Human society is technological; primitive humans were making tools and weapons, and making things long before the agricultural revolution and humans settled into villages and began to farm, cultivating their food rather than just going out and picking it or hunting for it. Humans are the talking animal, the cooking animal, the counting animal … but above all, we are the technological animal. Yes, termites mounds have a really impressive system of air-conditioning, and yes, beavers make really amazing dams … but we do both, and a bunch of other things as well, and we don't just make the same things, we innovate. You don't really have to ask questions about “technology and society” because you can't separate them: human society is technological and you don't get humans getting together without it being done in a technological context.
In these lectures we will look at a number of very different technological feats of the (“western”) ancient world, both from the point of view of understanding how the technology works, and from the point of view of what this technology can tell us about contemporary ancient society, thinking, and lives. Much of what we know about the ancient world is from literary or artistic sources, and much of it revolves around one form or other of conflict, politics or entertainment. Thinking about what their technology tells us can give a very different perspective on ancient life and society.
If you don't already have background knowledge about the history of the ancient world then any general historical text that gives you a very general overview of the history of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece will help you fit together the pieces we will be talking about. Otherwise, you will probably find doing further reading during or after the course will be very helpful.