Classics/History//Humanities 122:
The Roman World
Beth Severy-Hoven, Macalester College
Spring 2006
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Classics/History//Humanities 122: Beth Severy-Hoven, Macalester College |
Schedule of Assignments
Scarre, C. The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Rome
(Harmondsworth: Penguin 1995)
D'Ambra, Eve. Roman Art (Cambridge University
Press 1998)
* Reading provided
electronically -- follow hyperlink to text.
| Wk | Date | Reading/Topic | Questions |
| 1 | Tue 1/24 | Welcome and Introduction | |
| Th 1/26 | Plautus, Miles Gloriosus Scarre, pp. 12-27 |
Who is the audience? What or who is being mocked? Who are the 'stock' characters? | |
| 2 | Tue 1/31 | Plautus, Captivi | Does the play challenge or reinforce the slave system? Why is it set in Greece? |
| Th 2/2 | Watch film in class: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum | ||
| 3 | Tue 2/7 | Discussion of plays and film Scarre, pp. 28-31 Quiz on Places, People and Events |
What are the similarities and differences between the plays and the film? How does the film reflect 1960s Hollywood? |
| Th 2/9 | Cicero, Against Catiline 1 (Cicero, Selected Political Speeches, pp. 71-93) | What evidence does Cicero present concerning the conspiracy? List all the other ways he tries to discredit Catiline. | |
| 4 | Tue 2/14 | Cicero, Against Catiline 2 (Cicero, Selected Political Speeches, pp. 93-101.) | How does this speech to the people differ from the one to the senate? How does he work to discredit Catiline? |
| Th 2/16 | Browse translation of Catullus' poetry, reading closely at least 1, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 21, 23, 26, 37, 51, 58, 65, 68, 72, 75, 76, 83, 85, 86, 92 and 104. | How do the poems reflect and how do they challenge the dominant Roman ideology of sex and masculinity? | |
| 5 | Tue 2/21 | Cancelled due to illness. | |
| Th 2/23 | 1. Catullus 63 & 64 2. *Marilyn Skinner, "Ego Mulier: The Construction of Male Sexuality in Catullus" in Roman Sexualities, J. Hallett & M. Skinner, eds, Princeton (1997) 129-50. |
How do these poems subvert prevailing Roman notions of masculinity? What is Skinner's answer as to why Catullus does this? | |
| 6 | Tue 2/28 | For first part: *Plutarch,
Life of Antony For second part:* Plutarch, Antony Scarre, pp. 34-35 |
What are Plutarch's sources of information? How useful is he as a source on Cleopatra, Octavian and Antony? How might his status as a Greek living under the Roman empire affect his story? |
| Th 3/2 | Presentation of Group Projects | ||
| 7 | Tue 3/7 | *Augustus,
Res Gestae D'Ambra, pp. 9-37 Scarre, pp. 38-49, 78-79 |
How does Augustus present himself and what he had accomplished? How does the Ara Pacis present the same ideas in art? How do both react to the world of the civil wars seen in Plutarch? |
| Th 3/9 | *Livy, History of Rome, preface and book 1 | Why does Livy write ancient history? How is his story of the past relevant to his present? Why does his account of the monarchy begin and end with a rape? | |
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First Paper Due Thursday, March 9, by 4:30pm, in envelope outside 312 Old Main. |
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| 8 |
SPRING BREAK - NO CLASSES |
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| 9 | Tue 3/21 | Vergil, Aeneid, books 1, 2, 4, 6 (read summaries of intervening books here) | Of all the legends and heroes of early Rome, why did Vergil choose Aeneas? |
| Th 3/23 | Vergil, Aeneid, books 8, 11, 12 (read summaries of intervening books here) | What is Vergil's attitude toward Augustus? Which passages are key to your evaluation of this? | |
| 10 | Tue 3/28 | Ovid, Art of Love | Is this an elaborate joke? Politically dangerous or challenging? How does Ovid present the role of the poet? |
| Th 3/30 |
D'Ambra, pp. 39-57, 93-125 |
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| 11 | Tue 4/4 | *Petronius, "Trimalcio's Dinner Party " from Satyricon | Who is mocked, why and how? What is Petronius' social status? How does the work relate to his political context? Might we recover anything of a freedman subculture from this? |
| Th 4/6 | D'Ambra, pp. 127-45 Presentation in class on Domestic Art and Identity in Pompeii |
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| 12 | Tue 4/11 | *Suetonius,
Life of Nero Tacitus, Annals XIV.1-16 (in collection of Tacitus' writings) |
How do Tacitus and Suetonius present Nero? Why? |
| Th 4/13 | Tacitus, Agricola Scarre, pp. 50-51, 54-57, 60-64 |
In the first few paragraphs, what does Tacitus reveal to be his evaluation of recent history and his most pressing interests? How might these be seen to underpin the rest of the biography, especially his account of the Britons? What does this work reveal to us about Roman imperialism? | |
| 13 | Tue 4/18 | *Paul,
First Letters to the Corinthians *Luke (?), Acts of Apostles |
How does Paul present his community relative to Roman authority? How has the presentation of Paul changed by the time Acts was recorded? Who are the heroes and villains of the story? Why? |
| Th 4/20 | *Josephus, Autobiography, 1-5,
74-76; Jewish Wars preface,
book 5,
6.1.2, 6.1.5-6, 6.2.1 Scarre, pp. 58-59, 74-77 |
How does Josephus present himself and his community relative to Roman authority? Who are the heroes and villains of his story? Why? | |
| 14 | Tue 4/25 | Apuleius, The Golden Ass, books 1-6 | What do you think the story is about? What can we learn from it about life in the high empire? |
| Th 4/27 | Apuleius, The Golden Ass, books 7-11 | Now what do you think the story is about? How does the ending encourage you to rethink earlier moments in the story? | |
| 15 | Tu 5/2 | Wrap Up Second Paper Due in Class | |
Final Exam: Friday, May 5, 8:00-10:00am