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| Unit name |
Rome: Republic to Principate |
| Unit code |
CLAS12383 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
C/4
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
|
| Unit director |
Professor. Morley |
| Open unit status |
Open |
| Pre-requisites |
None
|
| Co-requisites |
None
|
| School/department |
Department of Classics & Ancient History |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Arts |
Description including Unit Aims
The end of the Roman Republic is a crucial test case for understanding how a political system can collapse. This revolution is sometimes understood in purely personal terms, as the result of the reckless ambitions of individual Romans like Pompey and Caesar; sometimes in political terms as the consequence of the weaknesses of the old regime; sometimes, not least by many Roman writers, as the effect of luxury, immorality and the decay of traditional values. However, the political system was not the only aspect of Roman society that had changed by the end of the first century BCE. Rome was no longer a small city-state but a global empire, which transformed not only the resources available to its rulers but even the idea of what it meant to be Roman; the city of Rome had grown to an extraordinary size, creating innumerable problems, while the rest of Italy was increasingly urbanised and integrated into the wider world; the countryside was transformed by the crisis of the traditional peasant class and the influx of slave labour, while trading activities became ever more extensive and important.
This unit aims to present students:
- with a general knowledge of the history of Rome and its empire, and of the key events and changes of this period;
- with a detailed knowledge of one aspect within this period and the central themes arising from this aspect;
- with a developed knowledge of the sources for this period and the issues involved in interpreting these sources.
Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students should:
- Have a good knowledge of the varied sources available for studying the history of the Roman Empire, and have further developed their understanding of the best way to make use of these sources.
- Have developed a good knowledge of the political and social developments in the Roman empire, and an advanced understanding of how to analyse these.
- Be able to use the knowledge acquired in lectures and through their own researches to construct coherent, relevant and persuasive arguments on different aspects of the subject.
- Have had an opportunity to further develop their skills in oral and written communication, in small groups and general discussion, and in an essay and a written exam.
Teaching Information
Lectures and Seminars.
Assessment Information
- 1 essay of c. 2,000 words (50%)
- 1 90 minute exam consisting of 2 essays from a choice of 8 (50%).
Reading and References
- C. Ando (2000) Imperial ideology and provincial loyalty in the Roman Empire
- M. Beard & M. Crawford (1999) Rome in the Late Republic
- B. Campbell (2002) War and Society in Imperial Rome
- G. Forsythe (2005) A critical history of early Rome: from prehistory to the first Punic war
- F. Millar (1977) The Emperor in the Roman World
- F. Millar (2002) The Roman Republic in Political Thought
