CLAS 320 B: Society and Status in Greece and Rome

Autumn 2018, MTWThF 9.30-10.20am, MOR 220

Prof. Deborah Kamen (dkamen@uw.edu)

Office hours: Fridays 11am-12pm (and by appointment), Denny 262F


Teaching Assistant: Fanaye Yirga (fsyirga@uw.edu)

Office hours: Friday 11:30 am-12:30 pm, Denny 400K

Description:

In this course, we will be examining the public and private lives of the ancient Greeks and Romans, with a special focus on status, class, and gender. The diversity of human experience in the ancient world will be explored through the following topics: Greek and Roman social organization (men, women, children, the elderly, slaves, and freed slaves); housing; dress; food and drink; sex and sexuality; health and sickness; death and beliefs in the afterlife; magic and religion; politics; theatre and music; art and architecture; travel; economics; law; warfare; athletics and spectator sports; etc. No prerequisites.

Objectives:

By the end of the course, students will demonstrate the ability to identify the practices and ideologies of Greek and Roman society; understand the range of evidence for studying Greek and Roman social and cultural history; and appreciate the diversity of human experience in the ancient world.

Grading:

Quizzes: 25%

Midterm Exam: 35%

Final Exam: 40%

Quizzes will be based on the readings assigned for quiz sections. There will be 7 quizzes; the lowest grade will be dropped, and there are NO make-ups. The midterm exam will consist of ID’s (=identification of terms) and mini-essays; the final exam will consist of ID’s, mini-essays, and one essay question about diversity in the ancient world. The midterm exam will cover lecture material and assigned readings for lectures from the first half of the course; the final exam will cover lecture material and assigned readings for lectures from the second half of the course (though one should feel free to incorporate material from the entire course for the diversity essay). Do not bring blue books or Scantron forms.

Course Texts:

Required course texts: Both of these books are available FOR FREE as ebooks through UW Libraries (you just need to log in with your UW NetID).

Aldrete: Aldrete, G.S. (2004) Daily Life in the Roman City: Rome, Pompeii, and Ostia. Westport, CT.
 

Garland: Garland, R. (2014) Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks. 2^nd ed. Indianapolis. 

Readings on the course website:

Amos/Lang: Amos, H.D. & A.G.P. Lang (1996) These Were the Greeks. Chester Springs, PA.

Matz: Matz, D. (2008) Daily Life of the Ancient Romans. Indianapolis

Fisher: Fisher, N.R.E. (2001) Slavery in Classical Greece. London.

Silver: Silver, L. (1993) Art in History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Tingay/Badcock: Tingay, G.I.F. & J. Badcock (2003) These Were the Romans. London.

Answers to FAQ’s:

• I will post on the course website a "study guide" for each class, which includes ID terms (and generally also study questions) for that day's lecture. I encourage you to download these study guides and bring them to class. NOTE: These study guides will come in very handy when you’re studying for exams, since I draw my ID’s and mini-essay topics directly from the ID terms and study questions, respectively. 

• If you miss class, you are responsible for getting notes from a fellow student. I will NOT send you my notes, a lecture outline, or the PowerPoint.
• You are not permitted to sell or buy lecture notes.
• Please turn off the ringer on your cell phone before coming to class. It is extremely disruptive if your phone rings or buzzes during class.
• You should do the assigned readings before the class period for which they are assigned. My lectures will build on assigned readings, so it helps to have done the reading in advance.
• You are expected to arrive on time for quizzes and exams; if you arrive late you will not be granted extra time.
• Make-up exams will be given ONLY in the case of documented illness, family emergency, religious observance, or university-approved absences (like athletic events). There are NO make-ups on quizzes.
• Any student requiring special accommodations should provide me with a letter from the Disability Resources for Students Office as soon as possible.

Week 1:

Sept 26: Introduction

Sept 27: Diversity in the ancient world: Hippocrates, On Airs, Waters, Places 23; Vitruvius, The Ten Books on Architecture 6.1.3-4 [Quiz section]

Sept 28: Historical background: Greece (Garland 7-36 [feel free to skim]) (study guide)

Week 2:

Oct 1: Historical background: Rome (Aldrete 7-10) (study guide)

Oct 2: Space and time: Greece (Garland 37-52) (study guide)

Oct 3: Space and time: Rome (Aldrete 11-15, 47-53, 241-244) (study guide)

Oct 4: Women in Greece: Semonides, Types of Women (Poem 7); Quiz 1 [Quiz section]

Oct 5: Social organization: Greece (Garland 65-70) and Rome (Aldrete 21-23, 43-44) (study guide)

Week 3:

Oct 8: Women and marriage: Greece (Garland 70-85, 122-123 [Sparta]) 
(study guide) Optional: short video "Wife Swap: Spartans and Athenians"

