Slaves, Wives, and Concubines: Did Roman Women Have a History?

Undergraduate

This course is about the heterogeneous lived experience of women (slaves, freed slaves, lawful wives, daughters, prostitutes) during the Roman Republic and Empire. Roman women built and immortalized themselves and their families in funerary and civil monuments, endowing institutions like schools, and sometimes had coins bearing their portraits. We explore the larger institutitonal frameworks that gave meaning to their lives, and within this framework we investigate their life choices over time.