3.0

Average Course Rating

How did people understand human difference before modern biology or the invention of categories like ‘black’ and ‘white’? Were ancient societies ethnically pure or hostile toward other cultures? Or are race and racism not inherent to the human condition, but rather, cultural products that vary based on the needs of those in power? This First-Year Seminar tackles some of these questions by exploring constructions of race, ethnicity, and difference among people who lived around the Mediterranean Sea between 1000 BCE – 500 CE. It will introduce you to the cultural diversity of ancient Asian, African, and European societies, hone your ability to interpret primary sources both literary and visual, and survey ways of theorizing human difference across time in hopes of better preparing you for lives and careers in our interconnected world.. We will also examine the role that classical Greece and Rome played in modern racecraft, Western imperialism, even the political systems, socioeconomic structures, and architecture that surround us. This course hopes to give you a wider historical frame in which to understand race and racism, as well as the cultural politics around "classics" and questions of heritage, revealing both as dynamic and historically situated discourses that have been used to exert power, to include or exclude, and to build communities. All sources are provided in English, no prior background in classics is assumed, and there are no prerequisites beyond a willingness to work, speak, and think with an open mind.