are transforming German society in the wake of unification. Whereas the public response reflects major political developments such as the redefinition of German citizenship, the academic response is underpinned by current battles over the university system and the nature of academic inquiry. In this context, Bronze Age Wilusa, as reconstructed by Manfred Korfmann, takes on the status of an evocative cultural and academic icon which enables post-unification German society to explore some deep-seated anxieties and aspirations.
1. Introduction O n 15 a n d 16 F e b r u a r y of this y e a r (2002) an a c a d e m i c conference t o o k place in the s o u t h e r n G e r m a n t o w n of T 6 b i n g e n u n d e r the title Die Bedeutung Troias in der spaten Bronzezeit ('The role of T r o y in the late Bronze Age'). A l t h o u g h the topic is not significantly different f r o m those of other conferences in the field of classical a n d prehistoric archaeology, a n d a l t h o u g h the p r o g r a m m e did not reveal a n y t h i n g out of the ordinary, the conference w a s in fact a highly u n u s u a l event, for at least t w o reasons. In the first place, the a u d i e n c e attending the conference w a s u n u s u a l l y large. The o r g a n i z e r s h a d b o o k e d the A u d i t o r i u m M a x i m u m of Ttibingen University, yet this h u g e v e n u e w a s not nearly sufficient to a c c o m m o d a t e the h u n d r e d s of participants w h o h a d gathe r e d f r o m far a n d wide. 1 The conference w a s also b r o a d c a s t on radio. The second o d d i t y concerned the attitude of the speakers, all of t h e m d i s t i n g u i s h e d scholars in the field, but few of t h e m b e h a v i n g quite as an outside o b s e r v e r m i g h t expect. These scholars did not mince w o r d s or pull punches. F r o m thinly veiled p e r s o n a l insults to o p e n r o w s a n d e v e n the occasional fisticuffs, the c o m m u n i c a t i v e strategies a d o p t e d *
1.
I am grateful to IICT and the Institute for the Classical Tradition at Boston University (Wolfgang Haase, Director) for commissioning this article, and for their generous support which enabled me to attend the T~ibingen Symposium on Bronze Age Troy. I would also like to thank Oliver Dickinson, Barbara Graziosi, Wolfgang Haase and Edith Hall for their helpful comments and suggestions. One source suggests that up to 800 people were present: M. Benz, 'Ein Streit mit Waffen, giftiger als die Lanze des edlen Achill', Basler Zeitung, 19 February 2002.
Johannes Haubold, University of Durham, Department of Classics and Ancient History, 38 North Bailey, Durham DH1 3EU, United Kingdom.
International Journal of the Classical Tradition, Vol. 8, No. 4, Spring 2002, pp. 564-579.
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bespoke an extraordinary level of tension. What was happening in T6bingen on 15 and 16 February? There are different ways of answering this question, some of which have already been pursued. 2 It therefore seems useful to outline here the scope and approach of the present article. Classicists do not normally have audiences as keen and as large as the one which followed the T/ibingen conference. Nor do they usually come to blows over the question whether Late Bronze Age Troy was a Handelsmetropole (centre of commerce), a Handelsstadt (trading town) or merely a Stadt (town). 3 Such questions do inspire interest and genuine disagreement, but do not usually result in the utter loss of academic composure. The unusual nature and resonance of the conference determine the focus of this paper. The topic addressed here is not that of the conference itself, namely the nature of Bronze Age Troy, but rather the question w h y Bronze Age Troy inspired such interest on the part of the general public and such bad manners on the part of professional scholars. The issue, in other words, is one of reception, and is best investigated by looking at the wider cultural context in which the conference took place. Ultimately, this paper aims to illuminate the use of the classical past as cultural aetiology in post-unification Germany; and the role of classical scholarship within that process. I start by sketching out the immediate context of the conference and by providing some of the relevant background: I focus in particular on the scholarly disagreement which prompted the organisation of the conference on the part of the Rektor of the University of T~bingen. Sections three and four analyse, respectively, the public and academic responses to that disagreement. In the last section, I turn to the conference itself. In order to illuminate its significance, I do not focus on the violent disagreements which made it notorious; rather, I choose to discuss the equally telling, though less obvious, common assumptions shared by all speakers. 2. The new excavations at Troy and the Troy exhibition
Since 1988, an archaeological team under the direction of Manfred Korfmann of T~ibingen University has been conducting new excavations at the hill of Hisarlik. The self-declared aim of the excavations is to conduct 'extensive examinations of the "citadel" . . . in light of new questions', to 'review . . . earlier findings with modern methods', to explore systematically 'the previously unexplored lower city', to conduct an 'archaeo-biological analysis of the changes to the area during its occupation', to investigate the 'place of Troy within the Troad region', to document 'the preserved conditions of the ruins', and to ensure 'the conservation and restoration' of the remains. 4 The results are published in the annual reports Studia Troica. 5 Not unusually for an enterprise of this kind, the excavations have been strongly interdisciplinary in charac2. 3.
4. 5.
I have profited most from J. Cobet, H.-J. Gehrke, 'Warum um Troia immer wieder streiten?', Geschichte in Wissenschafl und Unterricht 53 (2002), pp. 290-325. Cf. the title of Frank Kolb's conference paper: 'Handelsmetropole - Handelsstadt - Stadt? Uberlegungen zu den wirtschaftlichen Grundlagen Troias und seiner Funktion im Handelssystem des zweiten Jahrtausends v. Chr.'. A full text of the paper can be found at http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/dekanat-geschichte/ag/ag_aktuell.htm(Anlage 9). Quotations are from the web page of the Projekt Troja (English language version), http:// www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia/eng/info.html. Studia Troica 1 (1991) - 10 (2000).
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ter. 6 What is less typical is the scale of the project. According to the web page of Projekt Troja, the average cost of the excavations, since 1991, has been I million DM per year. 7 For thirteen years the n e w excavations p r o c e e d e d w i t h o u t causing a n y major controversy, t h o u g h from the beginning they attracted an u n u s u a l a m o u n t of media attention. 8 H o w e v e r , the situation changed dramatically in 2001 w h e n a m o n u m e n t a l exhibition o p e n e d in Stuttgart u n d e r the title Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit ('Troy Dream and Reality'). 9 In the course of a year, the exhibition travelled to two other G e r m a n cities, Braunschweig and Bonn, attracting a total of almost 850,000 visitors. 1~ Although the scope of the exhibition was encyclopaedic, the results of the n e w excavations took pride of place. They stood for the 'reality' of the title, which was contrasted to the 'dream' created b y artists and writers t h r o u g h the centuries. 11 This part of the exhibition, and specifically K o r f m a n n ' s reconstruction of the Late Bronze Age city, soon became the object of vigorous criticism on the part of K o r f m a n n ' s colleagues in T/ibingen and elsewhere. The first to protest was Frank Kolb, professor of ancient history at T 6 b i n g e n University. In an interview with the daily n e w s p a p e r Berliner Morgenpost, Kolb criticised the reconstruction of Troy VI as s h o w n at the exhibition in Braunschweig, arguing that there was 'no evidence for a large-scale c o h e r e n t settlement outside the citadel' and that the reconstruction w r o n g l y s h o w e d houses with stone foundations a n d a wall a r o u n d a lower city. 12 Kolb also rejected the characterisation of T r o y as a 'centre of
6.
