This course examines the history of the ancient Mediterranean world, from the rise of states and complex societies c. 3000 BCE to the reign of the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine, in the fourth century CE. The first part of the course introduces students to the main regions and historical periods of the wider Mediterranean basin. The second part of the course proceeds thematically and considers a wide range of topics, including demography, mobility, economy, political organization, rulership, warfare, social hierarchy, sex and gender, slavery, revolution and resistance, religion and beliefs, and cultural production. The course concludes with a set of comparative perspectives, ancient and modern.

This course examines the history of the ancient Mediterranean world, from the rise of states and complex societies in the late fourth millennium BCE to the reign of the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine, in the fourth century CE. The first part of the course introduces students to the main regions and historical geographies of the wider Mediterranean basin, which embraced three continents, identifying the major historical periods and their principal characteristics. The second, main part of the course proceeds thematically, balancing diachronic and synchronic perspectives, and considers a wide range of topics, including demography, mobility, economy, political organization, rulership, warfare, social hierarchy, sex and gender, slavery, revolution and resistance, religion and belief systems, and cultural production. The course concludes with some reflections on the uses and abuses of ancient history in modern and contemporary culture. The primary goals of the course are to introduce students to the geography, history, and culture of the ancient Mediterranean world; and to understand it as a complex whole, connected by constant, dynamic human interactions within a fragmented landscape. Students will read primary sources from antiquity as well as selections from recent scholarship to gain an understanding of how historians make sense of this world—and to begin to make sense of it for themselves. All readings will be made available to students in digital form, either through bCourses or the library.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills