Course Syllabus

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

MTWThF 10.30-11.20am, HRC 155

Office hours: TBD, DEN 262F

 

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, enslaved people, and formerly enslaved people); housing; dress; food and drink; sex and sexuality; health and sickness; death and beliefs in the afterlife; magic and religion; politics; theater and music; economics; law; warfare; athletics and spectator sports; etc. No prerequisites.

 

Class meetings

This class will generally meet in person unless noted otherwise, and I will record all of my lectures on Panopto. We will not have in-person class on Thursdays, but most Thursdays there will be an online quiz. On a few Thursdays, I will hold an optional "conference hour" during class time. Conference hour, held in my office, is an opportunity to ask any questions you might have or just to introduce yourself to me. Feel free to pop in!

 

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%

Quizzes (but not exams) will be open-book and open note, and will be administered ONLINE through Canvas. Open-book, open-note means you can use the assigned readings, your notes on the readings, the course lectures, and your notes on the lectures. 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. 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. Each quiz consists of 5 multiple-choice questions. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped.

Exams are NEITHER open-book NOR open-note, and they will be held IN CLASS. 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). 

 

Course Texts

Both of the two course textbooks are available FOR FREE as ebooks through UW Libraries (you just need to log in with your UW NetID):

Further readings posted on the Canvas page are drawn from the following books:

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

 

Policies

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. Instances of academic dishonesty (including cheating and plagiarizing) will result in being reported for academic misconduct.  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.

 

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 attend 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 (or forget to take 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.

 

Schedule of topics/readings

Week 1

Jan 5: Introduction

Jan 6:  Historical background: Greece (Garland 7-36 [feel free to skim])

Jan 7 (no in-person class): WATCH PRERECORDED PANOPTO: Historical background: Rome (Aldrete 7-10)

Jan 8 (no class): QUIZ 0 (this quiz is practice; it does not count toward your grade!)

Jan 9 (no in-person class): WATCH PRERECORDED PANOPTO:  Space and time: Greece (Garland 37-52)

 

Week 2

Jan 12: Space and time: Rome (Aldrete 11-15, 47-53, 241-244)

Jan 13: Social organization: Greece (Garland 65-70) and Rome (Aldrete 21-23, 43-44)

Jan 14: Women and marriage: Greece (Garland 70-85, 122-123 [Sparta]). Optional: short video Wife Swap: Spartans and Athenians (a 4-minute reality show parody)

Jan 15: (no class): QUIZ 1.  CONFERENCE HOUR (optional)

Jan 16: Women and marriage: Rome (Aldrete 55-61). Optional short video: Four Sisters in Ancient Rome

 

Week 3

Jan 19: NO CLASS: MLK DAY

Jan 20: Children and education: Greece (Garland 89-98, 120-21 [Sparta], 155-159)

Jan 21: Children and education: Rome (Aldrete 62-65). Optional short video: A Glimpse of Teenage Life in Ancient Rome

Jan 22 (no class): QUIZ 2

Jan 23: The elderly: Greece (Garland 98-102) and Rome (Matz 133-140)

 

Week 4

Jan 26: Enslaved people (Aldrete 65-68; Dan-El Padilla Peralta, "Barbarians Inside the Gate, Part II: Immigrant Labor and Its Discontents." Eidolon. November 12, 2015). Optional article: "He Wants to Save Classics From Whiteness" (NY Times profile of Prof. Padilla Peralta; also available as pdf). Optional short video: Prof. Padilla Peralta discussing his background.

Jan 27: Formerly enslaved people: Greece (Fisher 67-70, 77-78) and Rome (Aldrete 68-71). Optional podcast episode: Prof. Katharine Huemoeller on the manumission of enslaved women in Rome

Jan 28: Housing: Greece (Garland 127-133) and Rome (Aldrete 75-80). Optional short video: Walk around in a 3D splendid house from ancient Pompeii. 

Jan 29 (no class): QUIZ 3

Jan 30: Dress: Greece (Garland 134-141) and Rome (Aldrete 245-249)

 

Week 5

Feb 2: Food and drink: Greece (Garland 141-154) and Rome (Aldrete 111-113)

Feb 3: Sex and sexuality: Greece (Garland 169-173) and Rome (Aldrete 113-118)

Feb 4: Review session for Exam 1

Feb 5 (no class): QUIZ 4.  CONFERENCE HOUR (optional)

Feb 6: EXAM 1

 

Week 6

Feb 9: Health and sickness: Greece (Garland 159-169; Emily Greenwood, "Thucydides in Times of Trouble." The Yale Review. June 2020

Feb 10 Health and sickness: Rome (Aldrete 80-83, 97-103). Check out this cool image of Roman healing offerings! Optional: "Scalpel, Forceps, Bone Drill: Modern Medicine in Ancient Rome" (NY Times article; also available a pdf)

Feb 11 Death and afterlife: Greece (Garland 174-193)

Feb 12 (no class): QUIZ 5

Feb 13: 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)

 

Week 7

Feb 16: NO CLASS: PRESIDENTS DAY

Feb 17 Magic and religion: Greece (Garland 193-216)

Feb 18 Magic and religion: Rome (Aldrete 141-151)

Feb 19 QUIZ 6

Feb 20 Festivals: Greece (Garland 266-270) and Rome (Aldrete 119-121; Matz 83-87)

 

Week 8

Feb 23: Theatre and music: Greece (Garland 270-284) and Rome (Aldrete 138-140). Optional: short video Chelys Lyre (demonstration of a Greek tortoise-shell lyre)

Feb 24: Politics: Greece (Amos/Lang 105-116) 

Feb 25: Politics: Rome (Aldrete 44-47)

Feb 26: QUIZ 7

Feb 27: Economics: Greece (Garland 216-223, 229-233, 124-125 [Sparta])

 

Week 9

Mar 2: Economics: Rome (Aldrete 187-202)

Mar 3: Law: Greece (Garland 224-229)

Mar 4: Law: Rome (Aldrete 103-106, Matz 60-62)

Mar 5: QUIZ 8.  CONFERENCE HOUR (optional)

Mar 6: Warfare: Greece (Garland 237-255). Optional: short video: HOPLITES! Greeks at War. Optional: NY Times article on skeletons of mercenaries identified by DNA evidence (also available as a pdf).

 

Week 10

Mar 9: Warfare: Rome (Tingay/Badcock 181-190). Optional: short video: A Day in the Life of a Roman Soldier. 

Mar 10: Athletics: Greece (Garland 258-266) 

Mar 11: Spectator sports: Rome (Aldrete 121-137)

Mar 12: QUIZ 9

Mar 13: Review for Exam 2

 

Mar 16, 9-10.20am [note start time is 9, not 8.30!]: EXAM 2

 

UW Grade Scale

Percentage to GPA conversion

Percentage Earned 

Grade-Point Equivalent

100-97

4.0

96-95

3.9

94

3.8

93-92

3.7

91

3.6

90-89

3.5

88-87

3.4

86

3.3

85

3.2

84

3.1

83

3.0

82

2.9

81

2.8

80

2.7

79

2.6

78

2.5

77

2.4

76

2.3

75

2.2

74

2.1

73

2.0

72

1.9

71

1.8

70

1.7

69

1.6

68

1.5

67

1.4

66

1.3

65

1.2

64

1.1

63

1.0

62

0.9

61

0.8

60

0.7

59 and x < 59

0.0

 

 

 

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due