Universität Wien

090105 PS The Material Culture of Slavery in Late Antiquity (2024W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 9 - Altertumswissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
MIXED
Moodle
We 09.10. 10:15-11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG

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Details

max. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 02.10. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 16.10. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 23.10. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 30.10. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 06.11. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 13.11. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 20.11. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 27.11. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 04.12. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 11.12. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 08.01. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 15.01. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 22.01. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG
  • Wednesday 29.01. 10:15 - 11:45 Seminarraum d. Inst. f. Klassische Archäologie Franz-Klein-Gasse 1.OG

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The late antique Mediterranean was a slave-owning society. Men, women, and children were enslaved and forced to work in all kinds of contexts, from farms and wealthy homes to bakeries and brothels. They were subjected to unimaginable degradation, conceptualised not as humans but the property of their enslavers. Studying these people is a challenging but essential component of understanding ancient societies and the ideas about power, control, and violence that shaped them. In this course, we will examine the material evidence for enslaved people and their experiences in the late antique world, including archaeology, bioarchaeology, visual culture, epigraphy, and architecture. By the end of the course, students will be able to answer the following questions:

• What kinds of people were enslaved in this period and into what forms of enslavement?
• How did slavery function within late antique society?
• What kinds of sources and methods can we use to study enslavement and the lives of enslaved people? Why is this difficult?
• What kinds of slavery are most visible in the material record? What can we say about the lives of these people?
• What were Christian attitudes to slavery?

As a Proseminar, the course also serves to familiarise the students with how to prepare a research presentation and how to write a research essay.

Assessment and permitted materials

Students will be assessed through a combination of class participation, oral presentation, and a written paper.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Students must be assessed positively in each of these individual activities in order to pass the course. Missing up to two classes is permitted.
• Regular, active participation in class discussions (20%)
• In-class oral presentation (40%)
• Written seminar paper taking into account discussion after the presentation (40%)

Examination topics

Clear, careful, and thoughtful analysis of a selected topic in the form of an oral presentation and a written paper. Oral presentations will be 20 minutes long, with c.10 minutes of class discussion. Students are expected to make a PowerPoint presentation to accompany their talk and a short handout. Written papers should be at least 10 pages long (including footnotes, but not including images and bibliography).

Reading list

General Reading List (a specific reading list will be assigned for each class)

De Wet, C. L., Kahlos, M. and Vuolanto, V. eds. (2022). Slavery in the Late Antique World, 150-700 CE. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dunbabin, K. M. D. (2003). The Waiting Servant in Later Roman Art. American Journal of Philology 124.3, pp.443-467.

Harper, K. (2011). Slavery in the Late Roman World, AD 275-425. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Redfern, R. C. (2018). Blind to Chains? The Potential of Bioarchaeology for Identifying the Enslaved of Roman Britain. Britannia 49, pp.251-282.

Rotman, Y. (2021). Slaveries of the First Millenium. Leeds: ARC Humanities Press.

Trimble, J. (2016). The Zoninus Collar and the Archaeology of Roman Slavery. American Journal of Archaeology 120.3, pp.447-472.

Association in the course directory

Anrechenbar: im Fachbereich Frühchristliche Archäologie + Materielle Kultur:
im BA: M6, M11, M13;
im EC 596;
im EC 597;

Last modified: Tu 10.09.2024 12:05