CLAS 320 A: Society and Status in Greece and Rome

Prof. Deborah Kamen (dkamen@uw.edu) (she/her/hers)

Office hours: By appointment over Zoom

NOTE:

For the most part, this class will be taught ASYNCHRONOUSLY (that is, NOT live). Panopto lectures will be posted on this Canvas page, and you can watch them at your convenience. Many Fridays from 10.30-11.20am I will hold a Zoom 'Conference Hour,' which is completely optional but which you are more than welcome to attend. It's an opportunity to ask any questions you might have or just to introduce yourself to me!

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; 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:

Exam 1: 30%

Exam 2: 40%

Quizzes: 30%

All quizzes and exams are OPEN-BOOK, OPEN-NOTE. This means you can use the assigned readings, your notes on the readings, the Panopto lectures, and your notes on the lectures. However, you cannot simply copy phrases or sentences from the textbook or other readings, as that constitutes plagiarism. Also, you CANNOT consult with anyone else, use other people's notes, or use any internet resources (apart from ones found on or linked to this page) during the quizzes and exams.

Quizzes will be multiple choice and administered through Canvas; the lowest quiz grade will be dropped. 

Exams will be in the form of Word documents posted to the Canvas page; you should download the exams and re-upload them (completed) by the deadline. Exams 1 and 2 will consist of mini-essays; exam 2 will also have one longer essay question about diversity in the ancient world. Exam 1 will cover lecture material and assigned readings from the first half of the course; Exam 2 will cover the second half (though you should feel free to incorporate material from the entire course for the diversity essay).

Quizzes will be made available 24 hours in advance of their due date/time. You can take a quiz anytime within that 24-hour window, but once you start the quiz, you will have only ten minutes to complete it. Exams will be made available at least 48 hours in advance of their due date/time, and you can take as long as you'd like to complete them (provided that you upload them by the due date/time).

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.

Religious Accommodations Policy:

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.

Academic Integrity:

University of Washington students are expected to practice high standards of academic and professional honesty and integrity as outlined here: http://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf. Instances of academic dishonesty (including cheating and plagiarizing) will result in being reported for academic misconduct.

Answers to FAQ’s:

• I have posted a "study guide" for each class, which includes ID terms/concepts and study questions for that day's lecture. I encourage you to download these study guides and use them when you do your reading and/or watch that day’s lecture. NOTE: These study guides will come in very handy when you’re studying for quizzes and exams! Quiz questions will be based on the ID terms, and the exams’ mini-essays will be drawn directly from the study questions.
• You are not permitted to sell or buy lecture notes.
• You should ideally 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.
• Make-up exams will be given ONLY in the case of serious illness, family emergency, religious observance, or university-approved absences (like athletic events). If you have to miss a quiz, that will be your one dropped quiz.
• 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 30: Introduction

Oct 1: Historical background: Greece (Garland 7-36 [feel free to skim]) (study guide)

Oct 2: Historical background: Rome (Aldrete 7-10) (study guide) 

Week 2:

Oct 5: Space and time: Greece (Garland 37-52) (study guide) 

Oct 6: Space and time: Rome (Aldrete 11-15, 47-53, 241-244) (study guide) 

Oct 7: Social organization: Greece (Garland 65-70) and Rome (Aldrete 21-23, 43-44) (study guide)

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

Oct 9: QUIZ 1 (on ID terms from weeks 1 and 2) due by 5pm; (OPTIONAL) CONFERENCE HOUR (on Zoom, 10.30-11.20am)

Week 3:

Oct 12: Women and marriage: Rome (Aldrete 55-61) (study guide). Optional short video: Four Sisters in Ancient Rome

Oct 13: Children and education: Greece (Garland 89-98, 120-21 [Sparta], 155-159) (study guide)

Oct 14: Children and education: Rome (Aldrete 62-65)
 (study guide). Optional short video: A Glimpse of Teenage Life in Ancient Rome

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

Oct 16: QUIZ 2 (on ID terms from week 3) due by 5pm; CONFERENCE HOUR

Week 4:

Oct 19: Slaves: Greece (Garland 105-118; 123-124 [Sparta] (study guide)

Oct 20: Slaves: Rome (Aldrete 65-68; Dan-El Padilla Peralta, "Barbarians Inside the Gate, Part II: Immigrant Labor and Its Discontents." Eidolon. November 12, 2015) (study guide). Optional short video: Prof. Dan-El Padilla Peralta discussing his background

Oct 21: Freed slaves: Greece (Fisher 67-70, 77-78) and Rome (Aldrete 68-71) (study guide)

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: QUIZ 3 (on ID terms from week 4) due by 5pm; CONFERENCE HOUR

Week 5:

Oct 26: Dress: Greece (Garland 134-141) and Rome (Aldrete 245-249) (study guide)

Oct 27: Food and drink: Greece (Garland 141-154) and Rome (Aldrete 111-113) (study guide)

Oct 28: Sex and sexuality: Greece (Garland 169-173) and Rome (Aldrete 113-118) (study guide). EXAM 1 becomes available for download (under 'Assignments') at 5pm. Watch the brief Panopto lecture about the format of EXAM 1.

