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| Semester | fall semester 2024 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers |
Sara Baldin (sara.baldin@unibas.ch, Assessor)
Lucas Weisser-Gericke (lucas.gericke@unibas.ch) |
| Content | "Once upon a time, a country mouse welcomed a city mouse into its burrow...." The relationship between city and country in the Greco-Roman world can be considered from a wide variety of perspectives, such as political, economic, or cultural. From a political point of view, city and country may appear as a unit – the terms polis and civitas refer to a political entity comprising both the urban core and the rural hinterland – or else as ruler (city) and ruled (country) in a hierarchical interrelation. The economic perspective on the relation between city and country in Antiquity has largely been shaped by the ‘consumer city’ model, one of the most influential ‘grand theories’ of the ancient economy in general, which sees the ancient city as living on the agricultural surplus produced in its rural hinterland. Finally, the cultural historian may explore how the ancients conceptualized and imagined city and country and their interrelationship, what values and mentalities they associated with city or village life, what differences and similarities they perceived or constructed, etc. The range of sources that may be used to investigate the city-country relationship in Antiquity is just as wide as the perspectives one may take at this topic and includes literary, archaeological, epigraphic, numismatic, and papyrological materials. With this course we aim at overcoming the traditional dichotomy between city and countryside, urban and rural, by analyzing the vast fan of intricacies underlying their tight interaction through the eyes of the ancients. |
| Learning objectives | - Unravel the wide range of possible approaches to the topic of city-country relations in Greco-Roman Antiquity - Become acquainted with different types of evidence (literary, archaeological, epigraphic, papyrological, etc.) and their respective informative value - Learn to frame sources and materials in their historical and geographical contexts - Examine specific case studies that illustrate the complexity and great variety of the city-country relations |
| Bibliography | - A. Zuiderhoek (2017), The Ancient City, Cambridge (Chapter 3: “City and Country”, p. 37–55). - R. Rosen, I. Sluiter (2006), City, Countryside, and the Spatial Organization of Value in Classical Antiquity, Boston-Leiden. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Tuesday | 10.15-11.45 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Sitzungsraum S 181 |
| Modules |
Electives Bachelor History: Recommendations (Bachelor's degree subject: History) Modul: Griechische Geschichte BA (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Griechische Geschichte BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Reflexion, Methodik, Praxis (Master's degree program: European History in Global Perspective) Modul: Römische Geschichte BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Römische Geschichte BA (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Theorie und Methoden der Alten Geschichte (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Theorie und Methoden der Alten Geschichte (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Vertiefung in Alter Geschichte (Master's degree subject: Ancient History) Modul: Vertiefung in Geschichte und Altertumswissenschaften BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Vertiefung in Geschichte und Altertumswissenschaften BA (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Vertiefung in Geschichte und Altertumswissenschaften MA (Master's degree subject: Ancient History) Wahlbereich Master Geschichte: Empfehlungen (Master's degree subject: History) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Alte Geschichte |