See web page of the Projekt Troja, http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia/eng/info.html: 'PARTICIPATING DISCIPLINES: Prehistory and classical archaeology, classical philology, numismatics, archaeo-biology, anthropology, history of architecture and construction, computer science (databases, statistics and graphics), chemistry, mineralogy, geo-physics, geodesy among others.' 7. http: //www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia/eng/info.html. 8. For the series of articles that have appeared in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung see http:// www.faz-archiv.de s.v. 'Korfmann'. The driving force behind the paper's campaign is M. Siebler, who has also published three books on Troy: Troia - Homer - Schliemann. Mythos und Wahrheit, Mainz 1990; Troia. Geschichte, Grabungen, Kontroversen, Mainz 1994; Troia. Mythos und Wirklichkeit, Stuttgart 2001. 9. The opening of the exhibition coincided roughly with the publication of J. Latacz, Troia und Homer. Der Weg zur L~sung eines alten Rfitsels, Munich/Berlin 2001 and D. Hertel, Troia. Archaologie, Geschichte, Mythos, Munich 2001. Whereas Latacz is sympathetic towards Korfmann's work, Hertel expresses serious reservations. The camps were already beginning to form. 10. See web page of the Projekt Troja, http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia/eng/info.html. 11. This is how Korfmann himself interprets the title in the companion volume to the exhibition, Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit, Stuttgart 2001, pp. 4-23. 12. F. Kolb, 'Traumgebilde', Interview in the Berliner Morgenpost, 13 July 2001, reprinted in Troia - Traum oder Wirklichkeit? Die Dokumentation des Wissenschafilerstreits, T6bingen 2002, p. 12: 'Es gibt keine Hinweise auf eine groJ3flfichige geschlossene Bebauung auJ3erhalb der Zitadelle das Modell zeigt ffLlschlich solide Hauser und eine Mauer um eine "Unterstadt". A full text of the interview can be found at http: //www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia/deu/pressereview.html. See also F. Kolb, 'Ein neuer Troia-Mythos? Traum und Wirklichkeit auf dem Grabungshiigel von Hisarlik', in H.-J. Behr, G. Biegel, H. Castritius (eds.), Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit: ein Mythos in Geschichte und Rezeption. Tagungsband zum Symposium im Braunschweigischen Landesmuseum am 8. und 9. Juni 2001 im Rahmen der Ausstellung 'Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit',
Braunschweig 2002, pp. 8-40.
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c o m m e r c e ' (Handelsmetropole). ]3 His criticisms w e r e polemical in tone, ]4 and p r o v o k e d a collective response from the scholars involved in the excavations. 15 Kolb retorted. 16 In the meantime, the journalist Michael Siebler reacted to Kolb's initial allegations with a hostile article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine ZeitungJ 7 In response, six classical scholars, w h o perceived the article as an ill-informed intervention on the part of a nonexpert, drafted a letter of protest to the paper, is Within one m o n t h , scholarly and public opinion split into two o p p o s i n g camps h e a d e d b y K o r f m a n n and Kolb. M o r e and m o r e scholars were d r a w n into the debate, alongside a growing n u m b e r of freelance writers and journalists. 19 By the end of July, the Rektor of Tfibingen University Eberhard Schaich publicly expressed his d i s m a y at the tone of the disagreement. 2~ It was felt that an academic conference was n e e d e d in order to raise the level of the debate and p u t it on a firm scholarly basis; hence the s y m p o s i u m which took place on 15 and 16 February. 2]
3. Cultural politics: the public response W h a t e v e r its scholarly merits, the T 6 b i n g e n S y m p o s i u m failed to dispel the impression of pettiness which had characterised the d i s a g r e e m e n t o v e r Bronze Age Troy. In order to explain this failure, several considerations n e e d to be b o r n e in mind. For a start, it is important to note that the interpretation of Bronze Age T r o y had b y then acquired considerable political significance. This is true b o t h at the level of G e r m a n domestic politics and that of international relations. To take the latter first, the long string of high-profile addresses that preface the c o m p a n i o n v o l u m e to the T r o y exhibition suggests that K o r f m a n n ' s w o r k is to be v i e w e d in the context of Turkish aspira-
13. F. Kolb, 'Traumgebilde' (cited at n. 12) pp. 13f. 14. See e.g. 'Traumgebilde' (cited at n. 12) p. 13, where Kolb ridicules the alleged gate in the lower city wall as an '"Autobahn" fiir Streitwagen' ('"motorway" for chariots'). 15. 'Auch fiir unge~ibte Augen klar zu sehen', Schwa'bisches Tagblatt, 7 August 2001, repr. in Troia- Tra'um oder Wirklichkeit? (cited at n. 12) pp. 19-22. 16. 'Zur Handelsstadt fehlt alles', SchwfTbisches Tagblatt, 11 August 2001, repr. in Troia - Traum oder Wirklichkeit? (cited at n. 12) pp. 23-6. 17. M. Siebler, 'Kolb's Krieg', Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 26 July 2001. 18. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung refused to publish the letter which is, however, available at http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/dekanat-geschichte/ag/ag_aktuell.htm. The letter was signed by P. Funke, H.-J. Gehrke, D. Hertel, H. v. Hesberg, K.-J. H61keskamp and W. Schuller, professors of, respectively, History at the University of M6nster, Ancient History at the University of Freiburg, (i. Br.), Classical Archaeology at the University of Munich, Classical Archaeology at the University of Cologne, Ancient History at the same university, and Ancient History at Freie Universit~it (Free University) in Berlin. 19. For documentation see Cobet/Gehrke (cited at n. 2) pp. 290f., n. 5; http://www.unituebingen.de/dekanat-geschichte / ag/ag_aktuell.htm; http: //www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia / deu/pressereview.html. The genesis of the conflict is traced in J. N. Wilford, 'Was Troy a metropolis? Homer isn't talking', The New York Times, 22 October 2002. 20. See M. Petersen, 'Tonlage wahnsinnig in Unordnung geraten' (Interview with the Rektor of T6bingen University) in Stuttgarter Zeitung of 31 July 2001. 21. For the original announcement, published on 26 November, see h t t p : / / w w w . u n i tuebingen.de/uni/qvo/pm/pm496.html.
