Time Schedule:
Mira Green
HIST 494
Seattle Campus
Advanced seminar examining central issues in historiography. Emphasizes reading, discussion, and writing.
Class description
Food and the Body in Ancient Rome: Gluttony and Hunger Employing sociological and anthropological studies, this course traces the development of Roman perceptions of the ingesting and digesting body. It also looks at the daily practices involving food preparation and consumption. The first half of the course places Roman authors’ discussions about eating and diet within the historical developments of the Roman Republic and early Principate in order to explore how and why these authors became concerned with food and ingestion. The second half of the class integrates the material evidence of food preparation, consumption, and elimination alongside textual accounts. We will study the locations, fixtures, and utensils of cooking and dining in the Roman world to gain insight into the daily practices involving ingestion and digestion and the lives of those who prepared and served meals in Roman households.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Class will consist of in depth discussions each week and presentations of students' personal research at the end of the course.
Recommended preparation
Some background knowledge of Roman history or culture will be helpful, but not required.
Class assignments and grading
Readings in primary and secondary sources Participation in weekly discussions (includes one group-led discussion during quarter) Two short response papers (2-3 pages) Presentation of research for final paper Final paper (13-15 pages)
Participation: 20% Group-led discussion: 10% Final Presentation: 10% 2 Short Response Papers: 20% Final Paper: 40%
