Tacita bonast mulier semper quam loquens. A Public History case study: the Matronae podcast.

Abstract

Born from the cooperation between the GIEFFRA and the VeDPH, the project Women’s Lives, Women’s Histories aspires to export academic knowledge, particularly within the field of Roman history, outside the conventional environments of research. The aim is to bring back the voices of Roman women, who, since the civil wars of the late Republic, had begun to stray from their rigid and traditional role – which wanted them silent and inert. They gained more involvement in the res publica, expressing their opinion publicly and being recognized as influential members of the ruling class. Matrons’ political speeches, found in ancient sources, are disclosed through the Matronae podcast. Presented in six episodes, the project is an example of how the humanities can reach out into the public sphere, thus constituting those dissemination projects that currently go by the name of ‘Public Humanities’. Within this thesis, the entire workflow of the project is analysed: from the preparation and the production of the audio content to its publication on GIEFFRA’s website and other streaming platforms. The purpose of the case study is to illustrate how podcasts can offer new opportunities for academic content, spreading high-quality knowledge for greater collective awareness. In a complex and multifaceted world such as the one we live in, often subordinated to technology, the humanities can play an uplifting and nurturing role. Hence, the importance of making them public.