This module and its co-requisite (Special Subject B: The Roman Republic in Imperial Imagination) will allow students to engage in in-depth research and study on a topic in Classics, Byzantine Studies, Egyptology, Ancient History, or Archaeology. Working in a small group format under the guidance of the module co-ordinator, students will engage with key primary material and with research findings, interpretative approaches, and methodologies associated with the module topic. The module will help students to develop and exercise advanced research skills and to learn through critique and discussion, as well as to acquire knowledge and expertise in their chosen topic.
The Romans were obsessed with their past and their ancestors. They told tales of heroic actions, seditious deeds, and anything in between. They created and maintained buildings, monuments and coinage to commemorate events. And they reminded each other of exemplary achievements in their oratory, historical narratives and theatrical plays. The past was everywhere and was used in a myriad of ways. But how did the Romans account for major ruptures in the history of their state and society? More specifically, how did the Romans of the imperial period look back at the Republic?
This module investigates representations of the Roman Republic in imperial texts and material evidence in order to consider the implications of imperial reconstructions of the republican period. This module will draw on a wide range of source material including texts, coinage, and monuments to debate emerging and diverging modern analyses of imperial representations of the republican period and the ways in which the Romans engaged with their past in order to answer questions such as how do the imperial sources depict the Republic? In what ways do imperial sources distort our image of the Republic and for what purposes? How revolutionary was ‘the Roman Revolution’, and is the periodisation between Republic and Empire valid?
Learning Outcomes
the end of the module students should be able to:
analyse and appraise key findings, interpretative approaches, and methodologies relevant to the material under discussion
analyse and evaluate a wide range of relevant primary source material
critically evaluate the scholarly context and trends of the subject under exploration
summarise and evaluate the subject material with clarity and confidence, in writing and in oral presentation
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions
Assessment: 1 x 2,000-word essay (50%) and 1 x 10-minute individual presentations (50%)