CLAS 329 A: Greek and Roman Slavery

TTh 9.30-11.20am, CDH 115

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

Office hours: Mondays 1-2pm and Tuesdays 2-3pm (or by appointment) in DEN 262F. If you prefer to meet over Zoom, just let me know and I'll send you a link.

Description

In studying the ancient world, we generally focus on the achievements of the Greeks and Romans in literature, philosophy, art, and architecture. But we cannot, and should not, overlook the darker aspects of the ancient world, including the pervasiveness of slavery. This course examines enslaved people and slavery in antiquity and asks the following questions: How was slavery defined and what forms did it take? How many enslaved people were there, and where did they come from? What was the status of enslaved people under the law? What roles did they play in the economy? How were they treated? In what circumstances were they freed? In what ways did they resist their owners? How did the ancients justify the subjugation of other human beings?

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will demonstrate the ability:

• To explain the mechanisms of oppression and marginalization of certain groups of people in antiquity.
• To describe the (social, economic, sexual, etc.) status and roles of enslaved people in Greek and Roman society.
• To identify the (sometimes conflicting) ideologies of slavery in Greek and Roman literature and society.
• To recognize the range of evidence available for studying Greek and Roman slavery, including what our sources can (and cannot) tell us.

Required Course Texts

These books can be purchased at the UW Bookstore or online; Classics majors and minors can apply for funds Links to an external site. to defray the costs of books. There is also a copy of each book on reserve at Odegaard. If you are unable to acquire the books for whatever reason, just let me know!

• Fisher, N. R. E. (1993 or 2001) Slavery in Classical Greece. London. [Fisher]
• Joshel, S. (2010) Slavery in the Roman World. Cambridge. [Joshel]
• Wiedemann, T. (1981) Greek & Roman Slavery: A Sourcebook. London and New York. [GARS] [available as a pdf and as an ebook Links to an external site. through the UW Library

Another useful resource is this reference guide: “Writing About Slavery? Teaching about Slavery? Links to an external site.”    

Grading

• Participation: 10%
• Exam 1 (April 28): 35%
• Exam 2 (June 10): 35%
• In-class assignment (May 21): 20%

Participation includes discussing texts in class and asking questions. If you are unable to attend class on a given day, you should post a comment or question about the assigned reading under Discussions. Exams 1 and 2 will consist of mini-essays. Exam 1 will cover lecture material and assigned readings from the first half of the course; Exam 2 will cover the second half. There will also be an in-class assignment, about which more details will be posted under Assignments.

Answers to FAQs

• Before each lecture, I will post a powerpoint for the lecture. You can find powerpoints under Files.
• I will record all of my lectures on Panopto. You can find these recordings under Panopto Recordings.
• For each lecture, I will post on the course website a study guide with study questions.
• NOTE: These study guides will be very helpful when you’re studying for exams, since I will draw the essay questions directly from these guides.
• Make-up exams will not be given, and late papers/projects will not be accepted, except in the case of serious illness, family emergency, religious observance, or university-approved absences (like athletic events).
• Any student requiring special accommodations should provide me with a letter from the Disability Resources for Students Office as soon as possible.

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 Links to an external site.. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form. Links to an external site.

Academic Integrity

University of Washington students are expected to practice high standards of academic and professional honesty and integrity. Instances of academic dishonesty (including cheating and plagiarizing) will result in being reported for academic misconduct Links to an external site..  In this class, academic misconduct includes the use of ChatGPT, Large Language Models (LLMs), or any other AI tools to generate ideas or to rephrase or paraphrase yours or others’ work.

Schedule of Topics and Readings

In this course, we’ll be reading both primary sources (=original ancient sources) and secondary sources (=analysis and discussion that draws on primary sources). For each class meeting, I will generally assign you both types of sources to read. Primary sources will be from GARS unless noted otherwise. The secondary sources will usually be the course textbooks but are sometimes readings posted on the course website. 

Week 1:

Tues Mar 31: Introduction

Thurs April 2: Defining slavery (study guide)

• Secondary sources:
• Fisher ch. 1
• Joshel ch. 1

Week 2:

Tues April 7: Greek slaveries (study guide)

• Secondary sources:
• Fisher ch. 2 and 3
• Primary sources [NOTE: Feel free to read either the pdf or ebook]

• GARS #16 [NOTE: this is an entry number, not a page number]; primary sources on Helots

Thurs April 9: Slave supply and slave numbers (Greece) (study guide)

• Secondary sources:
• Fisher pp. 34-37
• Forsdyke, S. (2021) Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Greece. Cambridge. Chapter 2.
• Primary sources:

• GARS #80 (bottom of p. 84 to top of p. 85), 89, 101
• Fornara 147D part 1 Links to an external site. and part 2 Links to an external site.

