CLASSIC 52
Greco-Roman Technologies: Materials, Monuments, Machines
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Introduction to technologies and technological innovation in the Greco-Roman world (circa 600 BCE to 400 CE) with an emphasis on large-scale systems: architecture, civic infrastructure, machines, and materials. Topics include monumental architecture like the Parthenon and the Colosseum; civic engineering in the form of roads and water supply systems; early machines of war like triremes and catapults; and materials like Roman concrete. Focus on proper explication of these innovations, using basic principles of physics and engineering, and situating them in a sociohistorical context, prompting consideration of how technology drives and is driven by cultural values and history. Special attention is given to the labor behind technological developments, with emphasis on skilled versus unskilled labor, the rise of professional guilds, and the development of sociological identities oriented around work. P/NP or letter grading.