Traditionally, studies of the Roman world have emphasized the City at the expense of the countryside, the public sphere rather than the private , the lifestyle of the rich and influential rather than that of craftsmen, tradesmen, peasants and slaves, and of men rather than women. This course aims to go some way to correcting these biases. We shall study the Romans at home rather than in the Forum or in the Senate House. We shall study everyday topics such as housing structures, gardens, household equipment, diet, the water supply and health. We shall look at family structure and life expectancy.

By drawing together the archaeological record and literary sources, we shall explore some of the physical aspects of life in the Greco-Roman world of the first and second centuries AD.

 By the end of the semester students will have:

• enhanced their understanding of the Greco-Roman world of C1-C2AD through a study of often neglected aspects of everyday living;
  
• confronted the range of evidence that, along with the written evidence (including literature), assists in our reconstruction of this world;
  
• developed independent ideas about the past--and about the present in the light of the past;
  
• developed a number of specific skills: clear-headed evaluation of written and other evidence; efficient conduct of research; effective presentation of argument in speech and writing.

Tutorial work (30%), short papers (40%), and final examination (30%).

Two hours of lectures per week for 11 weeks and one tutorial per week for 13 weeks

At least 12 units in Classics, History, Ancient Greek or Latin, or ARTH2053 Greek Art and Architecture or ARTH2054 Roman Art and Architecture.

* Apuleius, The Golden Ass, Oxford World Classics
* Shelton, J, As the Romans Did, 2nd ed, OUP