Week 3:

Tues April 14: Slave supply and slave numbers (Rome) (study guide)

• Secondary sources:
• Joshel ch. 3
• Optional: Joshel pp. 48-75
• Primary sources:
• GARS #104, 111; excerpt of Horace, Epistles 2.2

Thurs April 16: Economic role of enslaved people (Greece) (study guide)

• Secondary source:
• Fisher pp. 37-57
• Primary sources:
• GARS #87, 91, 134, 139

Week 4:

Tues April 21: Economic role of enslaved people (Rome) (study guide)

• Secondary source:

• Joshel ch. 5 [NOTE: this is a very long chapter. Most important is that you get a big-picture view of enslaved labor in Rome--you don't have to worry about all of the details!]
• Primary sources:
• GARS #130, 148

Thurs April 23: Enslaved people and the law (study guide)

• Secondary sources:

• Fisher pp. 58-65
• Watson, A. (1987) Roman Slave Law. Baltimore. Chapter 4. [NOTE: Focus on pp. 46-47, 54-58, 61-64]

• Primary sources:
• GARS #11, 177

Week 5:

Tues April 28: EXAM 1

Thurs April 30: Treatment of enslaved people (Greece) (study guide)

• Secondary source:
• Fisher 65-66, 70-77

• Primary sources:
• GARS #205, 206

Week 6:

Tues May 5: Treatment of enslaved people (Rome) (study guide)

• Secondary source:
• Joshel 112-152

• Primary sources:
• GARS #149, 201

Thurs May 7: NO CLASS: Prof. Kamen out of town for a conference

Week 7:

Tues May 12: Manumission (Greece) (study guide)

• Secondary sources:
• Fisher 67-70, 77-78
• Kamen, D. (2023) Greek Slavery. Berlin. Chapter 7.
• Primary sources:
• GARS #23, 25, 95; more manumission inscriptions

Thurs May 14: Manumission (Rome) (study guide)

• Secondary sources:
• Joshel 41-47
• Watson, A. (1987) Roman Slave Law. Baltimore. Chapter 2.

• Primary sources:
• GARS #5 (sections 13-15), 34, 35, 36, 43, 47

Week 8:

Tues May 19: Creative approaches to slavery (study guide)

• Secondary source:

• Kamen, D. and S. Levin-Richardson (2022) “Epigraphy and Critical Fabulation: Imagining Narratives of Greco-Roman Sexual Slavery” in E. Cousins (ed.), Dynamic Epigraphy: New Approaches to Inscriptions (Oxbow) 201-221. [content warning: sexual violence]
• Optional: Hartman, S. (2008) “Venus in Two Acts Links to an external site.,” small axe 26: 1-14.
• Optional: Enslaved Children in the House of the Vetii: A Conversation between Prof. Sarah Levin-Richardson (UW Classics) and Dr. April Pudsey (Manchester Metropolitan U)

• Primary sources:

• Selection from R. Kelly, K. Gillen, and J. Bellaire, Three (2014) [a comic book mini-series about Helots]
• Selection from James Hynes’ Sparrow (2023) [a novel about an enslaved boy raised in a Roman brothel; “wolf” = prostitute]

Thurs May 21: In-class assignment: TBD

Week 9:

Thurs May 26: Slave resistance and revolt (Greece) (study guide)

• Secondary source:

• Fisher ch. 6

• Primary sources:
• GARS #80 (only pp. 79-81); selection of Aesop’s fables

Thurs May 28: Slave resistance and revolt (Rome) (study guide)

• Secondary source:
• Joshel 57-65, 152-160

• Primary sources:
• GARS #212, 214, 225; advertisement from the American South

Week 10

Tues June 2: Justifications and criticisms of slavery (Greece) (study guide)

• Secondary source:
• Fisher ch. 7
• Primary source:

• GARS #2

Thurs June 4: Justifications and criticisms of slavery (Rome) (study guide)

• Secondary source:
• Bradley, K. (1994) Slavery and Society at Rome. Cambridge. Chapter 7.
• Primary sources:
• GARS #238, 241

Wed June 10 (10.30am-12.20pm): EXAM 2