The figure of 'the barbarian' was fundamental to ancient thought, reflecting not only incidental contact of Greek and Roman cultures with other groups but also promoting a binary conception of human society and history. This unit explores the long-lived ideological construct of 'the barbarian' in ancient societies, from classical Greece and the Hellenistic period through the late Roman empire to its medieval and Byzantine afterlife, through close study of literary and documentary texts and material artefacts. Modern appropriations of 'the barbarian' justifying nationalist and colonialist ideologies and their effect on contemporary interpretation of ancient texts will also be examined. -- Course Website
Instructor: Dr Danijel Dzino
Prerequisites: Admission to MA in (Ancient History or Coptic Studies or ECJS or Egyptology or History or Late Antiquity or Ancient Art and Architecture) or PGDipArts in (Ancient History or ECJS) or PGCertArts in (Ancient History or Coptic Studies)
