Ancient Economy (330-0-2)

Instructors

Taco Tjitte Terpstra
Kresge 4353

Meeting Info

Locy Hall 109: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

It is perhaps unsurprising that our time - obsessed as it is with GDP growth, the ups and downs of the stock market, inflation rates, the trade deficit - produces scholarship that studies the ancient Roman economy. This scholarship has made us increasingly aware of how different Rome was from the modern world. This course will focus on what that difference means for the realities of everyday life, both past and present. Questions to be addressed are: What did economic growth mean for the economy of the Romans? Can we even measure it? What role did energy consumption play in economic performance? What was the role of social class in business? What was the influence of a demographic regime with low life expectancy? How was trade conducted over long distances without fast means of communication and transportation? What was the role of technology and technological progress in the economy?

Class Materials (Required)

Greene, Kevin The Archaeology of the Roman Economy (Berkeley 1992) ISBN-10: 0520074017 | ISBN-13: 978-0520074019

Norris Bookstore strongly encourages all students to place their orders early at their website, www.northwestern.bncollege.com, and not wait until the last minute to purchase.

Class Notes

Please use the following link for Classics Waitlist information: https://classics.northwestern.edu/courses/2023-2024/classics-waitlist.html

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area