TRAVEL IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will explore travel in the ancient world, from technical feats of engineering infrastructure like roads and bridges, to fantastical accounts of peoples encountered on Jason and the Argonauts’ pursuit of the Golden Fleece; from its earliest descriptions in works like Homer’s Odyssey, to medieval pilgrims’ journey across northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago. We will examine textual evidence in translation, such as military descriptions of Alexander the Great’s army moving across Anatolia, the diary of a Roman traveler in Greece, a late antique handbook to sailing the Red Sea, and early Christian pilgrimage accounts to Jerusalem. We will survey artistic and archaeological evidence for travel: the physical remains of Roman roads, ancient Greek shipwrecks, and other monuments – like bridges, harbors, and city gates – that allow us to reconstruct ancient travel networks and their role in trade, mobility, and the spread of empire. We will discuss not just the how of ancient travel, but also the what, the why, and the who, with a focus on the goods and peoples who traveled around the ancient Mediterranean, but including forays into the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Persian Gulf.
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Throughout this course, students will learn to critically consider how, and why, people were traveling in the ancient world. Under these very broad questions, we will explore:
1. Motivations: Why did people travel in the ancient world? What sort of economic, political, religious or other factors went into their decisions to travel?
REQUIRED TEXTS
CLASS FORMAT, MATERIAL, AND RESOURCES
Class meetings will revolve around lectures on the themes presented day-by-day in the syllabus. However, you are encouraged to ask questions and give comments if you have something relevant to say regarding the information! Readings are assigned by the week, so you can do them at your convenience, but we will have quizzes every Friday to evaluate your reading comprehension and the clarity of the lectures, so please make sure to have the readings done by then. Weekly review quizzes will be taken on alternate days when they conflict with an exam or exam review, marked on the schedule of readings and exams, below.
PowerPoint slides, images, and other supplementary material and resources such as the class bibliography will be posted to Blackboard for your reference. Select readings will also be made available on course reserve at Strozier Library.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
This course will explore travel in the ancient world, from technical feats of engineering infrastructure like roads and bridges, to fantastical accounts of peoples encountered on Jason and the Argonauts’ pursuit of the Golden Fleece; from its earliest descriptions in works like Homer’s Odyssey, to medieval pilgrims’ journey across northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago. We will examine textual evidence in translation, such as military descriptions of Alexander the Great’s army moving across Anatolia, the diary of a Roman traveler in Greece, a late antique handbook to sailing the Red Sea, and early Christian pilgrimage accounts to Jerusalem. We will survey artistic and archaeological evidence for travel: the physical remains of Roman roads, ancient Greek shipwrecks, and other monuments – like bridges, harbors, and city gates – that allow us to reconstruct ancient travel networks and their role in trade, mobility, and the spread of empire. We will discuss not just the how of ancient travel, but also the what, the why, and the who, with a focus on the goods and peoples who traveled around the ancient Mediterranean, but including forays into the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Persian Gulf.
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Throughout this course, students will learn to critically consider how, and why, people were traveling in the ancient world. Under these very broad questions, we will explore:
1. Motivations: Why did people travel in the ancient world? What sort of economic, political, religious or other factors went into their decisions to travel?
- You will learn to formulate questions appropriate and relevant to archaeological research, and subsequently to develop coherent arguments based on the other objectives (below), synthesizing them with a critical consideration for the nature of ancient travel, in both written work and class discussions.
- You will learn to analyze the nature of ancient travel in its historical context, gaining the ability to call on specific historical examples grounded in political, social, religious and cultural context.
- You will learn to identify what kinds of places people were traveling to, and what about those places drew visitors. They should be able to distinguish the religious, commercial, leisure, etc. functions at a given destination that would draw visitors, and to define what a destination is.
- You will acquire the appropriate skills for tracing roads in the ancient world: archaeological, literary, and cartographical sources.
