Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH Special Subject B: The Roman Republic in Imperial Imagination
School	History and Cultures
Department	Classics, AH and Archaeology
Module Code	09 37468
Module Lead	Dr Henriette van der Blom
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 2
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites	LH Special Subject A: The Roman Republic in Imperial Imagination - (09 37467)
Restrictions	None
Exclusions
Description	This module and its co-requisite (Special Subject A: The Roman Republic in Imperial Imagination) will allow students engage in in-depth research and study on a topic in Classics, Byzantine Studies, Egyptology, Ancient History, or Archaeology. Like Part A, Part B will involve students learning through research, critique and discussion. Part B aims to develop students’ independence in the application of the research processes and methodologies associated with the module topic and to enable students to deploy this independence in the analysis of key ideas, ideologies, interpretative approaches, or events. 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	By 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 offering where appropriate, an explicitly comparative perspective critically evaluate the scholarly context and trends of the subject under exploration summarise and evaluate the subject material with clarity and confidence, in writing
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 1 x 3,000-word take home examination (100%) Reassessment: Resubmission of failed component(s)
Other
Reading List