/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.9072658]

Can I get a quick rundown on why this appears in every other bookshelf?

Is this a meme history book or something else?

[Anonymous No.9072664]

dude penis

[Anonymous No.9072692]

Mary Beard is a fucking retard.

[Anonymous No.9072815]

>>9072658
Because its the newest Roman history book. I'm pretty sure that's it.

[Anonymous No.9072846]

It's new, trendy, and written by a woman. Its coverage stops at the year 212 or so, so if you want a full history of Rome you'll need to look elsewhere.

[Anonymous No.9073388]

>>9072658
She's a lefty academic with connections in the press and the BBC. That's all you need to know.

[Anonymous No.9073396]

>>9072658
Mary Beard's on the telly (and in the newspapers). She's the UK's most prominent classicist.

[Anonymous No.9073404]

>>9072692
Expliquez s'il-vous plait

[Anonymous No.9073598]

>>9072658
Shes a respected scholar who wrote a very accessible book about the roman empire. Most accessible and for-the-general-readership books about rome are written by hacks and unsuccesful scholars .

[Anonymous No.9073615]

>>9072658
>>9073388
>>9072692
see
>>9073598 and pic related.

As far as why it is so widely sold, its a good primer to Roman History written for a wide audience. Many dad types from 40-70 buy this kind of stuff to read while their wives collapse from menopause.

If you arent into history theres nothing wrong with it, but if you are you are better off with scholarly works and monographs.

[Anonymous No.9073641]

>>9073615
>sexual status of Vestal virgins
>study of diversity
>women in antiquity

She's a hack who's riding the wave of identity politics. And she has lots of chums in the media willing to help her along. A liberal elitist through and through.

[Anonymous No.9073651]

>>9073641
I understand that you are "redpilled" read: huge faggot with wax in his ears but social history has a lot of benefit in understanding lost societies.

Vestal Virgins were an immensely important part of Roman History.

[Anonymous No.9073672]

>>9073651
Looking forward to Mary Beard's study of legionary service. After all, it was an immensely important part of Roman History ...

[Anonymous No.9073693]

>>9073672
>sub-specialization is bad

If I wanted to read about that, I would seek out other specialists, like pic related.

Beard's thesis at Cambridge was The state religion in the late Roman Republic: a study based on the works of Cicero, thus her work on Vestal Virgins.. Furthermore she is a professor of classics. She is well able to write a general history, and has numerous accolades, whereas you are just a shitposting faggot. You have offered no points as to why we should question this work aside from angsty /r9k/ attitudes. Quite pathetic desu senpai.

[Anonymous No.9073709]

>>9073641
Like it or not, think of it as degenarate or not, sexuality and isssues of gender were important part of the life of roman elites. She was one of the first to write about it and basing her claims not on some youtube feminists but actually on textual evidence from the period. hence she has done respected research, even if you do not personally like her conclusions.

[Anonymous No.9073744]

>>9073709
... at a time when identity politics just happened to be en vogue. As a result she was elevated into the public eye, and saw she was onto a good thing. TV commissions, media appearances and "national treasure" status immediately followed (from the BBC anyway.)

Riding a fashion wave isn't what respected academics do. It's what hacks with an eye for self-promotion do.

[Anonymous No.9073753]

>>9073744
Ok, yet next to that bullshit she consistently produced quality scholary work.

[Anonymous No.9074314]

>>9073404
it's seems kind of weird to issue a command and then say please.