Oct 29: QUIZ 4 (on ID terms from week 5) due by 5pm.

Oct 30:  EXAM 1 due by 5pm; CONFERENCE HOUR 

Week 6:

Nov 2: Health and sickness: Greece (Garland 159-169; Emily Greenwood, "Thucydides in Times of Trouble." The Yale Review. June 2020) (study guide)

Nov 3: NO CLASS (Election Day). Optional reading: Kathryn Topper, "Pandora's Ballot Box: The Myth of the Irresponsible Female Voter." Eidolon. February 15, 2016.

Nov 4: Health and sickness: Rome (Aldrete 80-83, 97-103) (study guide). Check out this cool image of Roman healing offerings!

Nov 5: Death and afterlife: Greece (Garland 174-193) (study guide)

Nov 6: QUIZ 5 (on ID terms from week 6) due by 5pm. [Due date now extended to 5pm on Nov 9]

Week 7:

Nov 9: Death and afterlife: Rome (Aldrete 83-92; Nandini Pandey, "Crossing Cultures as a First-Generation Classicist: The Tears of Things on Coco's Marigold Bridge." Eidolon. April 2, 2018) (study guide)

Nov 10: Magic and religion: Greece (Garland 193-216) (study guide)

Nov 11: NO CLASS: Veterans Day

Nov 12: Magic and religion: Rome (Aldrete 141-151) (study guide)

Nov 13: QUIZ 6 (on ID terms from week 7) due by 5pm; CONFERENCE HOUR

Week 8:

Nov 16: Festivals: Greece (Garland 266-270) and Rome (Aldrete 119-121; Matz 83-87) (study guide)

Nov 17: 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)

Nov 18: Politics: Greece (Amos/Lang 105-116) (study guide)

Nov 19: Politics: Rome (Aldrete 44-47). Diagram of the cursus honorum. (study guide)

Nov 20: QUIZ 7 (on ID terms from week 8) due by 5pm; CONFERENCE HOUR

Week 9:

Nov 23: Race and ancient art/archaeology (Sarah Derbew, "An Investigation of Black Figures in Classical Greek Art." The Iris. April 25, 2018).  Guest Panopto Lecture: Prof. Sarah Levin-Richardson (UW Classics), "Classical Archaeology and the Legacy of Racism," Puget Sound Society of the Archaeological Institute of America Webinar.    (study guide) 

Nov 24: Art and architecture: Greece (Silver 40-55) (study guide)

Nov 25: Art and architecture: Rome (Silver 65-81) (study guide)

Nov 26: NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING

Nov 27: NO CLASS: THANKSGIVING

Week 10:

Nov 30: Economics: Greece (Garland 216-223, 229-233, 124-125 [Sparta]) (study guide)

Dec 1: Economics: Rome (Aldrete 187-202) (study guide)

Dec 2: Law: Greece (Garland 224-229)
 (study guide)

Dec 3: Law: Rome (Aldrete 103-106, Matz 60-62) (study guide)

Dec 4: QUIZ 8 (on ID terms from weeks 9 and 10) due by 5pm

Week 11:

Dec 7: Warfare: Greece (Garland 237-255) (study guide). Optional: short video: HOPLITES! Greeks at War

Dec 8: Warfare: Rome (Tingay/Badock 181-190) (study guide). Optional: short video: A Day in the Life of a Roman Soldier

Dec 9: Athletics: Greece (Garland 258-266) (study guide)

Dec 10: Spectator sports: Rome (Aldrete 121-137) (study guide). EXAM 2 will be uploaded to Canvas under 'Assignments.' You have until Dec 14 at 5pm to complete the exam.

Dec 11: QUIZ 9 (on ID terms from week 11) due by 5pm; CONFERENCE HOUR

Dec 14: EXAM 2 due by 5pm. (What does EXAM 2 look like? Here is the format of the exam.)

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