The Greek Countryside

This course explores the historic development and dynamics of the ancient Greek countryside (oikoumene, chora) alongside the emergence of the city (polis). Recent historical analyses of demography and economy, archaeological fieldwork, and research on the cultural lens of town/country are revealing a highly complex world surrounding the city walls. What are the benefits and potential interpretive challenges of investigating these places and their constituent actors? Discussions will question the construction of urban vs. non-urban categories of ancient life, agropastoral economies and markets, political and social boundaries, rural sanctuaries, diachronic change, and methods and theories for examining the countryside through material culture and textual evidence. C. Kearns. Autumn.