Rumor and power in Late Antiquity: Informal communication and the uses of rumors in religious controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries

• Grant number: 24/05064-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: January 10, 2025
• End date: July 09, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Julio Cesar Magalhães de Oliveira
• Grantee: Julio Cesar Magalhães de Oliveira
• Host Investigator: Audrey Bertrand
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: École Française de Rome, Italy
• Associated research grant: 21/02912-3 - A connected history of the Middle Ages: communication and circulation from the Mediterranean Sea, AP.TEM

Abstract

This research project must be carried out as part of a stay at the École Française de Rome, from January 10 to July 10, 2025 and continues the project developed at the same institution, with support from FAPESP, between September 2019 and February 2020. It is also part of the broader context of research aimed at writing an Habilitation Thesis ("Livre docência"), to be defended at the University of São Paulo, and contributes to the Thematic Project "A Connected History of the Middle Ages. Communication and Circulation from the Mediterranean" (FAPESP 2021/02912-3). This is a study on the different uses of rumors in religious conflicts of the 4th and 5th centuries. The central objective is to study the different uses of rumors in these polarized contexts, analyzing the ways in which public opinion was mobilized by faction leaders involved in these disputes, but also the popular perceptions of these same struggles. It is also intended to compare the results of this analysis with other contexts of popular mobilization and polarization between factions attested in Antiquity, such as the Late Roman Republic. This comparison aims to determine whether specifically religious issues, the unprecedented centralization of imperial power and the specific conditions of communication on a Mediterranean scale in the 4th and 5th centuries significantly affected the circulation and use of rumors compared to other contexts or whether, on the contrary, the model of competition between rival factions (political or religious) was the main factor in spreading rumors in a context of strong popular mobilization.