REQUIRED TEXTS
- Casson, Lionel. 1994. Travel in the Ancient World (revised edition). ISBN-13: 978-0801848087; ISBN-10: 0801848083. Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Staccioli, Romolo. 2004. The Roads of the Romans. ISBN-13: 978-0892367320; ISBN-10: 0892367326. J. Paul Getty Museum.
CLASS FORMAT, MATERIAL, AND RESOURCES
Class meetings will revolve around lectures on the themes presented day-by-day in the syllabus. However, you are encouraged to ask questions and give comments if you have something relevant to say regarding the information! Readings are assigned by the week, so you can do them at your convenience, but we will have quizzes every Friday to evaluate your reading comprehension and the clarity of the lectures, so please make sure to have the readings done by then. Weekly review quizzes will be taken on alternate days when they conflict with an exam or exam review, marked on the schedule of readings and exams, below.
PowerPoint slides, images, and other supplementary material and resources such as the class bibliography will be posted to Blackboard for your reference. Select readings will also be made available on course reserve at Strozier Library.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Students will take two non-cumulative exams. The breakdown of the final grade is as follows:
Participation: Please come to class on time and ready to actively contribute to discussion by sharing your thoughts, comments, and/or questions in response to the readings and short assignment prompts. Excessive absences will negatively impact your participation grade, which will comprise 5% of your final grade.
Quizzes: Occasional short, in-class quizzes will gauge your comprehension and reactions to the readings (especially the primary sources), previous material, and geography. Quizzes cannot be made up without a documentation for an excused absence (e.g., a doctor’s note). You can miss two (2) without penalty.
Write your own travelogue/guidebook is a creative assignment that relies upon your experience; you will formally reflect upon this assignment in-class at the end of the semester.
ORBIS Project: Your major semester project relies on the ORBIS geospatial model of the ancient world (http://orbis.stanford.edu/), and requires you to select trips recounted in ancient itineraries and discuss them within the context of predicted travel times, distances, and seasonality. Instead of a traditional paper format, these projects will be presented as online essays, in order to incorporate visualizations of these routes. However, the organization and written quality of the work must adhere to research paper standards (see attached essay rubric). You will submit a 1-2 page proposal outlining your plans for this project on April 3. The final product will be the equivalent of a 6-8 page paper (minimum 1500 words, not including bibliography). The text will be submitted in .docx or .pdf form to Turnitin alongside the online version (you can simply copy and paste into the document from your online exhibit).
All written assignments will be submitted via Turnitin on the CLA4930 Blackboard site. Please see Turnitin for instructor feedback on written assignments, both in-line and as comments.
Exams: Three one-hour exams will consist of multiple choice, short IDs, slide IDs, and map location identification portions. These will follow the format of the in-class quiz questions, so that students have an idea of what to expect and how to prepare. We will review in class before each exam.
Please demonstrate your respect for your classmates, and for me, by silencing and putting away your cell phone (and any other electronic devices) before class begins. Remember that texting, chatting, and surfing the internet, Facebook, etc., during class not only compromises your capacity to successfully contribute to class and receive a full participation grade, it can also be extremely distracting to your classmates.
Late Policy
Assignments will be accepted for three days (72 hours) following the due date and time of the submission; each 24 hours will result in a 5% deduction from the final grade (up to 24 hours = 5%, up to 48 hours = 10%, up to 72 hours = 15%). Assignments more than 72 hours late will not be accepted.
This includes those assignments for which you were not in class to submit an assignment, collect the exercise prompts when they are distributed, or hear the reminder that an upcoming assignment is due. Of course, if you have a note from a doctor, sports team, etc., we can work out another means of submitting and evaluating the assignment.
Initiative is always rewarded: if you know you are going to miss class, please come talk to me about whether and how you can make up the assignment.
Academic Honor Policy
The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University’s expectations for the integrity of students’ academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to “. . . be honest and truthful and . . . [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University.” (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at http://fda.fsu.edu/Academics/Academic-Honor-Policy.)
University Attendance Policy
Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness.
