Courses for Spring 2021 | Ancient History

	Title	Instructor	Time	Description	Fulfills	Registration Notes
ANCH 027-401	ANCIENT ROME	GREY, CAMPBELL	MW 1200PM-0100PM	At its furthest extent during the second century CE, the Roman Empire was truly a "world empire", stretching from northern Britain to North Africa and Egypt, encompassing the whole of Asia Minor, and bordering the Danube in its route from the Black Forest region of Germany to the Black Sea. But in its earliest history it comprised a few small hamlets on a collection of hills adjacent to the Tiber river in central Italy. Over a period of nearly 1500 years, the Roman state transformed from a mythical Kingdom to a Republic dominated by a heterogeneous, competitive aristocracy to an Empire ruled, at least notionally, by one man. It developed complex legal and administrative structures, supported a sophisticated and highly successful military machine, and sustained elaborate systems of economic production and exchange. It was, above all, a society characterized both by a willingness to include newly conquered peoples in the project of empire, and by fundamental, deep-seated practices of social exclusion and domination. This course focuses in particular upon the history of the Roman state between the fifth century BCE and the third century CE, exploring its religious and cultural practices, political, social and economic structures. It also scrutinizes the fundamental tensions and enduring conflicts that characterized this society throughout this 800-year period.	History & Tradition Sector (all classes)	SECTION ACTIVITY CO-REQUISITE REQUIRED; OBJECTS-BASED LEARNING COURSE; CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS; HISTORY & TRADITION SECTOR; CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS; SENIOR ASSOCIATES
ANCH 104-401	RACE&ETHNICITY ANCWRLD	BRASSEL, KATE		Modern political and artistic movements often appeal to an ancient past in order to construct their own social and racial identities. But how did ancient peoples understand themselves and others? How should we understand race and ethnicity in the ancient past? And how are perceptions of the past used today to construct or dismantle structures of power? This course explores both ancient and modern representations of race and ethnicity in antiquity. We will investigate both how ancient peoples around or near the Mediterranean (e.g. Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Persians, and Nubians) understood difference and also how modern eras have appropriated ancient identities. Our dialogues will include ancient ethnographies, literature, and visual arts as well as modern theories and media, with an emphasis on active learning and collaboration. Students will be encouraged to produce both analytical and creative responses to our materials.
ANCH 202-401	CLEOPATRA	WILKER, JULIA	TR 0130PM-0300PM	Cleopatra VII (70/69 30 BCE) is one of the most famous women in world history. She has been remembered, admired, and reproached as a power-hungry Hellenistic queen, as the last pharaoh of Egypt, as a self-confident female ruler, and as the vicious seductress of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Her supposedly extravagant lifestyle, her political schemes, but also her integrity in choosing suicide over submission have inspired poets, artists, and historians from her own time to the modern world. In this seminar, we will take a closer look at some of the common perceptions and stereotypes that have shaped the image of Cleopatra for more than 2000 years. The main focus, however, will be on the historical queen, her biography, and the political and cultural contexts of her life. We will use ancient literary texts, papyri, inscriptions, coins, and archaeological evidence to analyze Cleopatra's rise to power, how she presented herself to her subjects, and how she was perceived by others, as well as her role in the tumultuous events that led to the end of the Hellenistic period and the rise of imperial Rome under the rule of Augustus. No prerequisites, but some background in Hellenistic and/or Roman history will be helpful.
ANCH 257-401	RELIGION AND THE POLIS	MCINERNEY, JEREMY	TR 0300PM-0430PM	This class is designed to introduce students to the study of Greek religion with particular attention to the notion of polis religion, a recent model used to understand the function and structure of Greek religion. In this class we will look at the major institutions of Greek religion, notably sacrifice, festivals, and processions, but will also examine the importance of sanctuaries and temples in the heart of the city, on the edges of its territory and in the countryside. We will also examine religion as a system of belief and action, and will consider the intersection of local, state and international religious institutions.
ANCH 535-401	PROBLEMS GREK/RMN HIST	GREY, CAMPBELL	T 0900AM-1200PM	This seminar is designed to introduce students to the major issues and problems in the early history of Ancient Greece, from approximately 776 BC until the reign of Alexander the Great nearly four hundred and fifty years later. A number of these issues have been the subject of academic investigation for decades: the historicity of Homeric society, the origins of democracy, the reforms of Kleisthenes, the population of Athens, for example. The investigation of many of these problems, however, has received fresh impetus from newer approaches: demographic studies of the Aegean islands, the dating of 5th century inscriptions, the study of Solons poetry have all yielded new insights and transformed our understanding of Greek culture and history. In this seminar we will explore many older questions from newer perspectives, with attention to such recent topics as gender, ethnicity and subaltern studies.The result is a view of Greece that is both more familiar and yet equally more alien.