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tions to E u r o p e a n U n i o n m e m b e r s h i p . 22 I q u o t e t w o e x a m p l e s taken, respectively, f r o m the a d d r e s s e s of the G e r m a n a n d the T u r k i s h H e a d s of State: 'I h o p e that this exhibition m a y i n t r o d u c e as m a n y p e o p l e as possible to the culture of ancient T r o y a n d that it m a y s i m u l t a n e o u s l y contribute to a better u n d e r s t a n d i n g b e t w e e n o u r t w o countries [sc. G e r m a n y a n d Turkey]. '23 ' . . . I a m c o n v i n c e d that this exhibition will m a k e the G e r m a n public u n d e r stand . . . that the strongest roots of E u r o p e a n culture are to be f o u n d in Anatolia...,24 W h e n K o r f m a n n b e g a n excavating at T r o y in 1988 he could h a r d l y h a v e foreseen this outcome, t h o u g h there are indications that his project h a d an u n u s u a l l y explicit political a g e n d a f r o m the beginning. 25 Be that as it m a y , in the exhibition v o l u m e K o r f m a n n himself d r a w s a connection b e t w e e n the excavations at T r o y a n d the role of T u r k e y as a 'responsible' E u r o p e a n state: . . . b y allowing n e w excavations to go a h e a d at Troy, T u r k e y has s h o w n that it e m b r a c e s its o w n ancient p a s t in Anatolia a n d that it accepts its responsibility in E u r o p e a n history a n d culture. 26 It is b e c a u s e T u r k e y has a l l o w e d K o r f m a n n to dig at T r o y that the c o u n t r y is recognised to b e l o n g to the E u r o p e a n cultural c o m m u n i t y . The trade-off b e t w e e n the
22. As noted by Cobet/Gehrke (cited at n. 2) p. 316. See also several statements in the 2002 Festschrift far Manfred Korfmann, quoted at n. 61, below, p. 575. 23. 'Grut~wort' by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, J. Rau, in Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit (cited at n. 11) p. vi: 'Ich wiinsche dieser Ausstellung, dass sie mf~glichst vielen Menschen die Kultur des antiken Troja nfiher bringt und gleichzeitig zur Verstfindigung zwischen unseren beiden Lfindern beitrdgt.' 24. 'Grut~wort' by the President of the Republic of Turkey, A. N. Sezer, in Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit (cited at n. 11) p. vii: ' . . . bin ich davon iiberzeugt, dass der deutschen Offentlichkeit mit Hilfe der Ausstellung . . . nahe gebracht werden kann, dass sich die sta'rksten Wurzeln der europa'ischen Kultur in Anatolien befinden . . .'
25. From the beginning of the excavations, Daimler-Chrysler AG Stuttgart acted as one of the most important sponsors. According to the Projekt Troia web page, in 1998 the company contributed 29% of the overall funding (funds from the State of Baden-W(irttemberg and the University of TObingen together represented the second largest component with 20%). Daimler-Chrysler have publicly declared an interest in the political implications of the excavations; see Schwdbisches Tagblatt, 23 August 2001, with F. Kolb's response in Schwabisches Tagblatt, 8 September 2001, repr. in Troia - Traum oder Wirklichkeit. Die Dokumentation des Wissenschafllerstreits, T6bingen 2002, p. 39; also http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/dekanatgeschichte/ag/ag_aktuell.htm, for references concerning the Etzard Reuter Prize, funded by Daimler-Chrysler, which was awarded to Korfmann. See also, in n. 61 below, the reference to an article by a Daimler Chrysler public relations person contributed to the Korfmann Festschrifl which appeared after the Tiibingen conference but was, of course, in preparation before. 26. Korfmann, 'Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit. Eine Einfiihrung in das Thema', in: Troia Traum und Wirklichkeit (cited at n. 11) pp. 2-23, here p. 22: ' . . . mit der Genehmigung neuer Ausgrabungen in Troia hat die Tarkei gezeigt, dass sie sich zu ihrer eigenen tiefen Vergangenheit auch innerhalb Anatoliens bekennt und dass dieser Staat zu seiner Verantwortung f~r die europfffsche Geschichte und Kultur steht'.
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sponsoring state and the scholar who fashions the desired aetiological narrative could hardly be more explicit. By contrast, Korfmann's critic Kolb has been accused by the general director of Turkish antiquities of damaging the reputation of Turkey. 27 The Troy debate has had repercussions also within Germany. The country has long been home to a large Turkish minority. Although by now most Turkish citizens resident in Germany are largely assimilated and do not intend to return to their country of origin, they have not been able to obtain German citizenship until very recently. After years of debate, the German government under Chancellor Gerhard Schr6der has finally tackled the problem of the permanently resident Ausli~nder ('foreigners').28 The new regulations came into effect on 1 January 2000, about a year before the opening of the Troy exhibition. Citizenship is no longer determined exclusively by descent: it now reflects also a person's country of birth and residence. 29 Within this context of cultural re-alignment, where 'German' no longer means 'German by birth', the new quest for Troy can be seen as providing a new aetiology of German identity and culture. What is needed in the context of the citizenship debate is no longer the image of European Greece which has been lingering since the nineteenth century, but rather a n ew p a r a d i g m which emphasises cultural exchanges and encounters. Korfmann's Troy 'between East and West' can be seen as combining classical Bildung with the aspirations of a budding multicultural society. If the citizenship debate thus contributes to the appeal of the Troy exhibition in a very direct way, we also need to look at the impact of reunification (Wiedervereinigung). This is not the place to write a cultural history of G erm any in the 1990's, but a few general remarks are in place. 3~The merger of the two German post-war states brought about a profound crisis in the cultural identity of the country. Until the 1990's, coldwar rhetoric dominated most areas of public life. The elites of the occupied and divided nation spent much of their time coming to terms with their past (Aufarbeitung der Vergangenheit; Wiedergutmachung), and engaging in a sustained battle for legitimacy that consumed much of the available intellectual energies on both sides of the wall. In this climate of political disenfranchisement and stagnation, the purpose of a classical education (Bildung) in Western G e r m a ny was largely that of preserving what had been achieved in the 'glory days' of nineteenth-century scholarship, the Kaiserreich (the empire of 1871-1918) and the Weimar Republic (of 1918-1933). 31 27. See Cobet/Gehrke (cited at n. 2) p. 316 with n. 130. According to these authors, Kolb's own fieldwork in southern Turkey (surveys, not excavations) ran into difficulties with the Turkish authorities as a result of his criticism of Korfmann. 28. Gesetz zur Reform des deutschen Staatsangeh~rigkeitsrechtes, 15 July 1999. 29. For details see http://www.bmi.bund.de/dokumente/Artikel/ix_18959.htm. 30. See e.g.J.-W. Miiller, Another country: German intellectuals, unification and national identity, New Haven 2000. Developments in German academia in the immediate aftermath of unification are discussed in C. Maier, Dissolution: the crisis of communism and the end of East Germany, Princeton 1997, pp. 303-10. 31. Cf. H. Flashar (ed.), Altertumswissenschaft in den 20er Jahren. Neue Fragen und Impulse, Stuttgart 1995 (with the review article by Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones, "Interesting Times," in this journal [IJCT], 4, 1997/98, pp. 580-613); M. Fuhrmann, Europas fremd gewordene Fundamente. Aktuelles zu Themen aus der Antike, Zurich 1995; M. Fuhrmann, Latein und Europa. Geschichte des gelehrten Unterrichts in Deutschland yon Karl dem Grossen bis Wilhelm II., Cologne 2001; and the articles by H. Flashar and M. Fuhrmann in W. Prinz and P. Weingart (eds.), Die sogenannten Geisteswissenschaften: Innenansichten, Frankfurt a. M. 1990, pp. 313-28 and 32949. I am grateful to Wolfgang Haase for these references.
