CNRC3609: Systems of Justice & Incarceration in Ancient Greece & Rome

Nelson Mandela wrote, "No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails." In this course, we'll analyze the historical, political, social, gender, economic, and religious factors of ancient Mediterranean societies that influenced the creation of laws and the punishment of those who broke them. We?ll read ancient texts like Plato's "Republic" and Cicero's "Laws" and put their ideas in dialogue with modern thinkers concerned with the American justice system, such as Angela Davis and Immanuel Kant. Studying ancient societies' justice systems will help us understand and address contemporary challenges like mass incarceration, the privatization of corrections, and institutionalized inequalities, revealing how societies have grappled with these issues over time. Students will come away from this course empowered to discuss these topics from a comparative, cross-cultural perspective.

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