In recent years, the political economy of the ancient world has received increasing attention. Strongly interdisciplinary, this emerging field bridges the humanities and the social sciences, as well as positive and normative political theory. Of central importance are questions concerning the values and institutions sustaining democracy, the problem of how to assess and measure economic growth, and the causes and consequences of conflict. This workshop will offer students an overview of existing work and related methodologies, as well as an opportunity to discuss how the political economy of the pre-modern world can help us put pressure on some of the assumptions that guide social scientific research in the contemporary world. Case-studies include, but are not limited to ancient Athens and Rome.