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The end of the cold war and the process of re-unification released social energies that had hitherto been absorbed b y the problematic coexistence of the two G e r m a n states. At the same time, n e w social and cultural f o u n d i n g charters w e r e n e e d e d to help sustain the n e w l y unified G e r m a n State. Classical antiquity p l a y e d a major role in the f o u n d i n g of the Kaiserreich and, p e r h a p s unsurprisingly, it was invoked at this juncture too. The m y t h of ' G e r m a n ' T r o y was particularly p r o m i n e n t d u r i n g the process of reunification. In 1990, the two G e r m a n states issued competing stamps in c o m m e m o r a t i o n of the h u n d r e d t h anniversary of Schliemann's death. 32 The eastern stamp, however, n e v e r gained currency because the Democratic Republic collapsed immediately after it was issued. In 1991 - the first year of a united G e r m a n y - the socalled 'treasure of Priam' was rediscovered in the P u s h k i n M u s e u m in Moscow, provoking a debate in the G e r m a n media which c u l m i n a t e d in 1996 with a high-profile political r o w over the Russians' refusal to 'return' w h a t an influential G e r m a n newsp a p e r simply called the Hauptstadtgold (gold of the [German] capital). 33 F r o m early on, a n d increasingly with e v e r y n e w find, K o r f m a n n ' s c a m p a i g n became an i m p o r t a n t s y m b o l in the discourse of G e r m a n reunification. Unlike the Hauptstadtgold debate with its essentially nostalgic slant, 34 the n e w excavations held out the prospect of something genuinely n e w and exciting. As the n e w G e r m a n State looked for ways of re-inventing both its foreign policy and - m o r e i m p o r t a n t l y - its inner constitution as a market-oriented, multicultural society, K o r f m a n n ' s T r o y p r o v e d to be an evocative c o u n t e r p a r t to m o d e r n aspirations: as a Handelsmetropole it inscribes the victorious capitalist p a r a d i g m into the canon of G e r m a n Bildung. As a place between the continents and cultures, it reflects the political ideals of m a n y e d u c a t e d G e r m a n s after reunification. Of course, this is not the first time that T r o y has p l a y e d a major role in the fashioning of a G e r m a n identity. The m y t h s s u r r o u n d i n g Schliemann's excavations combined the Philhellenism of generations of G e r m a n artists, poets and educators with the rhetoric of conquest of exotic lands t h r o u g h t e c h n o l o g y and self-discipline - a rhetoric typical of the Kaiserreich. The conquest of T r o y as fictionalised b y Schliemann himself was achieved t h r o u g h personal discipline (Schliemann's f a m o u s cold baths), the use of a d v a n c e d technology (his English tools), a n o r m a t i v e m o d e l of family life (Schliemann and his wife) and, above all, a self-consciously 'pragmatic' ethos that helped Schliemann 'realize' the 'dreams' of previous generations. 35 K o r f m a n n ' s post-unification Wilusa is not dissimilar in function to Schliemann's imperial Troy. H e too can, with some right, a p p e a r to be closing a gap b e t w e e n Traum und Wirklichkeit ('dream and reality'). As in the case of Schliemann, the disjunction is felt at a m o m e n t w h e r e a unified G e r m a n State, reconstituted after decades of partition 32. Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit (cited at n. 11) p. 22. 33. For documentation and discussion see G. Korff, 'Verschleppte Motive. Deutsche Filialmythen um Priamos, Homer und Schliemann im sp~iten 20. Jahrhundert' in Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit (cited at n. 11) pp. 455~1, esp. p. 460 col. 2 (Hauptstadtgold). 34. G. Korff, 'Verschleppte Motive' (cited at n. 33) pp. 459-61. 35. C. Zintzen, '"Ich taufe sie mit den Namen Troia und Ilium . . . ' . Heinrich Schliemann, Grenzg~inger zwischen Fakten und Fiktionen', in Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit (cited at n. 11) pp. 430-9, with further literature. - [For recent sobering looks at Schliemann see M. Robinson, "The Search for Troy revisited" (review article on Susan Hueck Allen, Finding the Walls of Troy: Frank Calvert and Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlik, Berkeley 1999) in this journal (IJCT), 7, 2000/01, pp. 400-408. - W.H.]
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and political stagnation, attempts to forge n e w f o u n d i n g myths. In scale and scope the relative lethargy of G e r m a n reunification does not c o m p a r e with the Grfdnderjahre ('founding years') of the Kaiserreich. But there are structural similarities, w h i c h can explain w h y the excavations led by K o r f m a n n attract so m u c h public attention. K o r f m a n n ' s Wilusa is not the d r e a m of the Gr~nderjahre come true: as he and his colleagues like to emphasise, they are not h o p i n g to discover gold. 36 N o r are they reexcavating Schliemann's H o m e r i c Troy. 37 Rather, w h a t K o r f m a n n unearths on behalf of a generation of post-unification G e r m a n s is an ancient city which corresponds to the capitalist foundations of the n e w State (Troy as Handelsmetropole) and to the n e w l y discovered p h e n o m e n o n of a multicultural society (Troy at the intersection b e t w e e n East and West). Accordingly, K o r f m a n n ' s campaigns are not fictionalised as conquests but as encounters; they are not p r e s e n t e d in terms of personal heroics, but as the collaborative effort of scholars from all a r o u n d the world. 38 The differences b e t w e e n the two projects, as well as their similarities, are p e r h a p s most obvious in the n a m e s used to describe the hill of Hisarlik. Schliemann solemnly baptised it 'Ilium u n d Troia', whereas t o d a y the ancient n a m e Wilusa, m e n t i o n e d in Hittite sources, has b e e n reclaimed. 39 N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g the evocative p o w e r of names, K o r f m a n n and his colleagues, like Schliemann before them, like to s o u n d realistic a b o u t their excavations. O n the web page of Projekt Troia w e read exactly h o w m u c h m o n e y is spent in the course of a year and f r o m w h a t sources the project is funded. The c o m p a n i o n v o l u m e to the exhibition carefully explains w h a t infrastructure is n e e d e d to sustain the camp. 4~ A steady stream of videotapes makes the project accessible and helps to c o n v e y the 'reality' of scholarly life at Troy. 41 The reality of the dig ( m o n e y spent, scholars employed) corresponds to the reality of the finds and the realism of their interpretation (centre of commerce, civilisation b e t w e e n the cultures), w h i c h in turn c o r r e s p o n d s to the realities of life in post-unification G e r m a n y ( d o m i n a n t capitalist discourse; the problem of a multicultural society). This neat circle is kept m o v i n g b y the old f o u n d ing m y t h of Bildung as encapsulated in the H o m e r i c poems. Troy has, yet again, b e c o m e the stage on w h i c h the crucial G e r m a n d i l e m m a of d r e a m vs. reality can be p l a y e d out.
