The Meaning of History in the Ancient World

What is history for? Why do we study the history of the distant past, and what did the people living in the distant past think about their own history? This course investigates the way the histories of ancient Greece and Rome have been told, from ancient times to today, inspiring both contemporary methods of writing academic history and racialized constructions of ‘Western Civilization’. We will read works of famous historians like Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius, Livy, Sallust, and Tacitus, and examine what purposes they pursued in writing history; how later generations have used these narratives, and for what purposes; and how we can or should use them today. All readings in English. For first year students only.