This course offers a survey of the literature, art and material culture of ancient Rome in the imperial period, from the reign of Augustus to the late second century AD.

Lectures: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 1pm; weekly seminars as scheduled in MyCampus

CLASSIC2011

None

Group presentation (10 minutes) - 20%

Essay (2,500 words) - 50%

Examination (60 minute duration) - 30%

This course will provide the opportunity to:

■ study the management of empire from the Julio-Claudian to the Antonine periods;

■ examine the conceptual and physical environment of the city;

■ consider the development and practice of memorialisation and commemoration in different contexts;

■ explore literary, philosophical and political responses to monarchy and to empire;

■ explore key methods in the study of Roman literature, culture and society.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

■ recognise the formal characteristics of imperial Roman literature, monuments and space;

■ relate the textual or visual evidence of the period to its social, political, cultural, material, and/or literary contexts;

■ explain the ways in which the Roman Empire was managed and administered;

■ relate processes of representation in literary and visual media;

■ evaluate modern approaches to Greco-Roman literature and culture;

■ develop, individually and in groups, their own interpretations of texts and images against the different cultural backgrounds of the Roman Empire.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.