Slavery in the Ancient Roman World
Examines slavery in ancient Rome through literary, material, and documentary evidence, covering manumission, social status, gender, and comparative slaveries including Near Eastern, Greek, and Atlantic contexts.
Summary
Lectures are small, with a median of 16 enrolled students in the recorded sections.
What you’ll be able to do
Demonstrate knowledge of ancient Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern societies and cultures.
Examine, analyze, and interpret ancient texts in translation.
Demonstrate competence in the critical methodologies of textual and material analysis with a view to social and cultural interpretation.
Compare and critique ancient Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern societies and cultures to demonstrate intercultural competence and ethical reasoning.
Describe and recall key developments in the history of slavery in the Roman world.
Develop an understanding of the methods used by historians to study Roman slavery, and practice using those methods in written and oral communication.
Formulate a research question about Roman slavery, use independent research to develop an argument answering that question and communicate your argument in a formal paper.
Critique ancient Roman society and culture and compare it to other societies and cultures (specifically Roman slavery compared to Atlantic slavery).
Source: UW Guide
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Prerequisites
Course mapSophomore standing
- Sophomore standing
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- Sophomore standing
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
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Student experience
the class
Slavery pervaded every part of life in ancient Greece and Rome. As the influential historian of the ancient economy Moses Finley put it, "there was no action or belief or institution in Greco-Roman antiquity that was not one way or other affected by the possibility that someone involved might be a slave." Focuses on slavery in ancient Rome, with due attention given to comparative material (Near Eastern, Greek, and Atlantic). Provides an overview of the institution and its role in Roman private and public life, and examines a variety of evidence (literary, material, documentary) that confronts important themes in the study of ancient slavery, e.g. ideologies of slavery and freedom; manumission; the social position of enslaved and freed people; gender, sexuality, and the family; literary depictions of slavery; and comparative slaveries.
difficulty & workload
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Topics
- Ideologies of slavery and freedom, manumission, social position of enslaved and freed people, gender, sexuality, family, and literary depictions.
- Comparative material from Near Eastern, Greek, and Atlantic slave systems.
Skills
- Critical methodologies of textual and material analysis for social and cultural interpretation.
- Historiographical methods for studying Roman slavery applied in written and oral communication.
- Independent research and formal argumentation regarding Roman slavery.
Grades
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Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
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Model & dataset provenance
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