The Augustan Age: Politics, Society and Literature
The course will introduce students to key evidence for the age of Augustus (from the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC to the death of Augustus in AD 14), literary, numismatic, inscriptional and archaeological. It will examine the reasons for changes in Roman politics and society brought about by the evolution of an imperial regime from a faltering Republican system. There will also be a focus on developments in the city of Rome that accommodated and represented these changes. Late Republican and Augustan literature will be treated in parallel with historical and societal evidence. Important themes will be explored in the writings of the major litterateurs Cicero, Vergil, Horace, Livy, Propertius and Ovid, and in the works of lesser well-known historical and biographical writers of the period.
- Semester 2 - 2015
1. A knowledge of the ancient literary and non-literary evidence relevant to the period from 44 BC to AD
2. An understanding of how all types of evidence may be used to reconstruct the 'history' of the period
3. A nuanced understanding of the way that the history of the period has been shaped by its sources
4. A knowledge of the main historical events of the period, as well as the political, legal, cultural and societal changes in Rome and Italy as the system evolved from a republic to a principate
5. An understanding of the reasons for change and its dynamics
6. A knowledge and understanding of the religious beliefs of Rome and Italy in this period
7. A sensitivity to the values of Roman and Italian society,
8. An understanding of the stratification of society and of the urban-rural divide, and an appreciation of the different status of and roles played by men and women
9. An ability to gather and synthesise relevant evidence, and to express appropriate ideas in oral form in tutorials
10. An ability to gather and synthesise relevant evidence, and to express appropriate ideas in written form
Political, military and social history from the death of Caesar to the death of Augustus; the emergence of a changed constitution, from republic to empire; the development of the court, with a focus on the imperial women; the problem of maintaining the imperial system (succession); moral change and regeneration; legislation on marriage and slavery; the rebuilding of Rome. A range of contemporary and later writers and other evidence will be covered.
This course replaces the following course(s): AHIS3110. Students who have successfully completed AHIS3110 are not eligible to enrol in AHIS2000.
Essay: Short essay
Written Assignment: Tutorial paper or Source Analysis
Essay: Major essay
Face to Face On Campus 2 hour(s) per Week for Full Term
Face to Face On Campus 1 hour(s) per Week for Full Term