Chester Starr
Encyclopedia
Chester G. Starr was an American
historian
, as well as an authority on Ancient History
, and the ancient art
and archeology of the Greco-Roman civilization.
He studied at the Cornell University
, with Max Ludwig Wolfram Laistner. Between 1940 and 1953 was lecturer of History at the University of Illinois in Urbana. He then became a professor in the same department, a position he held until 1970. After thirty years at Urbana, he moved to the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor, where he practiced until 1973, in an environment much more to his liking. From 1973 to 1985 he held the Bentley
Chair at Michigan. In 1974 he was the first president of the American Association of Ancient Historians.
During World War II
he served in the history section of the Army of the United States, with the headquarters of the Fifth Army in Italy from 1942 to 1946. As a result of that commission, he wrote a nine-volume compilation entitled Fifth Army History, and a popular book about it titled From Salerno to the Alps (1948).
Among his historical works are twenty-one books, dozens of articles and over one hundred book reviews. His best-known university text, A History of the Ancient World, was reissued with successive enlargements between 1965 and 1991. His historiographical methodology has been described as Hegelian, especially in Civilization and the Caesars: the intellectual revolution in the Roman Empire (1954). In what has been called his greatest work: The Origins of Greek Civilization (1961), he dismantles the Nordic theory
which sought to interpret the Greek cultural achievements in terms of a master race
. His approach focuses on individuals as agents of historical change, also opposing the dominant methodology of the time: the Annales School
and the Braudelian concept of longue durée
.
Among his other works are The Awakening of the Greek Historical Spirit (1968), Economic Growth of Early Greece (1977), The Beginnings of Imperial Rome: Rome in the Mid-Republic (1980), The Flawed Mirror (1983) and Past and Future in Ancient History (1987).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, as well as an authority on Ancient History
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
, and the ancient art
Ancient art
Arts of the ancient world refer to the many types of art that were in the cultures of ancient societies, such as those of ancient China, India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome.-Egypt:...
and archeology of the Greco-Roman civilization.
He studied at the Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, with Max Ludwig Wolfram Laistner. Between 1940 and 1953 was lecturer of History at the University of Illinois in Urbana. He then became a professor in the same department, a position he held until 1970. After thirty years at Urbana, he moved to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Ann Arbor, where he practiced until 1973, in an environment much more to his liking. From 1973 to 1985 he held the Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
Chair at Michigan. In 1974 he was the first president of the American Association of Ancient Historians.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he served in the history section of the Army of the United States, with the headquarters of the Fifth Army in Italy from 1942 to 1946. As a result of that commission, he wrote a nine-volume compilation entitled Fifth Army History, and a popular book about it titled From Salerno to the Alps (1948).
Among his historical works are twenty-one books, dozens of articles and over one hundred book reviews. His best-known university text, A History of the Ancient World, was reissued with successive enlargements between 1965 and 1991. His historiographical methodology has been described as Hegelian, especially in Civilization and the Caesars: the intellectual revolution in the Roman Empire (1954). In what has been called his greatest work: The Origins of Greek Civilization (1961), he dismantles the Nordic theory
Nordic theory
The Nordic race is one of the racial subcategories into which the Caucasian race was divided by anthropologists in the first half of the 20th century...
which sought to interpret the Greek cultural achievements in terms of a master race
Master race
Master race was a phrase and concept originating in the slave-holding Southern US. The later phrase Herrenvolk , interpreted as 'master race', was a concept in Nazi ideology in which the Nordic peoples, one of the branches of what in the late-19th and early-20th century was called the Aryan race,...
. His approach focuses on individuals as agents of historical change, also opposing the dominant methodology of the time: the Annales School
Annales School
The Annales School is a group of historians associated with a style of historiography developed by French historians in the 20th century. It is named after its scholarly journal Annales d'histoire économique et sociale, which remains the main source of scholarship, along with many books and...
and the Braudelian concept of longue durée
Longue durée
The longue durée , is an expression used by the French Annales School of historical writing to designate their approach to the study of history, which gives priority to long-term historical structures over events— what François Simiand called histoire événementielle, "eventual history"— the short...
.
Among his other works are The Awakening of the Greek Historical Spirit (1968), Economic Growth of Early Greece (1977), The Beginnings of Imperial Rome: Rome in the Mid-Republic (1980), The Flawed Mirror (1983) and Past and Future in Ancient History (1987).