Crosslisted with ARCHAM 387.001 (home department)

All of us have a home, whether it consists of a whole house or a single room, and most of us have strong views about how our home should be furnished and decorated. We all know that entering into someone else"s house can reveal much about his or her character. In the same way, studying the physical remains of domestic buildings – including their decoration and furnishings –reveals much about the behavior and character of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

The course will tackle a series of topics, starting with the emergence of private housing in the Greek Dark Ages (tenth and ninth centuries B.C.) and moving forward in time through the Classical and Hellenistic periods, looking at housing from sites such as Athens, Olynthos, Pella, and Delos. Questions raised will include how and why the organization and decoration of houses changed so dramatically over a relatively short time, and what the remains of houses tell us about broader issues such as the character of the Greek economy and the nature of social relationships. We will then move on to compare the Greek "core" with the "diaspora" areas, using the evidence from sites such as Himera in Sicily, Euesperides (Bengazi) in Libya. The second half of the course will cover households in various areas of the Roman world, starting with Italy itself (Rome, Pompeii and Herculaneum, Ostia), and move outwards to look at contrasting groups of evidence from some of the provinces, including North Africa (Dougga, Bulla Regia, Volubilis, Timgad and especially, the Michigan excavations at Karanis in Egypt) and the Greek East (Ephesos, Doura Europos, Antioch). Questions raised will include the extent to which it is possible to talk about a standardized "Roman house" and the degree to which housing in different areas provides evidence for the continuity of indigenous cultural traditions.

Textbooks/Other Materials: all readings will be available in the electronic coursepack

Course Requirements: There will be no examinations or in-class tests for this course; assessment will be based on:

• attendance and participation in class discussions
• class presentation of readings
• class presentation of archaeological evidence
• final written paper

Intended Audience: The class offers an opportunity for students with some experience of course work in the ancient world (e.g. through clarch, clciv, or art history courses) to build on their knowledge. At the same time, it builds skills in: oral presentation and discussion; the use of evidence to present an argument; and research and writing a paper.

Class Format: Two discussions per week.