Americans with Disabilities Act:
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should:
(1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and
(2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type.
Please note that instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodation to a student until appropriate verification from the Student Disability Resource Center has been provided.
This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.
For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the:
Student Disability Resource Center
874 Traditions Way
108 Student Services Building
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167
(850) 644-9566 (voice)
(850) 644-8504 (TDD)
sdrc@admin.fsu.edu
http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu/
Free Tutoring from FSU
On-campus tutoring and writing assistance is available for many courses at Florida State University. For more information, visit the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) Tutoring Services’ comprehensive list of on-campus tutoring options - see http://ace.fsu.edu/tutoring or contact tutor@fsu.edu. High-quality tutoring is available by appointment and on a walk-in basis. These services are offered by tutors trained to encourage the highest level of individual academic success while upholding personal academic integrity.
I recommend that you make use of FSU’s Reading/Writing Center facilities and resources. Learn more at http://wr.english.fsu.edu/Reading-Writing-Center and make appointments at Strozier with support staff at https://www.lib.fsu.edu/tutoring/reading-writing-center.
Syllabus Change Policy
Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice. Any changes to the schedule of readings, assignments and class meetings will be announced and updated on the Blackboard site for CLA4930. Students are responsible for checking their email for announcements and for checking the Blackboard site regularly for announcements of changes to the readings and meetings.
- Participation/Attendance 5%
- Quizzes 10%
- Write your own travelogue/guidebook 10%
- ORBIS Project 25%
- Proposal 5%
- Online essay/exhibit 20%
- Midterm Exam 25%
- Final Exam 25%
Participation: Please come to class on time and ready to actively contribute to discussion by sharing your thoughts, comments, and/or questions in response to the readings and short assignment prompts. Excessive absences will negatively impact your participation grade, which will comprise 5% of your final grade.
Quizzes: Occasional short, in-class quizzes will gauge your comprehension and reactions to the readings (especially the primary sources), previous material, and geography. Quizzes cannot be made up without a documentation for an excused absence (e.g., a doctor’s note). You can miss two (2) without penalty.
Write your own travelogue/guidebook is a creative assignment that relies upon your experience; you will formally reflect upon this assignment in-class at the end of the semester.
ORBIS Project: Your major semester project relies on the ORBIS geospatial model of the ancient world (http://orbis.stanford.edu/), and requires you to select trips recounted in ancient itineraries and discuss them within the context of predicted travel times, distances, and seasonality. Instead of a traditional paper format, these projects will be presented as online essays, in order to incorporate visualizations of these routes. However, the organization and written quality of the work must adhere to research paper standards (see attached essay rubric). You will submit a 1-2 page proposal outlining your plans for this project on April 3. The final product will be the equivalent of a 6-8 page paper (minimum 1500 words, not including bibliography). The text will be submitted in .docx or .pdf form to Turnitin alongside the online version (you can simply copy and paste into the document from your online exhibit).
All written assignments will be submitted via Turnitin on the CLA4930 Blackboard site. Please see Turnitin for instructor feedback on written assignments, both in-line and as comments.
Exams: Three one-hour exams will consist of multiple choice, short IDs, slide IDs, and map location identification portions. These will follow the format of the in-class quiz questions, so that students have an idea of what to expect and how to prepare. We will review in class before each exam.
Please demonstrate your respect for your classmates, and for me, by silencing and putting away your cell phone (and any other electronic devices) before class begins. Remember that texting, chatting, and surfing the internet, Facebook, etc., during class not only compromises your capacity to successfully contribute to class and receive a full participation grade, it can also be extremely distracting to your classmates.
Late Policy
Assignments will be accepted for three days (72 hours) following the due date and time of the submission; each 24 hours will result in a 5% deduction from the final grade (up to 24 hours = 5%, up to 48 hours = 10%, up to 72 hours = 15%). Assignments more than 72 hours late will not be accepted.
