I’m teaching HIST3902A: Cities and Countryside in the Ancient World next fall. I would like very much for my students’ project work in this class to actually contribute to the creation of knowledge. Do you have an archaeological dataset (GIS or networks) that you wouldn’t mind sharing or having some neophytes work with? If so, please do get in touch. These are history students, not archaeology students, so there will be a steep learning curve.

Course Blurb: This course looks at the relationship between cities and countryside in the ancient world, as evidenced through archaeology and field survey (primarily Greece and Rome, though we might look at other cultures such as the Etruscans).  I will be arguing, amongst other things, that the form of that relationship is the key indicator for understanding the mindset, the nature of, that particular culture. What do extra-urban sanctuaries really mean? How do cities warp the economic and cultural geography of a region? What does the idea of countryside mean to the Romans, the Greeks?

We will be using GIS and other digital tools to explore and understand that mindset.  Assignments will be crafted around the idea of building knowledge online. Readings will be culled from journals and archaeological project websites.