This dissertation examines Roman history during the first centuries BCE and CE through the lens of food. Starting at the end with an exegesis of Juvenal’s Satires, I focus on his main gastronomic stereotypes, foods that distinguish people by class. First, I evaluate the bread, the boar, and the turbot as part of Roman culture in order to determine their veracity as stereotypes. Then, by tracing the changing role of these foods from the late Republic through the early Empire, I consider Juvenal’s underlying message in their use. This method has produced some rather compelling conclusions. The successes of the plebs in acquiring and protecting the frumentatio (free grain distribution) define the history of republican politics and imperial administration. Rather than reading panem et circenses (bread and circuses) as a derogatory statement about the lack of political will among the people, I argue that Juvenal is sarcastically acknowledging the people’s victories and their prudence in avoiding frivolous aspirations. Also, the boar was the quintessential meat of Rome, largely thanks to the market subsidy of the frumentatio. Men like Juvenal’s Virro who wish to emulate the extravagant dinners of Roman cuisine but lack the will or ability to treat their guests equally find the monetization of client services a convenient excuse to practice disparity at the cena recta (formal dinner), a trend which reflects the mounting inadequacies of the institution of patronage and the increasing reliance upon currency and markets. Finally, fish metaphors in literature almost always represent excess, and Juvenal’s specific use of the turbot exemplifies the importance of size to Domitian’s, and his court’s, concept of empire. Likewise, the cenatio (dining-hall) at the Domus Flavia reflects the emperor’s appropriation of absolute authority and jurisdiction. This exploration of gastronomic stereotypes in Juvenal validates and encourages the use of food as a historical lens for detecting fundamental changes in politics, economy, society, and empire. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Classics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2016. / November 7, 2016. / cena recta, Domus Flavia, food and identity, frumentatio, Juvenal, Rome / Includes bibliographical references. / Laurel Fulkerson, Professor Directing Dissertation; David Levenson, University Representative; Trevor Luke, Committee Member; Andrea De Giorgi, Committee Member.

The question as to where ethical philosophy ought to end and oratory begin was an abiding interest for the rhetorician-philosophers of Antiquity. This study considers the relationship between the two now distinct disciplines in the theory and practice of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and the United States, through the lens of transformative education. A “classical,” primarily Roman model of rhetoric that centered the teaching of ethics predominated in American higher education until the late 19th century; as evidenced through both qualitative and quantitative data, when the classics fell it took the ethical model of rhetoric along with it. Discourse around rhetorical ethics has not ceased, however, and there is indication that interest might be on the rise. Relevant scholarship among compositionists gives a glimpse as to the direction of that still nascent discipline. Given their complex influence on later theory, the focus of this study remains on the treatment of ethics and rhetoric among ancient sources, namely Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian. By examining both their theories and the complex socio-political circumstances in which they wrote them, we can develop a richer understanding of the role ethics play in the teaching of rhetoric, past, present, and future.

Tyrants play a major role in Greek literature and political philosophy, and occupy a certain prominence on the tragic stage. Many city-states, from Athens to Syracuse to Heraclea on the Black Sea, experienced periods in which tyrants exercised power over political life. The prevalent idea of the Greek experience of tyranny is that it was a bad, undesirable form of government. This study departs from this view and embarks on a reconsideration of tyranny and Greek attitudes toward it by looking at how tyrants are portrayed in sources outside of the ancient political theorists, such as Plato and Aristotle. When we explore accounts of Greek tyrants in the historical sources, we find within them a cacophony of voices, recording different perspectives as well as the variety and hybridity of different models of tyranny. Analyzing this cacophony of voices systematically in a thematic and diachronic study of ancient Greek tyranny reveals the sophistication of attitudes toward tyrants; and demonstrates that writers of historical works recognized forms of tyranny aside from the negative, simplistic model advanced in philosophical discussions. In the end, conceptualizing tyranny as a form of sole rule that is limited neither spatially nor temporally sheds light on the endurance of tyranny throughout the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic eras. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Classics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2016. / April 25, 2016. / Archaic period, Classical period, historian, tyranny, tyrants / Includes bibliographical references. / James Sickinger, Professor Directing Dissertation; Rafe Blaufarb, University Representative; John Marincola, Committee Member; Jessica Clark, Committee Member.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. April, 2015 / Percussive technology plays an integral in role lithic tool production and thus has had a significant impact on the evolution of the archaeological record. The characteristic damage patterns that result from percussive activities preserve a record of hominin behaviour, although there remains no comprehensive method for analyzing them. In fact, percussive tools have been largely overlooked in archaeological research, which has obscured their behavioural insights. Recent interests in the commonalities of percussive tool use within the Primate Order have suggested that investigating the evolutionary continuity of these tools may provide a window into the origins of lithic technology. This research presents a framework of analytical techniques for the study of hammerstones from the Earlier Stone Age record. As stone-knapping activities remain the focus of archaeological research, understanding how the use of hammerstones has changed throughout time is a critical concern. A ‘focal lens’ approach is developed to facilitate inter-assemblage comparisons that can be used to construct an evolutionary perspective on the use of these tools. Implications for raw materials, selection behaviours and comparative research are developed to test the potential for future directions in the study of percussive technology.

This thesis is an examination of the reaction of a human population to a new and disturbing environment. It deals with the disintegration of the aborginal Indian culture of northern Mendocino County under the influence of American settlers and military personnel. As such it is concerned with the factors and responses inherent in, and resulting from, the interaction of two civilizations, the one old and static, the other new and dynamic.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.