4. Academic politics: the scholarly response From w h a t has been said so far, w e can begin to u n d e r s t a n d w h y the T r o y exhibition caused such a stir a m o n g the G e r m a n public. It remains to be asked w h y so m a n y 36. E . g . H . G . Jansen, 'Die neuen internationalen Grabungen. Auswirkungen in Wissenschaft und Offentlichkeit', in Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit (cited at n. 11) p. 338. 37. E.g. 'Mit Homer halte ich es wie mit Edgar Wallace', Literaturen, October 2001, pp. 18-23, repr. in Troia - Traum oder Wirklichkeit? (cited at n. 12) p. 62. 38. E.g. h t t p : / / w w w . u n i - t u e b i n g e n . d e / t r o i a / e n g / i n f o . h t m l ; H. G. Jansen 'Die neuen internationalen Grabungen' (cited at n. 36), pp. 339-40. 39. For Schliemann's 'baptism' of the hill of Hisarlik see C. Zintzen '"Ich taufe sie auf den Namen Troia und Ilium"...' (cited at n. 35) p. 437; for Wilusa see e.g.S. L6ffler, 'Krieg um Troia. Ein Buch und seine Folgen: Wie Homers Ilias pl6tzlich die Gelehrtenwelt entzweit,' Literaturen, October 2001, pp. 49-50 and 63-4. 40. H.G. Jansen 'Die neuen internationalen Grabungen' (cited at n. 36) pp. 340-1. 41. Further information at http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia/eng/info.html.
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G e r m a n academics t h o u g h t it necessary to take sides in the debate and w h y they a d o p t e d the aggressive and polemical tone which characterised the conference at T~ibingen and the controversy which led u p to it. In o r d e r to investigate this question, it is useful to start with Kolb's most general formulation of the problem. According to him, K o r f m a n n is guilty of 'misleading the public' ('Irref~hrung der Offentlichkeit'). 42 The problem lies specifically with some alleged imprecisions p r o m u l g a t e d b y the exhibition: K o r f m a n n ' s archaeological reports, as o p p o s e d to the exhibits, are b y and large t h o u g h t to be accurate even b y K o r f m a n n ' s most aggressive critics. 43 The public, it seems, is absolutely central to the debate. It m a y be a r g u e d that K o r f m a n n ' s critics are simply jealous of his p o p u l a r success, 44 but in fact there is m o r e at stake than m e r e jealousy. F r o m early on in the debate, Kolb and some of his colleagues have raised concerns about the a m o u n t of o p p o r t u n i s m detectable in K o r f m a n n ' s project. 4s Others w a r n m o r e generally against the temptation of p a n d e r i n g to an audience. 46 These are potentially serious concerns, but the question remains w h y they should be t h o u g h t such a p r o b l e m in an exhibition w h i c h was after all m e a n t for the general public, especially since K o r f m a n n ' s archaeological reports are considered accurate. W h y did so m a n y G e r m a n academics go to w a r against K o r f m a n n rather than join their colleagues elsewhere in sitting back and enjoying the p o p u l a r version of his archaeological research with a k n o w i n g smile? W h y did they not simply value the exhibition's w i d e appeal in the h o p e that it might boost student n u m b e r s and raise the profile of their subject? Possible answers to these questions must be sought in the ethos of classics in G e r m a n y , a n d the pressures that are acting on G e r m a n academia in the current political climate. I must once again start with a disclaimer. I d o not w a n t to offer a general analysis of recent academic politics in G e r m a n y ; rather I wish to d r a w attention to some aspects of it which can be used to illuminate the T r o y debate. 47 The shifting relationship b e t w e e n professional academics and the general public, in particular, is central to this controversy. P e r m a n e n t faculty m e m b e r s of G e r m a n universities have historically had the sta-
42. See e.g.F. Kolb in A. Bachmann, 'Dem Mythos Homers erlegen', Schwa'bisches Tagblatt, 24 July 2001, repr. in Troia - Traum oder Wirklichkeit? (cited at n. 12) p. 17; Kolb has also accused the media of being complicit with Korfmann: see 'Traumgebilde' (cited at n. 12) p. 14; for complicity of the public see http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/dekanat-geschichte/ag/ ag_aktuell.htm. (Korfmann's 'claqueurs', negative influence of Freunde Trojas). 43. E.g.F. Kolb at http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/dekanat-geschichte/ag/ag_aktuell.htm; Cobet/Gehrke (cited at n. 2) p. 291. 44. E.g.M. Koch, 'Anmerkungen zu den 6ffentlich in der Presse gefiihrten Auseinandersetzungen 6ber den aktuellen Stand der Troia-Forschung', pp. 5-6. The article is available at http:// www2.kah-bonn.de/austellungen/troia/0.htm. 45. E.g.F. Kolb, 'Traumgebilde' (cited at n. 12), p. 14; 'Das Ende des troianischen Spuks', repr. in Troia - Traum oder Wirklichkeit? (cited at n. 12) p. 39; W. Schuller, 'Der H~igel wo sie wandeln liegt im Schatten', Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 12 September 2001; Cobet/Gehrke (cited at n. 2) pp. 314-8. 46. Cobet/Gehrke (cited at n. 2) p. 325. 47. I have learned most from H. H~irke (ed.), Archaeology, ideology and society: the German experience, Frankfurt etc. 2000; see especially U. Sommer, 'The teaching of archaeology in West Germany' (pp. 202-36) and J. Jacobs, 'German unification and East German archaeology" (pp. 339-52).
