The limits of cultural change? Romanization and gender in the Roman west

Revell, Louise (2022) The limits of cultural change? Romanization and gender in the Roman west. In, Cornwell, Hannah and Woolf, Greg (eds.) Gendering Roman Imperialism. (Impact of Empire, 43) Brill, pp. 146-164. (doi:10.1163/9789004524774_008).

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

In this paper I argue that adding gender to existing narratives of Roman imperialism has the potential to produce a fuller understanding of the impact of Roman rule on provincial communities. The first section rebalances current research which tends to be framed around a normative male subject. In contrast, I consider the impact on and integration of women in three key aspects of change within the provinces: urbanisation, including urban religion; economic activity; military service and military recruitment. The second section focuses on family structures in the Iberian provinces and demonstrates how women feature more prominently in the epigraphic record as commemorators for the deceased and how age-statements suggest a different family structure from that seen in other provinces. I argue that this potential divergence in family relations presents a more nuanced understanding of the impact of Roman imperialism.

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