CSP 61 Humans and the Environment in the Ancient Mediterranean

Greeks and Romans in antiquity—much like Americans in our time—had a complicated relationship with the natural world. The course will be divided into several units that explores various aspects of this relationship, including: 1) Humans as the environment—we will study ancient race theory that understood human identity—bodies, personality, and emotions—as intertwined with one’s environs; 2) Humans vs. the environment—we will study the perils of natural disasters that affected the well-being of ancient communities and that motivated humans’ attempt to appease nature and the gods thought to be in charge of nature; 3) Humans in the environment—we will study the natural resources available to ancients and the technologies they used to exploit these resources; and 4) Humans and utopian environments—we will study ancients’ visions of paradise in order to grasp the kind of nature they idealized and desired. By the end of the course, students will know more about humans and the environment in antiquity, and will also be armed with new analytical tools they can bring to modern environmental issues.