Farm to Table in Ancient Greece and Rome: Small Farms and Big Business

Catalog description

(same as HIST 2550 , ANTHRO 2140 ). From the family farm to agro-business enterprises, the production, distribution, and consumption of food in Greece and Rome anticipated nutritional, economic, environmental, and political questions familiar in the twenty-first century. This course uses literary, archaeological, and comparative evidence to explore ancient Mediterranean foodways that include diet, farming, trade, import and export, distribution, and consumption. It also considers the roles played by government in subsidizing and managing the food supply, elucidates the tensions between tenancy and ownership, and exposes the roles of slavery and gender within the ancient food economy. Overall, this course considers agricultural economics ranging from subsistence farming to the state controlled specialization required to feed the ancient Mediterranean's mega-cities. Credit Hour s : 3