This includes those assignments for which you were not in class to submit an assignment, collect the exercise prompts when they are distributed, or hear the reminder that an upcoming assignment is due. Of course, if you have a note from a doctor, sports team, etc., we can work out another means of submitting and evaluating the assignment.
Initiative is always rewarded: if you know you are going to miss class, please come talk to me about whether and how you can make up the assignment.
Academic Honor Policy
The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University’s expectations for the integrity of students’ academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to “. . . be honest and truthful and . . . [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University.” (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at http://fda.fsu.edu/Academics/Academic-Honor-Policy.)
University Attendance Policy
Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness.
Americans with Disabilities Act:
Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should:
(1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and
(2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type.
Please note that instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodation to a student until appropriate verification from the Student Disability Resource Center has been provided.
This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.
For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the:
Student Disability Resource Center
874 Traditions Way
108 Student Services Building
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167
(850) 644-9566 (voice)
(850) 644-8504 (TDD)
sdrc@admin.fsu.edu
http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu/
Free Tutoring from FSU
On-campus tutoring and writing assistance is available for many courses at Florida State University. For more information, visit the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) Tutoring Services’ comprehensive list of on-campus tutoring options - see http://ace.fsu.edu/tutoring or contact tutor@fsu.edu. High-quality tutoring is available by appointment and on a walk-in basis. These services are offered by tutors trained to encourage the highest level of individual academic success while upholding personal academic integrity.
I recommend that you make use of FSU’s Reading/Writing Center facilities and resources. Learn more at http://wr.english.fsu.edu/Reading-Writing-Center and make appointments at Strozier with support staff at https://www.lib.fsu.edu/tutoring/reading-writing-center.
Syllabus Change Policy
Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice. Any changes to the schedule of readings, assignments and class meetings will be announced and updated on the Blackboard site for CLA4930. Students are responsible for checking their email for announcements and for checking the Blackboard site regularly for announcements of changes to the readings and meetings.
SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Week 1: Introduction to the Course
Monday, January 9: Introduction to the Course
Wednesday, January 11: Geographical and Historical Overview
Week 2: The Earliest Travelers
Monday, January 16: No Class
Wednesday, January 18: Bronze Age travel
Week 3: Travel in the Greek World
Monday, January 23: By sea
Wednesday, January 25: By land
Week 4: Travel in the Greek World (continued)
Monday, January 30: On the march
Wednesday, February 1: By sea (again)
Week 5: Travel in the Roman World
Monday, February 6: Who and why
Wednesday, February 8: Housing the stranger
Week 6: Travel in the Roman World (continued)
Monday, February 13: Roman roads
Wednesday, February 15: Construction
Week 7: Roads and the Roman Empire
Monday, February 20: Roads outside Rome
Monday, February 27: Midterm Review
Wednesday, March 1: Midterm Exam
Week 9: Travel Accounts in the Roman World
Monday, March 6: Pausanius and the Periegesis
Wednesday, March 8: Sailing the Red Sea
Week 10: SPRING BREAK (March 13-17)
Week 11: Travel in the Eastern Mediterranean
Monday, March 20: Palmyra, Caravan City
Wednesday, March 22: Theophanes in Egypt
Week 12: To Holy Lands
Monday, March 27: Early Christian Pilgrimage
Wednesday, March 29: Egeria
Week 13: To Holy Lands, continued
Monday, April 3: Islamic Pilgrimage
Wednesday, April 5: Archaeology of the Hajj
Week 14: Monastic Hospitality
Monday, April 10: Camino de Santiago
Wednesday, April 12: Medieval and modern pilgrims on the Way of St. James
Week 15: The Silk Route
Monday, April 17: Archaeology of the Silk Road
Wednesday, April 19: Fantasies and realities of travel in the medieval Islamic world
Week 16: Modern Travel in the Ancient World
Monday, April 24: Western travelers in eastern lands
Wednesday, April 26: Final Exam Review/Travelogue reflections
May 1-5: Exam Week (Final exam date/time TBA)
Monday, January 9: Introduction to the Course
- No reading
Wednesday, January 11: Geographical and Historical Overview
- No reading
Week 2: The Earliest Travelers
Monday, January 16: No Class
Wednesday, January 18: Bronze Age travel
- Reading: Casson, pp. 21-57
- Pulak, C. M. 2008. “The Uluburun Shipwreck and Late Bronze Age Trade.” In Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. edited by J., K. Benzel, and J. Evans. New York and New Haven, CT: Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press, 290-304.
