Grant Parker and Richard Talbert discuss the Madaba Mosaic Map with seminar participants, © 2004 Tom Elliott
Graduate Seminar in History: Place and Space in the Ancient World
Course number: HIST 301.18
Instructor: Richard Talbert
Last taught: Spring 2004
Next scheduled: TBD
This graduate seminar, co-taught by AWMC Advisory Board member Richard Talbert and Duke University Classical Studies Professor Grant Parker, had the following focus:
The seminar offers an opportunity to engage with, and contribute to, the growing awareness among scholars that investigation of Romans’ perception of their surroundings and its peoples, both near and far, familiar and unfamiliar, is a rewarding topic with much untapped potential. Issues of how and why Romans saw and represented their world in whole or in part, and how their vision changed over time, sharpen our understanding of (for example) their mentality, culture, religion, statecraft and technology. The materials to be drawn upon are rich, varied, and often little exploited to date for these perspectives; the range includes texts, maps, inscriptions, monuments, as well as the findings of archaeology and survey. 2
