HIS 374 Premodern Punishment

3 hours 

This course will examine ideas and practices of crime and punishment found in global justice from antiquity to 1700. The relationship of crime and punishment to politics, gender, religion, and culture will be considered. The course begins by examining different theoretical approaches to the history of punishment and then considers primary and secondary work on crime and punishment in the premodern world. The analysis of ancient law will include Mesopotamia and Ancient Israel, Egypt, and Rome. This will be followed by study of Christian and Islamic countries. The course will conclude with a final section that will examine comparisons of different laws and practices found in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.