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tus of Beamte, a v e r y specific form of civil service. 4s The Beamte stand in a Treueverhaltnis ('relationship of loyalty') vis-a-vis the State as their employer. 49 In practice, this m e a n s that they r e n o u n c e i m p o r t a n t political rights (such as the right to strike), 5~ a n d acquire certain privileges (for example, the State cannot m a k e t h e m redundant). M o r e generally, G e r m a n academics as Beamte have a d u t y to serve the public and its interests at all times: the Bundesbeamtengesetz specifies that the Beamte's d u t y to the State is not restricted to office hours or even his or her active service, sl The insistence o n loyalty to the State at all times, the impossibility of striking, the extreme job security m a y seem m o r e typical of an a r m y than an academic system. In fact, a p r o m i n e n t critic of the G e r m a n university system has recently called the Beamter 'a professional soldier in a civil capacity'. 52 The task of the academic as Beamter is that of codifying and p r o m u l g a t i n g Wissen ('knowledge'). Wissen, and this is an i m p o r t a n t point to bear in m i n d w h e n analysing the Troy debate, is conceptualised as objective k n o w l e d g e free of partisanship. The scholar serves the state, not a particular political party, pressure group, or adoring audience: the Bundesbeamtengesetz speficies that the Beamter m u s t be unparteiisch ('nonpartisan'). 53 Objective k n o w l e d g e and service to the state are so closely connected that the restrictions in the personal f r e e d o m of the academic (no right to strike, the d u t y of 'moderation' in political matters etc.) are actually seen as guaranteeing the ' f r e e d o m of research and teaching' ('Freiheit von Forschung und Lehre'). s4 It is a c o m m o n topos a m o n g G e r m a n academics that the i n d e p e n d e n c e of scholars directly d e p e n d s u p o n their status as Beamte and their abdication of a political persona, s5 The conceptualisation of Wissen as objective k n o w l e d g e free of even implicit ideological content can easily be d e t e c t e d in the s c h o l a r l y o u t p u t of G e r m a n a c a d e m i a . In the field of classics, encyclopaedias and textbooks take pride of place. The direct counterpart of the scholar as Beamter is the amateur. The opposition 48. Going back to PreuJ3ischesAllgemeines Landrecht of 1794, part II.12, w 73: 'Alle, sowohl ordentliche als auJ3erordentliche Professoren, Lehrer und Officianten auf Universitfl'ten genieJ~en ... die Rechte der Ki~niglichen Beamten.' ['All full-time and part-time professors, lecturers and other staff at universities have ... the status of royal Beamte.'] For a history of the Beamter see H. Hattenhauer, Geschichte des Beamtentums, Colone etc. 1980; for the present situation at German universities see Hochschulrahmengesetz (HRG) of 19 January 1999, with latest amendment of 08 August 2002, esp. w46. 49. Grundgesetz fiir die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Artikel 33 (4) and (5). 50. Apart from being denied the right to strike (Bundesbeamtengesetz w 73) German academics, as Beamte, must exercise 'moderation' ('Md)qigung und Zurfickhaltung') in political matters (BBG w 53). 51. BBG w52-4. 52. R. Schneider, 'Der Anachronismus des Berufsbeamtentums' in DeutschlandRadio Berlin Politisches Feuilleton, 8 June 2002: 'Der Beamte ist nichts anderes als ein Berufssoldat in ziviler Funktion'. An electronic version of the programme is available at http://www.dradio.de/ cgi-bin/es/neu/feuilleton/1133.html. 53. BBG w52. 54. HRG w4. 55. Thus recently W. L6wer, 'Berufsbeamtentum f6r den Professor, Notwendigkeit oder Privileg?', conference paper at the symposium 'Neues Dienst- und Besoldungsrecht an Hochschulen', 24/25 February 2000, Liibeck; a written version is published at http://www.muluebeck.de/struktur/uni/kanzler/Loewer.htm.
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works on several levels: in terms of motivation, service to the state is contrasted to personal gratification; in financial terms, public funding is opposed to private means of support; at the level of outcome, objective Wissenschaft is seen as antithetical to individual views and interests. It is noteworthy that classics, or rather Altertumswissenschaft, is a paradigmatic case of state-sponsored scholarship, yet it also produced one of the most famous dilettantes of all times: Schliemann himself. Ever since the publication of his sensational finds, Schliemann has been seen both as an example of what the professional scholar is not and as a potential threat to the status quo of German classical scholarship. Consider how Cobet and Gehrke characterise his role in a recent article on the Troy debate: Thus the field was left to the dilettante Schliemann and his successors, who keep the public on edge with their fantastic finds. 56 The double-edged nature of Schliemann's role is well captured in the phrase 'keeping the public on edge' ('das Publikum in Atem halten') and the characterisation of his successors' finds as 'fantastic' ('fantastisch'). Schliemann can be seen as having all the glamour, personal interest, and sheer bias which is denied to the professional scholar as Beamter. His story can thus be used to explain, by negative example, the nature of state-sponsored Wissenschaft. At the same time, the 'fantastic finds' of Schliemann and his successors have the potential to threaten the 'freedom' of the scholar as Beamter by suggesting an alternative model of knowledge dissemination. This model is based not on an abstract notion of public interest and objective truth, but on the actual preferences of an interested public. In the political climate of post-unification Germany, the role of academia has come u n d er close scrutiny. In particular, the relationship between professional academics and the general public is undergoing swift changes. The role of the scholar/ Beamter in the service of the State is on the wane, for the simple reason that the State no longer wants to be served by him (or, less commonly, her). Since 1991 there has been mounting pressure to bring academia - together with other public services - in line with a market-oriented model of competitive excellence. In a recent paper, the Minister of Research and Education (Minister f~r Forschung und Bildung), Edelgard Bulmahn, emphasises the importance of autonomy, competition and individual achievement. She writes: The federal government intends to reform the universities by giving them as much autonomy as possible. Our emphasis is on competition and individual achievement rather than state intervention (staatliche Bevormundung). s7 This kind of statement could not be further removed from traditional notions of Wissenschaft as a cohesive body of knowledge guarded by a uniform army of academics. In this respect, it is interesting that German universities have come under increasing pressure to abolish the formal requirement of Habilitation - traditionally an effec56. Cobet/Gehrke (cited at n. 2) p. 325. 57. E. Bulmahn, 'Mut zur Ver~inderung: Deutschland braucht moderne Hochschulen. Vorschl~ige fiir eine Reform', Bonn 1999, p. 1. A full text of the publication can be found at http:// www.bmbf.de.
