History 450 - JYW Seminar in History
Spring
2021
03
4.00
Timothy Hart
M W 2:30PM 3:45PM
UMass Amherst
77081
Fully Remote Class
tchart@umass.edu
This seminar trains students in historical research techniques and the writing of history, and fulfills the University's Junior Writing requirement. See the History Department course description guide for various sectional sub-titles and descriptions.
Open to seniors & juniors only. Anatomy of the Barbarian: Ethnography and Empire in the Greco-Roman World
Our 21st century world has been, and continues to be shaped by traditional, often stereotypical ideas about `foreign? peoples and their customs, and the same was true for the ancient Greeks and Romans. In this seminar, we will look beyond the generic `barbarian? label so common in Greek and Latin writing about foreigners in order to explore how ancient ethnographic thought fundamentally shaped the way Greeks and Romans perceived the world around them, and interacted with peoples from beyond their cultural cores. Beginning with Herodotus and other Greek writers and continuing through the period of the Roman empire, we will discuss topics including ancient ideas about ethnicity and race, theories of environmental determinism, and ancient imperial ideologies. Throughout the course, we will also explore how ancient ethnographic writings have been employed in early modern and contemporary settings to shape and justify more recent imperial projects and social agendas.
Our 21st century world has been, and continues to be shaped by traditional, often stereotypical ideas about `foreign? peoples and their customs, and the same was true for the ancient Greeks and Romans. In this seminar, we will look beyond the generic `barbarian? label so common in Greek and Latin writing about foreigners in order to explore how ancient ethnographic thought fundamentally shaped the way Greeks and Romans perceived the world around them, and interacted with peoples from beyond their cultural cores. Beginning with Herodotus and other Greek writers and continuing through the period of the Roman empire, we will discuss topics including ancient ideas about ethnicity and race, theories of environmental determinism, and ancient imperial ideologies. Throughout the course, we will also explore how ancient ethnographic writings have been employed in early modern and contemporary settings to shape and justify more recent imperial projects and social agendas.