Slavery in Ancient Rome HIST 492 001 May 30-­ Jun 25, 2016 M-­‐F 10:05 am-­‐12:05 pm Prof. Adam M. Schor Slavery, the treatment of some humans as property of others, existed in many ancient societies. But few were so bound to it as the Roman Empire. Romans kept enslaved a greater portion of their subjects than anyone – until the colonial Americas. But slavery in Rome differed from more recent versions. This class – a mix of lecture, discussion, and film – will examine Roman slavery in its complexity. It will look at the rise of mass slavery during Roman conquest, the social origins of Roman slaves, from prisoners of war to abandoned children. It will study the social roles played by Roman slaves, including laborer, sex worker (male and female), domestic manager, childcare giver and sometimes favored companion. The course will explore the social lives of freed slaves, and the way slavery helped to shape Roman notions of freedom. It will survey slavery as it changed in the late Roman and post Roman society. And it will look at how Roman slavery was represented in more recent societies (for their own reasons). For sources the class will examine ancient writings, ancient art, some modern scholars’ writings, tv shows, and films. No prior knowledge of Roman history is needed. This course counts for history majors as a pre-­‐modern Europe course, and for classics majors/minors as elective credit.