Background
Harris, William Vernon was born on September 13, 1938 in Nottingham, England. Son of K. W. F. and Elizabeth (Sargent) Harris. naturalized.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
book
War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C. by Harris, William V. (1985) Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011DB9L9A/?tag=2022091-20
Rethinking the Mediterranean RETHINKING THE MEDITERRANEAN BY Harris, W V ( Author ) Dec-28-2006 RETHINKING THE MEDITERRANEAN RETHINKING THE MEDITERRANEAN BY HARRIS, W V ( AUTHOR ) DEC-28-2006 By Harris, W V ( Author )Dec-28-2006 Paperback
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D5F49WM/?tag=2022091-20
Ancient Literacy
( How many people could read and write in the ancient wo...)
How many people could read and write in the ancient world of the Greeks and Romans? No one has previously tried to give a systematic answer to this question. Most historians who have considered the problem at all have given optimistic assessments, since they have been impressed by large bodies of ancient written material such as the graffiti at Pompeii. They have also been influenced by a tendency to idealize the Greek and Roman world and its educational system. In Ancient Literacy W. V. Harris provides the first thorough exploration of the levels, types, and functions of literacy in the classical world, from the invention of the Greek alphabet about 800 B.C. down to the fifth century A.D. Investigations of other societies show that literacy ceases to be the accomplishment of a small elite only in specific circumstances. Harris argues that the social and technological conditions of the ancient world were such as to make mass literacy unthinkable. Noting that a society on the verge of mass literacy always possesses an elaborate school system, Harris stresses the limitations of Greek and Roman schooling, pointing out the meagerness of funding for elementary education. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans came anywhere near to completing the transition to a modern kind of written culture. They relied more heavily on oral communication than has generally been imagined. Harris examines the partial transition to written culture, taking into consideration the economic sphere and everyday life, as well as law, politics, administration, and religion. He has much to say also about the circulation of literary texts throughout classical antiquity. The limited spread of literacy in the classical world had diverse effects. It gave some stimulus to critical thought and assisted the accumulation of knowledge, and the minority that did learn to read and write was to some extent able to assert itself politically. The written word was also an instrument of power, and its use was indispensable for the construction and maintenance of empires. Most intriguing is the role of writing in the new religious culture of the late Roman Empire, in which it was more and more revered but less and less practiced. Harris explores these and related themes in this highly original work of social and cultural history. Ancient Literacy is important reading for anyone interested in the classical world, the problem of literacy, or the history of the written word.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674033809/?tag=2022091-20
War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C.
(Between 327 and 70 B.C. the Romans expanded their empire ...)
Between 327 and 70 B.C. the Romans expanded their empire throughout the Mediterranean world. This highly original study looks at Roman attitudes and behavior that lay behind their quest for power. How did Romans respond to warfare, year after year? How important were the material gains of military success-land, slaves, and other riches-commonly supposed to have been merely an incidental result? What value is there in the claim of the contemporary historian Polybius that the Romans were driven by a greater and greater ambition to expand their empire? The author answers these questions within an analytic framework, and comes to an interpretation of Roman imperialism that differs sharply from the conventional ones.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198148666/?tag=2022091-20
Ancient Literacy by Harris, William V. (1989) Hardcover
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011822OWA/?tag=2022091-20
War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C. Paperback August 1, 1985
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010TTAVAA/?tag=2022091-20
- The Ancient Mediterranean Environment between Science and History (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition) (The product of a collaboration between scientists, histor...)
- Rome in Etruria and Umbria
- The Ancient Mediterranean Environment between Science and History (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition) by William Harris (2013-07-25)
- Ancient Literacy by William V. Harris (1991-10-01)
- Mental Disorders in the Classical World (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition) (The historians, classicists and psychiatrists who have co...)
- Mental Disorders in the Classical World (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition) by William Harris (2013-03-14)
William Vernon Harris
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William Vernon Harris, British history professor. Fellow, National Endowment of the Humanities, 1978, Guggenheim Foundation, 1982-1983, National Humanities Center, 1998, visiting fellow, All Souls College, Oxford University, England, 1983, St. John's College, Oxford University, 2002; fellow, American Council of Learned Society, 1970-1971, since 2005.
Education
Bachelor of Arts, University of Oxford, 1961; Master of Arts, University of Oxford, 1964; Doctor of Philosophy, University of Oxford, 1968.
Career
Instructor history, Columbia University, New York City, 1965-1968;
assistant professor, Columbia University, New York City, 1968-1971;
associate professor, Columbia University, New York City, 1971-1976;
professor, Columbia University, New York City, since 1976;
William R. Shepherd professor of history, Columbia University, New York City, since 1995;
chairman history department, Columbia University, New York City, 1988-1994. Member of advisory council American academic in Rome, since 1976, resident, 1978, 82. Director National Endowment for Humanities summer seminars, 1979, 81.
Member Institute Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, 1970-1971, 78. Gray lecturer Cambridge U., 1998.
Achievements
Works
book
-
Mental Disorders in the Classical World (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition)
(The historians, classicists and psychiatrists who have co...)
-
The Ancient Mediterranean Environment between Science and History (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition)
(The product of a collaboration between scientists, histor...)
-
Ancient Literacy
( How many people could read and write in the ancient wo...)
-
War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C.
(Between 327 and 70 B.C. the Romans expanded their empire ...)
- Rome in Etruria and Umbria
- War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C. by Harris, William V. (1985) Paperback
- The Ancient Mediterranean Environment between Science and History (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition) by William Harris (2013-07-25)
- Rethinking the Mediterranean RETHINKING THE MEDITERRANEAN BY Harris, W V ( Author ) Dec-28-2006 RETHINKING THE MEDITERRANEAN RETHINKING THE MEDITERRANEAN BY HARRIS, W V ( AUTHOR ) DEC-28-2006 By Harris, W V ( Author )Dec-28-2006 Paperback
- Ancient Literacy by William V. Harris (1991-10-01)
- Ancient Literacy by Harris, William V. (1989) Hardcover
- Mental Disorders in the Classical World (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition) by William Harris (2013-03-14)
- War and Imperialism in Republican Rome: 327-70 B.C. Paperback August 1, 1985
-
Mental Disorders in the Classical World (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition)
Membership
Fellow American Association for the Advancement of Science, Society Antiquaries (London), Finnish Society Sciences. Member Academia Europaea (foreign), Archaeol. Institute American, American Philological Association, American History Association, Association Ancient Historians, Century Association.
Connections
Married Silvana Patriarca. 1 child, Neil.
