“Roman
Diversity: Collecting and Commodifying Human Variety, in Antiquity and Today”
By
many measures, Rome managed its remarkable ethnic variety more successfully
than some modern states, particularly in its lack of legal or economic
discrimination by race. On the other hand, Rome makes clear diversity's roots
in violence, exploitation, and slavery. Many Romans experienced their empire's
ethno-geographic variety via tokens: representative humans and goods from all
over the known world, assembled within local spaces such as gardens, galleries,
dining rooms, bedrooms, and circuses. In this talk, Nandini Pandey explores the
literary and material remnants of Roman diversity, suggesting that the spaces
in which it appeared became "heterotopias" where Romans learned to
admire, manipulate, and commodify their empire's ethnic variety -- much as we do
in modern spaces like universities. Her exploration of these ancient practices
hopes to encourage critical reexamination of modern diversity policies.