Knowledge, Power, and Empire in Ancient Rome (FYS)
CLST 140F
Fall 2026
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01
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Internet, Big Data, and AI have given us access to more information than ever, making it hard to know where it comes from, whether it is reliable, and how we should approach it. Over two thousand years ago, the Romans encountered similar challenges. How did they create, organize and process information, and what can we learn from their experience? This class will examine the ancient construction of knowledge (how was information compiled and consumed?) as well as its larger cultural and political value (what sort of information was relevant, and for whom was it meant?). We will examine scientific, medical, and ethnographic descriptions found in ancient encyclopedic works like Pliny's Natural History and Aulus Gellius' Attic Nights, and explore the ancient Roman experience of knowledge: the employment of the papyrus and the codex as technologies of information management, the role of slave-labor in intellectual production, the interaction between literary aesthetics and "scientific" classification, and the symbolic connections between Roman imperial power and knowledge. As such, the class brings historical perspective to bear upon pressing contemporary issues. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS CLST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 | | Special Attributes: FYS |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
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Examinations and Assignments:
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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Instructor(s): STAFF
Times: .M.W... 08:50AM-10:10AM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: X | JR major: X | | |
| Seats Available: 15 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: X | FR: 15 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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