BA Politics and Modern History

Families and family life are vital for ancient society. As a term 'family' is not a self-evident issue. Starting from Greek and Latin vocabulary, we will define families as groups of people united under one authority, linked with each other through alliances of relation or dependency, and sharing common residence or activities.

After a methodological introduction, we will focus on items as demography, archaeology of the house, domestic economy, legal issues, and the human life course in the context of the family (from birth to funeral) in connection with domestic religion. Special attention will be given to outsiders or 'special' family members: the ill and the disabled, domestic slaves, and singles. The approach will be comparative. While classical Athens and late-Republican early imperial Rome will be at the centre, due attention will be paid to sources from 'other' regions, as well as to the comparison between the Greek and the Roman worlds. 

To explore the role played by family in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, with particular focus on historiographical and methodological questions, including the use of comparative evidence from other Mediterranean societies as well as the interpretation of ancient sources.

• an awareness and understanding of the subject;
• knowledge of a range of literary, epigraphic, linguistic and archaeological/iconographical evidence
• critical understanding of the strengths and limitations of different types of evidence

• to pose questions about complex issues
• to assimilate and summarize large quantities of evidence
• to locate and retrieve relevant information from primary sources
• to conduct bibliographic searches, and to present the results in a professional manner with appropriate reference to sources and modern published scholarship;

• To present a sustained critical argument effectively in writing and orally
• To manage time
• To engage in critical discussion and debate

• the ability to organise self-learning and to engage in constructive critical discussion both individually and in groups.

Mandatory reading:

B. Rawson (ed.), A Companion to Families in the Greek and Roman Worlds (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2011): selected chapters to be read will be made available.

Further reading:

J. Gardener, The Roman Household. A Sourcebook (Routledge, London, New York, 1991).

S. Huebner, The Family in Roman Egypt. A Comparative Approach to Intergenerational Solidarity and Conflict (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013).

M. Golden, Children and Childhood in Classical Athens (Baltimore, 2015, 2nd edition).

Chr. Laes, K. Mustakallio, V. Vuolanto, Limits and Borders of Childhood and Family in the Roman Empire, in Chr. Laes, K. Mustakallio, V. Vuolanto (eds.), Children and Family in Late Antiquity. Life, Death and Interaction (Leuven, Peeters, 2015) p. 1-14.

Chr. Laes, V. Vuolanto (eds.), Children and Everyday Life in the Roman and Late Antique World (London, New York, Routledge, 2017).

J.-B. Bonnard, V. Dasen, J. Wilgaux, Famille et société dans le monde grec et en Italie du V^e au II^e siècle av. J. - C. (Rennes, 2017).