Oct 9: Women and marriage: Rome (Aldrete 55-61)
 (study guide). Optional: short video "Four Sisters in Ancient Rome"

Oct 10: Children and education: Greece (Garland 89-98, 120-21 [Sparta], 155-159) (study guide)

Oct 11: Education in Rome: Quintilian, Institutes of Oratory 1.2; Quiz 2 [Quiz section]

Oct 12: Children and education: Rome (Aldrete 62-65)
 (study guide). Optional: short video "A Glimpse of Teenage Life in Ancient Rome"

Week 4:

Oct 15: The elderly: Greece (Garland 98-102) and Rome (Matz 133-140) (study guide)

Oct 16: Slaves: Greece (Garland 105-118; 123-124 [Sparta])
 (study guide)

Oct 17: Slaves: Rome (Aldrete 65-68)
 (study guide)

Oct 18: Slaves in Greece and Rome: Pseudo-Aristotle, Economics 1.5; Tacitus, Annals 14.42-45; Quiz 3 [Quiz section]

Oct 19: Freed slaves: Greece (Fisher 67-70, 77-78) and Rome (Aldrete 68-71) (study guide)

Week 5:

Oct 22: Housing: Greece (Garland 127-133) and Rome (Aldrete 75-80) (study guide) Optional: short video "Walk around in a 3D splendid house from ancient Pompeii"

Oct 23: Dress: Greece (Garland 134-141) and Rome (Aldrete 245-249) (study guide)

Oct 24: Food and drink: Greece (Garland 141-154) and Rome (Aldrete 111-113) (study guide)

Oct 25: Review for Midterm Exam [Quiz section]

Oct 26: MIDTERM EXAM [model midterm]

Week 6:

Oct 29: Sex and sexuality: Greece (Garland 169-173) and Rome (Aldrete 113-118) (study guide)

Oct 30: Health and sickness: Greece (Garland 159-169)
 (study guide)

Oct 31: Health and sickness: Rome (Aldrete 80-83, 97-103)
 (study guide)

Nov 1: Greek sex: Theognis, Elegies 2.1231-1389; Quiz 4 [Quiz section]

Nov 2: Death and afterlife: Greece (Garland 174-193) (study guide)

Week 7:

Nov 5: Death and afterlife: Rome (Aldrete 83-92) (study guide)

Nov 6: Magic and religion: Greece (Garland 193-216) (study guide)

Nov 7: Magic and religion: Rome (Aldrete 141-151) (study guide)

Nov 8: Roman religion: Ovid, Fasti 1.63-294; Quiz 5 [Quiz section]  

Nov 9: Festivals: Greece (Garland 266-270) and Rome (Aldrete 119-121; Matz 83-87) (study guide)

Week 8:

Nov 12: NO CLASS (Veterans Day)

Nov 13: Politics: Greece (Amos/Lang 105-116)
 (study guide)

Nov 14: Politics: Rome (Aldrete 44-47) (study guide)

Nov 15: Roman politics: Polybius, Histories 6.3-9; Quiz 6 [Quiz section]

Nov 16: Theatre and music: Greece (Garland 270-284) and Rome (Aldrete 138-140) (study guide) Optional: short video "Chelys Lyre" (demonstration of a Greek tortoise-shell lyre)

Week 9:

Nov 19: Art and architecture: Greece (Silver 40-55) (study guide)

Nov 20: Art and architecture: Rome (Silver 65-81) (study guide)

Nov 21: Travel: Greece (Garland 233-237) and Rome (Aldrete 36-39, 215-217) (study guide)

Nov 22: NO SECTION (Thanksgiving)

Nov 23: NO CLASS (Thanksgiving)

Week 10:

Nov 26: Economics: Greece (Garland 216-223, 229-233, 124-125 [Sparta]) (study guide)

Nov 27: Economics: Rome (Aldrete 187-202) (study guide)

Nov 28: Law: Greece (Garland 224-229)
 (study guide)

Nov 29: Greek law: Lysias, Against Eratosthenes; Quiz 7 [Quiz section]

Nov 30: Law: Rome (Aldrete 103-106, Matz 60-62) (study guide)

Week 11:

Dec 3: Warfare: Greece (Garland 237-255)
 (study guide) Optional: short video ("HOPLITES! Greeks at War")

Dec 4: Warfare: Rome (Tingay/Badcock 181-190) (study guide)

Dec 5: Athletics: Greece (Garland 258-266) (study guide)

Dec 6: Review for Final Exam [Quiz section]

Dec 7: Spectator sports: Rome (Aldrete 121-137) (study guide)

FINAL EXAM: Wednesday, Dec 12, 8.30-10.20am, MOR 220. Format of final exam

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