CLST 209
Type: 200 level
Units: 3.00
Term: Winter 2026
Instructor: Dr. Carbon
Delivery: In-Person
Textbook:
Required: E. Bathrellou, K. Vlassopoulos, Greek and Roman Slaveries, Historical Sources in Translation, Wiley Blackwell, 1st edition, 2022.
Recommended: P. Hunt, Ancient Greek and Roman Slavery, Wiley Blackwell, 1st edition, 2018.
Slavery is undergoing a far-reaching contemporary reckoning and remains a critical global issue. How was enslavement envisaged in the ancient world? This course centers on the study of slavery in the ancient Mediterranean (ca. 1200 BC 鈥 300 AD), especially using translated Greek and Latin sources, though we also look at earlier periods in the history of the ancient Near East and at Late Antiquity for greater context. By examining cultural, economic, and political aspects of enslavement, we confront the different forms of 鈥渦nfreedom鈥 which ancient people could experience. The course pays special attention to problematizing master-slave dynamics and to the agency of enslaved persons in shaping the societies in which they lived. We examine a variety of phenomena such as ways of gaining back one鈥檚 freedom (or at least a kind of freedom) and slave revolts (think Spartacus!). Evocative testimonies from the past develop our historical consciousness and provide crucial points of reflection for our current thought on this complex subject, which words often fail to describe and to express adequately.