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tive m e a n s of ensuring uniformity of k n o w l e d g e and m e t h o d within academia, ss Conversely, performance-related salaries for u n i v e r s i t y staff have been introduced. 59 It is telling that in order to justify the n e e d for reform, the Minister invokes public dissatisfaction with the existing University system: The universities m u s t fulfill the expectations of the public. 6~ It is i n d e e d the case that, after decades of stagnation in the cold-war era, G e r m a n universities are w i d e l y thought to be o v e r c r o w d e d , structurally c u m b e r s o m e , and ideologically entrenched. Under these circumstances, the d u t y of the a c a d e m i c / B e a m t e r to serve the public in a disinterested a n d non-partisan w a y comes into conflict with the d e m a n d s of a v e r y real public w h o feel that their interests, and those of the n e w State, are being poorly served b y the existing arrangements. We can n o w r e t u r n to the allegation that K o r f m a n n 'misled the public'. In the context of the ongoing reforms of the civil service and academia outlined above, the clashes over K o r f m a n n ' s excavations reflect a deep-seated anxiety concerning the rules of the academic game. To use B u l m a h n ' s phrase, K o r f m a n n ' s Wilusa can be seen as fulfilling 'the expectations of the public' in a spectacular way. In this respect, the temptation of c o m p a r i n g him to Schliemann, a n o t h e r achaeologist with exceptional p o p u l a r appeal, is great. Yet K o r f m a n n is no Schliemann. H e cannot be p o r t r a y e d as a fascinating dilettante with questionable academic credentials: K o r f m a n n ' s scholarly reports, as o p p o s e d to the exhibits for the general public, are s t a n d a r d l y c o m m e n d e d for their precision and reliability. 61 58. Cf. HRG w 44 for the new position of 'Junior Professor' (Juniorprofessor). Junior Professors are eligible for promotion without holding the formal qualification of Habilitation. 59. Gesetz zur Reform der Professorenbesoldung of 16 February 2002; for a full text and commentary see http://www.bmbf.de/3992_4066.html. 60. Bulmahn, 'Mut zur Ver/inderung' (cited at n. 57) p. 19. 61. See above n. 43; wide-spread respect for Korfmann's scholarship is also reflected in the recent publication of a three-volume Festschrift in celebration of his sixtieth birthday: R. Aslan, S. Blum, G. Kastl, etc. (eds.), Mauerschau: Festschrift fiir Manfred Korfmann, 3 vols., Remshalden-Grunbach 2002, 1248 pp., with a total of 80 articles. - - The first volume opens with a congratulatory address by E. Teufel, the Governor of the State of Baden-Wfirttemberg ('Grut~wort des Ministerpr/isidenten des Landes Baden-Wiirttemberg', p. xiii), who begins with the statement that 'Homer's Iliad, the mythical tale of the Trojan War, belongs to the cultural foundations of Europe' ('Die Ilias Homers, die mythenhafte Erz4hlung vom trojanischen Krieg, gehf~rt zum kulturellen Fundament Europas') and approaches his conclusion by emphasizing that 'By his sensational excavations Professor Korfmann has become an ambassador of Germany and of Baden-Wfirttemberg to Turkey. I am very grateful for the positive image which is conveyed by his great scholarly knowledge, by his commitment to the preservation of cultural sites and by his sensibility in political and social exchange. And I am also very grateful that this engagement at the "roots of Europe" makes a significant contribution to the understanding between Germany and Turkey' ('Professor Korfmann ist durch seine aufsehenerregenden Grabungen zu einem Botschafter Deutschlands und Baden-Wiirttembergs in der Tfirkei geworden. Ich bin sehr dankbar ffir dieses positive Bild, das durch sein grofles fachliches Wissen, sein Engagement zur Erhaltung der kulturellen Sta'tten und durch seine Sensibilita't im politischen und gesellschaftlichen Umgang vermittelt wird. Und ich bin sehr dankbar daft&, daJ~ durch dieses Engagement an der ,Wurzel Europas" ein groJ3er Beitrag zum Verstflndnis zwischen Deutschland und der T~irkei geleistet wird.'). Near the end of vol. 3, in a group of articles on 'Archaeology and Society' ('Arch/iologie und Gesellschaft'), there is also one by U.
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The m a k i n g of the Schliemann m y t h coincided with the creation of the
Reichsbeamtentum, and the codification of scholarship as civil service, after the first unification of 1871. After the second unification, Korfmann's excavations coincide with the erosion of the very concept of the academic as Beamter. There are other important differences between the two quests for Troy. Whereas the Schliemann myth quickly took on a stabilising function by providing a romantic alternative to the dominant discourse of public service and professionalism, the new excavations owe much of their success to the fact that they question the foundations of scholarly practice from within. In particular, two different concepts of 'public interest' seem to be at stake: under one definition, the 'public' is a timeless and abstract Offentlichkeit whose interests lie in the discovery of objective truth; on the other, the 'public' is a collection of real, and therefore potentially arbitrary, people who may, or m a y not, express an interest in the work of scholars. It must by now be clear not only w h y so many scholars criticise Korfmann's activities as misleading the public ('Irrefiihrung der Offentlichkeit'), but also why they simultaneously describe his audience as partial ('a syndicate of Korfmann and friends') and biased (Korfmann's 'claqueurs'). If the scholar as Beamter must not be 'partisan' (parteiisch); if, in other words, he must serve an abstract Offentlichkeit by pursuing objective Wissenschafl, by the same token he must resist any actual attempts, on the part of the general public, to engage with or influence his activity in any way. When seen in this light, Korfmann's success with the German public paradoxically becomes a measure of his betrayal of the ideal Offentlichkeit he is supposed to serve. It would be simplistic to say that Korfmann advocates change while Kolb stands for restoration. After all, it was Kolb who started the debate with a newspaper interview; whereas Korfmann and his collaborators have often regretted the amount of public attention which the dispute has attracted. 62 It seems more accurate to see both camps in the Troy debate as grappling with the shifting relationship between academia and general public. At this point, what remains to be discussed is the actual conference at T~ibingen in the light of the broader cultural and academic considerations which have been outlined so far.
5. The conference The conference lasted two days. The Rektor of T6bingen University, E. Schaich, opened the proceedings. The rest of the first day and the morning of the second were then devoted to papers dealing with particular aspects of Bronze Age Troy. M. Korfmann invited five speakers to give papers at the conference, F. Kolb likewise invited five scholars. The speakers were asked to discuss Bronze Age Troy from the perspective of their own particular discipline: Prehistoric Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Oriental Studies, Ancient History and Homeric Studies. They were grouped in pairs so that each discipline was represented by a scholar from either camp. The afternoon of the second day was devoted to a concluding session: the speakers were asked to give a short statement before the panel was opened for discussion. The afternoon session was broadcast live on South-Western German Radio (Sfidwestrundfunk). Konstenbader, public relations representative of the sponsoring Daimler-Chrysler company (see above, n. 26), entitled 'Troy and the general public: remarks by a non-archaeologist' ('Troia und die Offentlichkeit. Bemerkungen eines Nicht-Arch~iologen', pp. 1153--1167). 62. E.g.M. Korfmann, 'Mit Homer halte ich es wie mit Edgar Wallace' (cited at n. 36) p. 51.