Week 3: Travel in the Greek World
Monday, January 23: By sea
- Reading: Selections from Homer, Iliad and Odyssey
Wednesday, January 25: By land
- Reading: Casson, pp. 65-111
Week 4: Travel in the Greek World (continued)
Monday, January 30: On the march
- Reading: Selections from Xenophon, Anabasis
Wednesday, February 1: By sea (again)
- Reading: Casson, pp. 115-127
- Selections from Apollonios of Rhodes, Argonautika
Week 5: Travel in the Roman World
Monday, February 6: Who and why
- Reading: Casson, pp. 128-148
Wednesday, February 8: Housing the stranger
- Reading: Casson, pp. 197-218
Week 6: Travel in the Roman World (continued)
Monday, February 13: Roman roads
- Reading: Casson, pp. 163-196
- Staccioli, pp. 5-10
Wednesday, February 15: Construction
- Reading: Staccioli, pp. 105-128
Week 7: Roads and the Roman Empire
Monday, February 20: Roads outside Rome
- Reading: Staccioli, pp. 29-82
- Reading: Staccioli, pp. 83-104
Monday, February 27: Midterm Review
- No reading
Wednesday, March 1: Midterm Exam
Week 9: Travel Accounts in the Roman World
Monday, March 6: Pausanius and the Periegesis
- Reading: Casson, pp. 253-261, 292-299
- Selections from Pausanius, Periegesis
Wednesday, March 8: Sailing the Red Sea
- Reading: Casson, pp. 149-161
- Selections from Periplus Maris Erythraei
Week 10: SPRING BREAK (March 13-17)
Week 11: Travel in the Eastern Mediterranean
Monday, March 20: Palmyra, Caravan City
- Reading: TBD
Wednesday, March 22: Theophanes in Egypt
- Reading: Selections from The Journey of Theophanes
Week 12: To Holy Lands
Monday, March 27: Early Christian Pilgrimage
- Reading: Casson, pp. 300-329
Wednesday, March 29: Egeria
- Reading: Selections from Egeria’s Travels
Week 13: To Holy Lands, continued
Monday, April 3: Islamic Pilgrimage
- Reading: selections from The Lonely Wayfarer’s Guide to Pilgrimage
Wednesday, April 5: Archaeology of the Hajj
- Reading: Petersen, “Archaeology of the Syrian and Iraqi Hajj Routes,” pp. 47-56
Week 14: Monastic Hospitality
Monday, April 10: Camino de Santiago
- Reading: Selections from The archaeology of pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela
- Extra Credit: Watch The Way (2012) and write a 2+ page response paper, discussing the movie in the context of the medieval accounts of pilgrimage (due Sunday, April 16)
Wednesday, April 12: Medieval and modern pilgrims on the Way of St. James
- Reading: Selections from The Pilgrim’s Guide to Santiago de Compostela
Week 15: The Silk Route
Monday, April 17: Archaeology of the Silk Road
- Reading: TBD
Wednesday, April 19: Fantasies and realities of travel in the medieval Islamic world
- Reading: Selections from Thousand and One Nights (Sinbad)
Week 16: Modern Travel in the Ancient World
Monday, April 24: Western travelers in eastern lands
- Reading: Selections from Mrs. Theodore Bent, Chronicles
- Selections from Agatha Christie, Come, Tell Me How You Live
Wednesday, April 26: Final Exam Review/Travelogue reflections
May 1-5: Exam Week (Final exam date/time TBA)
Agatha Christie crossing the Euphrates in Syria, 1946.