| Archaeology of the Roman World: Italy and the West [ARCHIVED CATALOG] | Courses of Study 2020-2021
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Print this PageCLASS 2711 - Archaeology of the Roman World: Italy and the West
(crosslisted) ARKEO 2711, ARTH 2711, SHUM 2711
(HB) (HA-AS, HST-AS)
Fall. 4 credits. Student option grading.
A. Van Oyen.
With megacities, long-distance trade, and fluid identities, the Roman empire can seem uncannily close to our modern world. This course adopts a thematic approach to explore whether this is a valid parallel, based on archaeological evidence ranging from temples to farms, from wine containers to statues.
Central topics include imperialism, urbanism, economy, and social life. What was the archaeological imprint of conquest? How did goods travel around such a wide geographical expanse? What images did people in Britain have of the emperor? In investigating these questions, we will explore methodological issues, such as what archaeological evidence can tell us, how to handle and describe objects (with various museum visits!), or how to introduce protagonists other than emperors and armies in our reconstructions of the Roman world. Throughout the course, we will question whether the modern world is a productive and valid parallel for archaeological study of the Roman world.