Walter Pohl
Walter Pohl | |
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Born | Vienna, Austria | 27 September 1953
Nationality | Austrian |
Academic background | |
Education |
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Doctoral advisor | Herwig Wolfram |
Influences | |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Medieval History |
School or tradition | Vienna School |
Institutions |
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Main interests | Late Antiquity |
Walter Pohl (born 27 December 1953) is an Austrian historian who is Professor of Auxiliary Sciences of History and Medieval History at the University of Vienna. He is a leading member of the Vienna School of History.
Biography
Walter Pohl was born in
Pohl is a leading member of the European Science Foundation and the recipient of a large number of grants from the European Research Council. He was a key member of the Transformation of the Roman World project. In 2004, Pohl was elected Director of the Institute for Medieval Studies and Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. In 2013, Pohl was elected a Member of Academia Europaea.[1]
Theories
Together with Wolfram, Pohl is a leading member of the
Pohl is well known for his theories about the
Criticism
Pohls work has faced some opposition.
On the other hand, members of the
- It was precisely Herwig Wolfram who underlined the Roman foundations of the Gothic kingdoms, contrary to the views held by Höfler, Schlesinger, and Wenskus. Patrick Geary's ‘mantra’ that ‘the Germanic world was perhaps the greatest and most enduring creation of Roman political and military genius’ sketches a new paradigm that is contrary to all that Höfler ever believed.
Bibliography
Works in English translation. For a complete list see publications Archived 26 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
- Die Awaren. Ein Steppenvolk in Mitteleuropa 567 – 822 n. Chr. (2002). English translation in conjunction with Cornell:
- Pohl, Walter (2018). The Avars: A Steppe Empire in Central Europe, 567–822. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-2940-9.
- Pohl, Walter (2018). The Avars: A Steppe Empire in Central Europe, 567–822. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.
- Pohl, Walter (1995). Die Welt der Babenberger: Schleier, Kreuz und Schwert. Graz: Verlag Styria. ISBN 978-3-222-12334-4.
- Kingdoms of the Empire: The Integration of Barbarians in Late Antiquity (1997).
- Strategies of Distinction: The Construction of Ethnic Communities, 300–800 (1998).
- The Transformation of Frontiers: From Late Antiquity to the Carolingians (2000).
- Regna and Gentes: The Relationship Between Late Antique and Early Medieval Peoples and Kingdoms in the Transformation of the Roman World (2003).
References
- ^ a b "Walter Pohl". University of Vienna. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ Halsall 2007, p. 16.
- ^ Maas 2001, p. 76 . "Walter Pohl, Wolfram's successor in Vienna, is influenced by ethnogenesis theory, but he does not accept all of Wenskus's and Wolfram's ideas... [H]e rejects the idea of a German(ic)Volk or people, comprised of various tribes, as anything other than a linguistic abstraction... He raises a question that would have shocked Wenskus..."
- ^ a b c Fruscione 2010.
- ^ a b c Drinkwater 2002, pp. 348–350. "Pohl's Germani are not all Germani, but those encountered by the Romans on the Rhine and the upper Danube from about the first century B.C. to the sixth century A.D. He does not consider, for example, the Goths or the Franks of the Merovingian kingdoms... [Pohl] is dismissive of language and culture as determinants... of ethnic identity. He stresses fluidity, flexibility and ambiguity... As I read P.'s book, I was frequently struck by the thought that this is the conviction of those urging faster and closer European integration... Perhaps attempting to convince people that the societies they belong to are no more than ephemeral historical artefacts may in the end prove to be just as misguided as praising them for their racial, social and institutional purity."
- ^ Kulikowski 2002, p. 70. "Pohl... explicitly excludes the Goths and Vandals from the Germani he is meant to be treating, before proceeding to retail their history at length."
- ^ Liebeschuetz 2015, p. xxi. "Walter Pohl, had a completely closed mind to any view that admitted that these northern gentes had genuine histories and traditions of their own. Not content to demolish the view that these tribes were essentially racial organizations, they relied on sociological theory that ethnicity is nothing more than a negotiated system of social classification... to deny these peoples any institutions and values of their own, and so to reduce their contribution to medieval Europe to nothing at all. Such dogmatism is easily explained as a reaction to Nazi racism but it is nevertheless extraordinarily one-sided..."
- ^ Liebeschuetz 2015, p. xxi.
- ^ Callander Murray 2002.
- ^ Pohl 2002, pp. 223–224.
- ^ Pohl 2002, p. 225.
Sources
- Callander Murray, Alexander (2002), "Reinhard Wenskus on 'Ethnogenesis', Ethnicity, and the Origin of the Franks", in ISBN 978-2-503-51168-9
- Drinkwater, John F. (2002). "W. Pohl, Die Germanen, 2000". Francia. 29 (1). Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- Fruscione, Daniela (November 2010). "On "Germanic"". The Heroic Age (14). Memorial University of Newfoundland. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- Kulikowski, Michael (2002), "Nation versus Army: A Necessary Contrast?", in ISBN 978-2-503-51168-9
- ISBN 978-2-503-51168-9.
- ISBN 978-1-107-39332-5.
- ISBN 978-90-04-28952-9.
- Maas, Michael (2012). "Barbarians: Problems and Approaches". In Johnson, Scott Fitzgerald (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Late Antiquity. ISBN 978-0-19-533693-1. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- Pohl, Walter (2002), "Ethnicity, Theory, and Tradition: A Response", in ISBN 978-2-503-51168-9