Autor(en)

Mayer, Emanuel:

Verlag / Jahr

Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2012.

Format / Einband

Original hardcover with dust jacket. 295 p., w/ fig.

Sprache

Englisch

Gewicht

ca. 585 g

ISBN

0674050339

EAN

9780674050334

Bestell-Nr

1179424

Bemerkungen

From the library of Prof. Wolfgang Haase, long-time editor of ANRW and the International Journal of the Classical Tradition (IJCT). - Condition: Enclosed is an information sheet from Harvard University Press regarding the publication. Soiled dust jacket. Otherwise in very good condition and clean. / Zustand: Beiliegend ein Informationsblatt der Harvard University Press zur Veröffentlichung. Schutzumschlag verschmutzt. Ansonsten im sehr guten Zustand und sauber. - Content: This book was inspired by my colleagues and students at the University of Chicago who, to my surprise, sparked my interest in economic history. The book is rooted in two basic observations. First, over the last two centuries b.c.e., most Greco-Roman cities rapidly transformed from agrotowns into vibrant commercial centers with hundreds if not thousands of permanent shops and a surprisingly large rental housing market. Second, what we nowadays consider art, such as wall painting or sarcophagi, was bought by and marketed to a broad social spectrum, which, for the most part, clearly did not constitute a social, political, or economic elite. By itself, neither observation is particularly new or revolutionary, at least not to a traditionally trained classical archaeologist like myself. But these two observations have, if systematically studied together, implications for our understanding of ancient economic and social history. In my mind, the most important implication is that we can discuss the lifeworlds of well-to-do businesspeople and professionals in terms of modern class analysis and speak of them as “ancient middle classes.” Of course, there are other implications too, as for ancient trade, labor organization, and monetization. But even though I touch on these and other economic issues where they fit into my overall argument, this book is not an attempt to write a revisionist socioeconomic history of the Roman Empire. As a result, this book has little to say about slaves and the poor, demography and economic growth, the socioeconomic makeup of rural communities, or other topics that have been at the forefront of current debates on Roman economic and social history. That said, I hope that this book will be of interest to those studying these issues in detail, as the archaeology of the urban economy and of subelite lifeworlds has not yet played a major role in the debate. In addition, I hope that my colleagues in classical archaeology will find the middle-class framework useful for discussing evidence that did not make it into this book, for instance eastern sarcophagi or mummy portraits from Egypt. Despite the focus of this book on a much-neglected segment of Roman society, the literature on the issues, sites, and even objects discussed here is immense. Keeping the notes to a third of the overall text required restricting myself to scholarship that was mostly published in this millennium. Of course, there is a great deal of older literature that is still essential reading, and I have acknowledged my debts where they are due. But in an age of very comprehensive encyclopedias on almost every aspect of the ancient world and even more comprehensive bibliographic databases, I felt that there was more to be gained in being selective than in displaying redundant erudition. As an archaeologist, I have favored publications that are heavy on evidence, preferably on archaeological and epigraphic material that, as I believe, has in many cases not received the attention it deserves. On the other hand, I have made it a priority to engage with more theoretical work that, in my view, has had the greatest impact on current debates on ancient socioeconomic history and art. In terms of terminology, I refer to all inhabitants of the Roman Empire as Romans for simplicity’s sake, no matter whether they were citizens, called themselves Romans in one of the empire’s many languages, or willingly or unwillingly contributed to its economic, social, and cultural life. Throughout the book, I have avoided archaeological jargon. But it is worth pointing out that the Latin and Greek terms I do use reflect their current meaning among modern scholars and not necessarily their ancient usage. The only bow to archaeological convention is the numbering of Pompeian houses by regio, insula., and house entrance(s). This system complements their mostly fictive nicknames and allows the reader to find them quickly in reference works such as Pompei: Pitture e Mosaici. Many people helped make this book possible. My colleagues at the University of Chicago have provided much encouragement and support and I can only mention a few. Michael Allen and Cameron Hawkins carefully looked over an early draft of Chapters t and 2. Alain Bresson, Jonathan Hall, and Peter White read not only early versions of various chapters but also complete drafts of the manuscript. Their astute criticism has helped to considerably improve the book and I am deeply in their debt for the time and effort they have devoted to this. Chris Faraone and the Center for Ancient Religions made it possible to organize a meeting, “Myth in Private Lives,” which provided an opportunity to workshop some of my ideas to a distinguished audience. I am grateful for the input I received from them, most notably from Francesco de Angelis, Björn Ewald, and Paul Zänker. Of my colleagues outside Chicago, Ed Harris and Walter Scheidel have read drafts of early chapters and contributed important insights, and Geoff Kron and I have had many fruitful and stimulating discussions. I am also grateful for the comments and criticism that I have received from the two anonymous readers for Harvard University Press. The Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies at Harvard University provided a luxurious and stimulating environment for the academic year 2008-2009, during which the first half of the book was written. I wish to thank all my fellow fellows for making this the most intellectually exciting year of my career so far. My editor, Sharmila Sen of Harvard University Press, has been one of my most careful and incisive readers over the last three years, and I have greatly enjoyed our many conversations. Heather Hughes has shepherded this book through the production process and I am grateful for her commitment and attention to detail. I am also indebted to Reinhard Foertsch of the Forschungsarchiv für römische Plastik for his help with procuring images. Cornelia Schweiss turned the plans to which the book refers into axonometric drawings, which will hopefully improve and clarify aspects of the text. Anthony Shannon undertook the arduous task of transforming the social science-style quotations, which I had used while writing the manuscript, into Harvard-style references. It is more than academic convention to thank my family. This book was written over three difficult years during which they showed great support. My parents and my sister sent warmth and encouragement from abroad as best they could, as did my Canadian in-laws. My sister-in-law Rebecca Lazar and my parents-in-law, Frum and Alex Himelfarb, also provided editorial help. The Himelfarbs also taught me a great deal about the real-life practice of politics and economics. But the greatest debt of all is to my wife, Nomi Claire Lazar, who supported me and this project to the point of neglecting her own work. This book is dedicated to her, to the memory of our sons, Isaac and Samuel, and to our daughter, Talia. ISBN 9780674050334

Unser Preis

EUR 51,00

(inkl. MwSt.)

Versandkostenfrei innerhalb Deutschlands

Aufgenommen mit whBOOK

Sicheres Bestellen - Order-Control geprüft!