A History of Ancient Rome in Five Strikes
Schedule
Wed, 11 Mar, 2026 at 07:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
101 E Archer St, Tulsa, OK, United States, Oklahoma 74103 | Tulsa, OK
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Join the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities in welcoming Sarah Bond, Associate Professor of Ancient History at the University of Iowa, to 101 Archer. Bond will discuss "Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire", the first book to explore how Roman workers used strikes, boycotts, riots and rebellion to get their voices—and their labor—acknowledged.Bond retells the traditional story of Ancient Rome to show that the history of labor conflicts and collective action goes back thousands of years, revealing a world far more similar to our own than we realize. Workers often turned to their voluntary and involuntary associations for solidarity and shared identity in the ancient world. Some of these groups even negotiated contracts, wages and work conditions in a manner similar to modern labor unions. As the world begins to consider the value—and indeed the necessity—of unionization to protect workers, this book demonstrates that we can learn valuable lessons from ancient laborers and from attempts by the Roman government to limit their freedom.
About the guest speaker:
Sarah Bond is the Erling B. “Jack” Holtsmark Associate Professor in the Classics within the Department of History at the University of Iowa. She blogs on antiquity and digital humanities, and is the author of "Trade and Taboo: Disreputable Professions in the Roman Mediterranean" and "Strike: Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire" (Yale University Press, February 2025). She is a contributor to "Hyperallergic" and has written for Forbes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, and even Sports Illustrated for Kids.
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Where is it happening?
101 E Archer St, Tulsa, OK, United States, Oklahoma 74103Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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