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The conference was characterised by a polemical, indeed hostile tone. Yet it is also true that the proceedings were underpinned by a remarkably stable set of assumptions. It is on these common premises accepted by all speakers that I wish to focus. In the first place, all speakers seemed to be agreed that the conference should not be seen as indicative of any larger social and cultural developments. In his opening address, the Rektor expressed the wish that the symposium might be 'an example of normal scholarly procedure' ('ein Zeichen der Normalitfit des Wissenschaftsprozesses'). In many ways, the conference had little of the normal about it. Yet, remarkably, there was a sustained attempt on everyone's part to make it appear normal in the very specific sense that the participants almost entirely ignored the cultural and political context of the problems they were discussing. Any sporadic allusion to these was immediately quenched as unfair insinuation. 63 There were no papers on the reception of Troy and its political significance in post-unification Germany. 64 Even the fact that the debate was in important ways a specifically German phenomenon went largely unacknowledged. 65 The same unwillingness to engage with the social context of the row was apparent in discussion. Journalists and other non-academic participants were asked to refrain from making contributions during the conference. Although they were promised time for their questions at the closing discussion forum, the atmosphere was such that in the event no-one but professional academics took up the offer. Discussion was largely between the participants, with the occasional intervention of colleagues in the audience. The second point of agreement follows on from the first and concerns the criteria of valid scholarship. Most speakers at the Tiibingen conference implicitly or explicitly expressed the opinion that the point of any scholarly endeavour is to get to the 'truth' of a matter, and to separate 'correct' statements from 'false' ones. This was seen as a matter of 'proper' scholarly method, which in turn depends on the competent handling of conceptual frameworks. Remarkably, the notion of conceptual frameworks, as employed by the speakers, did not seem to involve personal or political interests, nor were they subject to the well-known epistemological problems that have been raised in much recent scholarship in the humanities. 66 For example, the participants discussed at some length the question whether Troy is a Stadt (city) without ever asking w h y the question might be of interest and to whom, what might be at stake in asking it, and what might be the ideological and epistemological underpinnings of the concept of Stadt in the context of post-unification Germany. I am not suggesting that the participants felt this to be unnecessary tout-court. My point is simply that within the context of the conference it was tacitly agreed that the 'proper' framework of scholarly 63. E.g.J. Latacz to H. Hauptmann: 'In my view it is irresponsible to ascribe non-academic motives to others.' 64. By contrast, the exhibition volume contains an excellent contribution by G. Korff: 'Verschleppte Motive. Deutsche Filialmythen um Priamos, Homer und Schliemann im sp~iten 20. Jahrhundert', in Troia - Traum und Wirklichkeit (cited at n. 11) pp. 455-61. 65. Speakers included M. Korfmann, P. Jablonka, H.-P. Uerpmann, F. Starke, F. Kolb, all T6bingen; H. Hauptmann, Heidelberg; B. Hansel, Berlin; D. Hertel, Munich; G. A. Lehmann, G6ttingen; W. Kullmann, Freiburg i. Br.; the only speakers who are not currently working or living in Germany were J. Latacz (Basel), S. Heinhold-Kramer (Salzburg) and W. Niemeyer (German Archaeological Institute, Athens). All contributors were German native speakers. 66. E.g.J. Arac (ed.), After Foucault: humanistic knowledge, postmodern challenges, New Brunswick 1988.
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International Journal of the Classical Tradition / Spring 2002
research, whatever the participants actually felt about it, should be seen as dictated by the object of enquiry rather than the perspective of the enquirer. The third point of agreement in turn follows on from the first two. Most speakers at the Tiibingen conference implicitly or explicitly agreed that it was their task as scholars to be correct and to be seen to be correct. Still more importantly, the successful scholar needs to be steadfast in the defence of the truth. In a way, the violent clashes which characterised the conference served precisely to highlight the speakers' steadfast loyalty to their respective causes. This last point deserves more careful consideration than it has received so far. It has sometimes been suggested that the hostile and pedantic tone of the Tiibingen conference was an unfortunate result of the vanity of some of its participants. 67 This may be true to a certain extent, but the structure of the event suggests otherwise. From the beginning, the symposium was organized as an encounter between two camps of roughly equal strength. The participants had been nominated by Korfmann and Kolb, with the result that most speakers were committed to strong views before the discussion even took place. Moreover, the lack of any papers on the historic context of the problem or on current theoretical approaches to Bronze Age archaeology quickly channelled the discussion into questions of 'fact' and thus further helped to polarise the issue. The second Trojan War, as it has been dubbed in the German press, was, it seems, quite deliberately staged as a conflict. If we now ask w h y this is so, we must return to the introductory words of the Rektor of the University. The conference, we recall, was supposed to be 'an example of normal scholarly procedure'. In view of the extraordinary scenes which characterised it, one wonders whether the Rektor was happy with what he got. Yet, the conference did assert normality in one important way, namely, by insisting that the acquisition and dissemination of 'knowledge' (Wissen) is the prerogative of the State-sponsored scholar as Beamter. This seems to lie behind the decision not to place the disagreement in its wider social and historical context, for that would have amounted to the admission that the academic/Beamte is not in fact as 'free' in his scholarly pursuit as might appear at first sight. It also explains w h y the speakers refrained from tackling theoretical issues in any depth: any such discussion would have further undermined the concept of 'impartial' knowledge. Finally, it helps us understand the combative tone adopted by speakers on both sides and the exclusion of non-experts from participating in the debate by asking questions from the floor. 'What is at stake here is nothing but Wissenschaft" ('Es geht nur um die Wissenschaft') wrote F. Kolb in an article in the Schwfibisches Tagblatt of 8 September 2001. 68 What he means is the State-sponsored kind of knowledge dissemination that has been the prerogative of the scholar as Beamter ever since the days of Schliemann. Korfmann may be questioning that paradigm from within the profession, and in doing so he may have the majority of post-unification German elites behind him. Yet, when challenged by his peers, he proves that he is one of them: non-partisan, loyal, steadfast and combative. Where does the soldier of Wissenschaft show that he can fight if not in a war? The T6bingen conference set out to demonstrate that there is no acceptable alternative to the traditional procedure of academic Wissenschafl. In doing so, it was remarkably successful.
67. Thus e.g.H.P. Isler, 'Der Streit um Troia - und kein Ende. Ein wissenschaftliches Symposion in Tiibingen', Neue Z~rcher Zeitung, 19 February 2002. 68. 'Das Ende des troianischen Spuks' (cited at n. 44) p. 39.
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Since the events of mid-February the dispute has dragged on, and it is likely to do so for some time to come. The underlying causes will not disappear overnight. For the sake of the subject, one would wish that German classicists find the courage to start thinking far more radically about the nature and function of academic expertise in a post-modern world. As for the international readers of this Journal, I hope that the present article has helped to put into perspective a curious episode in the history of classical scholarship.