Course Outline and Reading Assignments for Lectures
Lecture readings to be done for the day assigned
Introduction
Week 1 (Jan. 23, 25)
- Why the Romans are still interesting
- Rome goes to the Movies
Republican Rome
Week 2 (Jan. 28, 30, Feb. 1) From city to empire: the rise of Podunk
- Read for Jan. 28th: Ramage and Ramage, Introduction
- Read for Jan. 30th: Ramage and Ramage, Chapter 1
- Read for Feb. 1st: Ramage and Ramage, Chapter 2
Week 3 (Feb. 4, 6, 8) Ambition, competition, and the death of the Republic
- Read for Feb. 4th: Scarre, Atlas 12-37
Assignment due: The Romans Surf the ‘Net
- Read for Feb. 6th: T. J. Cornell, ‘The City of Rome in the Middle Republic (c. 400-100 B.C.)
- Read for Feb. 8th: G. Heiken, R. Funiciello, and D. De Rita, ‘A Tourist’s Introdution to the Geology of Rome’
Imperial Rome: the ‘High Empire’
Week 4 (Feb. 11, 13, 15) ‘It’s futile to resist him’: the emperor Augustus
- Read for Feb. 11th: Ramage and Ramage, Chapter 3; Scarre, Atlas 38-49
- Read for Feb. 13th: D. Favro, ‘A Walk through Augustan Rome, A.D. 14’
Assignment due: The Intellectual Uses of Russell Crowe — Gladiator
- Read for Feb. 15th: Ramage and Ramage, Chapter 4; Scarre, Atlas 50-53
Week 5 (Feb. 20, 22) The imperial image: the emperors’ new clothes
- No Class, February 18th — Long Weekend
- Read for Feb. 20th: Ramage and Ramage, Chapters 5 and 6
- Read for Feb. 22nd: M. Beard and J. Henderson, ‘Facing Up to Antiquity: Art to the Life’
Week 6 (Feb. 25, 27, 29) The imperial image: buildings to please,
buildings to impress
- Read for Feb. 25th: Ramage and Ramage, Chapters 7-8
- Read for Feb. 27th: M. Wilson Jones, ‘The Enigma of the Pantheon: The Interior’ & ‘The Enigma of the Pantheon: The Exterior’ (skim)
- Read for Feb. 29th: Ramage and Ramage, Chapter 9
Week 7 (March 3, 5) Public spaces and private places: Rome and Pompeii
- Read for March 3rd: Scarre, Atlas 64-73
- Read for March 5th: R. Laurence, ‘Deviant Behaviour’; R. Etienne, ‘The Role of Women’
Midterm Examination: Friday, March 7th (on material through Week 6)
Week 8 (March 10, 12, 14) Fun, games and gods in the Big City
- Read for March 10th: Scarre, Atlas 78-79, 82-83, 102-103
- Read for March 12th: H. Dodge, ‘Amusing the Masses: Buildings for Entertainment and Leisure in the Roman World’
- Read for March 14th: C. Smith, ‘Cult and Ritual: The Roman World’
Assignment due: Rome at the RISD Museum
Week 9 (March 17, 19, 21) The Empire Strikes Back: the other 99.9% of the
Roman world
- Read for March 17th: Scarre, Atlas 54-57, 74-77, 80-81, 84-85, 104-107
- Read for March 19th: J. Webster, ‘Art as Resistance and Negotiation’
- Read for March 21st: S.E. Alcock, ‘Greece: A Landscape of Resistance?’
Spring Break
Week 10 (March 31, April 2, 4) The power and the glory: the Roman army on the frontiers
- Read for March 31st: Scarre, Atlas 58-63, 86-87
- Read for April 2nd: Army Websites: to be announced
www.romanarmy.com/cms/; www.roman-empire.net/army/army.htm; www.historylearningsite.co.uk/roman_army.htm;
and then there are these fun people:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54-6xT91nBA&feature=related
Assignment due: Do It Yourself Rome
- Read for April 4th: C.R. Whittaker, ‘Why Did the Frontiers Stop Where They Did?’
Transformation: The Late Empire:
Week 11 (April 7, 9, 11) A new look for the empire — and the emperor
- Read for April 7th: Ramage and Ramage, Chapters 10-11
- Read for April 9th: Ramage and Ramage, Chapter 12
- Read for April 11th: R. Krautheimer, ‘Constantinople’
Week 12 (April 14, 16, 18) Decline and fall?
- Read for April 14th: Scarre, Atlas 88-101, 108-135
- Read for April 16th: M. Cyrino, ‘Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)’
Assignment due: Rome Rebuilt at Brown
- Read for April 18th: C. Murphy, Selections from ‘Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America’
The Legacy of Rome:
Week 13 (April 21, 23) Other empires, other Romes
- Read for April 21st: C. Moatti, ‘From One Myth to Another’
Rome goes (back) to the Movies
Final Examination ~ May 10, 2008 at 9:00 am
Final Exam format: 
Final_Info.doc
Course Requirements /
Weekly Schedule /
Assignments /
Required Texts /
Course Readings /
Photo Credits /
Lecture PowerPoints
