NES 6670

NES 6670

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2019-2020.

Early states emerged when select groups gained control over wealth and power and institutionalized that control. How this was accomplished is a question of political economy that we can approach from archaeological, anthropological, and sociological perspectives. The course introduces students to the intellectual development of historical materialism in Smith, Marx, and Weber, among others, and traces their influence on later socioeconomic historians such as Polanyi and Finley. More recent approaches deriving from world-systems, gender studies, post-colonial studies, game theory, and network theory are then applied to case studies that include the emergence of a Mesopotamian state ca. 3400 BC, the Akkadian and Ur III empires, Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian trade, pharaonic Egypt, the international Late Bronze Age world, Aegean palatial civilization, and the Phoenicians. Students are welcome to present and write on other topics also. Monroe will provide context and clarification to assist with the specialist literature, but prior coursework in ancient studies will be advantageous in critically evaluating and writing about all the course readings.

When Offered Spring.

Course Attribute (CU-ITL)

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Syllabi: none
  •   Regular Academic Session.  Combined with: ARKEO 4670NES 4670

  • 4 Credits Stdnt Opt

  • 17838 NES 6670   SEM 101

    • T White Hall 407
    • Jan 21 - May 5, 2020
    • Monroe, C

  • Instruction Mode: Hybrid - Online & In Person