300-400 level courses are on special topics and are more advanced. They often presuppose some basic knowledge in the field and should be more difficult courses than courses at the 1-199 levels. The department is trying to insure that some 400 level courses, although substantially more difficult, are also small in size; they thus may be suitable for graduate students.
HIST 339 Making Money before Columbus
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
Monday: bought olive oil. Tuesday: hid indigo from customs officials.
Wednesday: attacked by pirates. Thursday: sold water-logged flax.
This course explores the history of trade in the Mediterranean before the discovery of the New World. We will examine how trade and patterns of trade fit into both the broader economies of the ancient and medieval worlds. We will also look at the culture of traders and merchants: how they organized their work; and their social and cultural role in their societies. Secondary readings for the course are a mix of readings from historians and economists; these will be used to help understand the varied documents of traders themselves—accounts, letters, contracts, and court documents that illuminate the day-to-day struggles and satisfactions of pre-modern business life.
