Ancient Mediterranean World: Courses
Entering graduate students in ancient history are required to take a two-quarter research seminar in their first and (unless they enter with a Masters degree from another institution) their second year. Generally speaking the theme of the seminar alternates each year between the Greek and Roman worlds. The purpose of the seminar is to introduce students to aspects of method, historical and historiographical problems, and critical interpretation of sources, especially with regard to social, economic, and cultural issues in antiquity, and results in the writing of a lengthy, original, and professional-level research paper by the end of the winter quarter.
Other courses are offered each year in accordance with Faculty research and expertise. Recent course offerings have included Ancient Slavery, Archaeology for Ancient Historians, Archaic Greece, Contextualizing Ancient Historians, Economy of Ancient Rome, Economy of the Roman Empire, Ethnicity in the Classical World, Greek Historians, Life and Death in the Ancient World, Marginal Populations of the Roman Empire, Roman Historiography, and The Spartan Mirage. Students are also required to take some courses outside the department.