Enrollment year
2019/2020
Academic discipline
L-ANT/03 (ROMAN HISTORY)
Department
DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES
Curriculum
PERCORSO COMUNE
Period
2nd semester (24/02/2020 - 27/05/2020)
Lesson hours
36 lesson hours
Prerequisites
Interest in Roman History; some knowledge of World and Cultural History.
Learning outcomes
Expected learning outcomes are:
- Analyse themes of Roman History in a perspective able to encompass political, economic and cultural factors
- Analyse ancient sources in an historical perspective, developing and strengthening advanced methods to critically understand them
- Provide students with a clear theoretical and empirical framework to understand specific concepts (imperialism, connectivity, global and local history, economic and social hsitory) within a Roman History perspective
- Understand the multidisciplinary character of Roman History through the thematic cases presented and apply the historical methodology acquired through the cases analysed also to other fields of study
Course contents
The course will focus on the following aspects:
UNIT 1: Speaking about imperialism: Polybius and the differences between two different political cultures. Philosophical and lexical perspectives.
UNIT 2: Cultural forms and political expressions: the political significance of the cultural engagement between Rome and Greek East
UNIT 3: Roman visual material culture and heritage as connecting koine
UNIT 4: Irony, laughs as paradigm for elites members in the Roman world
UNIT 5: Human mobility and urbanisms: Between local mentality and globalism
UNIT 6: Families and ancestors as cultural and political connections in the Roman world
UNIT 7: Conclusions: Long durée perspectives on the Roman Mediterranean connections
Teaching methods
1. First part of the course will be lectured.
Materials will be available on Kiro or will be given in class. The knowledge of sources is part of the exam, therefore also those who will not be able to attend lessons and/or do a class presentation are required to read and study them.
2. Last classes will be devoted to students’ presentations (ca 20 mins each).
Topics and materials will be chosen by students among those proposed at the beginning of the course.
In their presentations students will can propose to their classmates also other materials and themes not included in the list.
Reccomended or required readings
To pass the exam, students shall autonomously study:
1. Materials given in class and the notes taken in class;
2. One of the following handbooks (to be chosen by the student):
- W.V. Harris, Roman Power. A Thousand Years of Empire, Cambridge University Press, 2019
- J. Osgood, Rome and the Making of a World State, 150 BCE–20 CE, Cambridge University Press, 2018
3. The pages indicated from one of the books listed here (to be chosen by the student):
- O. Hekster, Emperors and Ancestors. Roman Rulers and the Constraints of Tradition, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp. 205-237
- M. Beard, Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up, University of California Press, 2014, pp. 70-97
- M. B. Roller, Models from the Past in Roman Culture. A World of Exempla, Cambridge University Press, 2018, pp. 197-231
- M. Pitts, M. J. Versluys (eds.), Globalisation and the Roman World. World History, Connectivity and Material Culture, Cambridge University Press, 2014, pp. 123-140 or 141-174
Students who can demonstrate a proficient level of knowledge in Roman History can require an alternative bibliography.
Assessment methods
1. Attending students: class presentation and final oral exam.
- Class presentation (30% of the final mark)
- Final oral exam (70% of the final mark), which aims to assess the study and the critical understanding of the contents discussed during the course and the individual reflection on the assigned bibliography.
2. Students who are unable to attend: a written paper and final oral exam.
- The paper will have a length of 7.000 characters and will be on a topic to be agreed with the teacher. The paper must be delivered at least 10 days before the date of the oral exam via e-mail in pdf format (30% of the final mark).
- The final oral exam (70% of the final mark), which aims to assess the study and the critical understanding of the contents on the assigned bibliography.
Further information
Students who are unable to attend the course are asked to contact the teacher (alessandro.maranesi@unipv.it) to agree on an alternative exam program.
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