"Washing the Unwashed Masses: The Roman Bath as Social Institution and Technological System" (Tenth Howard J. Marblestone Memorial Lecture in Classics and Jewish Studies)
Dr. Stephen Ressler (Prof. em. U.S. Military Academy Westpoint)
Price:
Free
Lecture abstract: To an ancient Roman, public bathing wasn’t just a means of enhancing health and hygiene; it was a way of life. In the late Republican and early Imperial periods, public bathing became a mainstay of Roman culture—a unique institution that addressed a broad range of social, political, and economic needs. The physical manifestation of this institution was the public bath complex—a sophisticated technological system that evolved to meet the ever-increasing scope of services demanded by the bathing public in cities and towns across the Empire. The public bath complex was a marvel of Roman architecture and engineering, which also served as an instrument of the Emperor's largess, an employment scheme for the urban poor, and a symbol of Rome's dominion over the Mediterranean world.
Sponsored by:
The Marblestone Guest Speaker Fund, Dyer Center, Engineering Studies, Hillel, Humanities Center, I-STEM, Jewish Studies, McKelvy, Departments of Anthropology and Sociology, Foreign Languages and Literatures, Government and Law, History, Religious Studies.