Approaches to Ancient History Week 9: Identity

Exploitation and discrimination Class is controversial: objective state (even if no class consciousness), emphasis on exploitation and social conflict. Focus on groups traditionally ignored or marginalised. But class is itself accused of marginalising key groups based on sex and race. Society still seen as ordered around unequal power structures, need to give voice to voiceless, but focus on different social divisions.

Feminism Women taken as significant object of social analysis; obvious differences, but still have much in common within patriarchal society. Focus on past: history by women, history about women, feminist history. Problems of evidence: forced to rely on male texts. Images of women not real women? Expressly political: new orders of significance, role of history in ideology of inequality.

Gender, Ethnicity, Identity More recently, focus on gender rather than sex ; cultural constructs rather than biology. How society conceives of sexual difference and implements this. Criticised for being anti-political and quietistic, but closely linked to identity politics. Similar move, from race to ethnicity. Focus on racial agenda of traditional ancient history. Were the Romans colour blind ?