Rome: Culture and Empire (212-0-2)
Topic
Roman History
Instructors
Taco Tjitte Terpstra
Kresge 4353
Kyle Timothy Jones
Ann Catherine Corbitt
Mian Chen
Meeting Info
Swift Hall 107: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM
Overview of class
The course is a general history survey, starting with Rome's humble beginnings and ending with the collapse of the Roman Empire. It will trace the story of how a small city-state in central Italy, on the periphery of the older civilizations of Greece and the East Mediterranean, established military and political dominance over Italy; how it built a Mediterranean empire and administered it for centuries; how a long period of crisis led to its decline and partition into an eastern and western half; and finally how the western half collapsed. In addition to this chronological narrative, the course will treat several key themes and concepts in Roman culture. The Roman military will receive attention, as will gender relations and public spectacles. Roman religion and the role of slavery will also be discussed.
Class Materials (Required)
Required textbook(s): Potter, David. Ancient Rome: A New History. 3rd ed. New York, Thames & Hudson, 2018. ISBN 978-0500294123.
Francese, Christopher and R. Scott Smith. Ancient Rome: An Anthology of Sources. Indianapolis, Hackett Publishing, 2014. ISBN 978-1624660009.
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Distro Area
Interdisciplinary Distro-rules apply
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Ethics & Values Distro Area