Details
Code 19381
Level of study Third/Final year
Credit value 20
Semester Scheduled 2013-14, Usually 2
Pre-requisite modules none
Other pre-requisites none
Module description
The early imperial period at Rome was a dynamic period where the ruling elites attempted to come to grips with a political system with an emperor at the top instead of the aristocrats of the Republic. On this module you will engage with the political scene of the first and second centuries AD and its context, for instance:
The development of the imperial system during the first century AD and emperors’ use (or otherwise) of Augustus’ ‘model’ of imperial rule;
The exercise of imperial power and the construction of the ideal emperor; crime and punishment; imperialism; the construction of Rome as a world capital; the imperial court;
The interaction of different communities in the provinces;
Religion in the Roman empire: imperial cult and religious change;
The Roman view of the other: Germans and Britons
‘Muted groups’ (the poor, women, provincials) and social resistance (for instance bandits);
The material is mainly delivered through lectures (with opportunity for feedback) but also through group discussions and classes, where relevant. The material will be set within a clear chronological framework to aid your understanding of political and social change.
You will approach the subjects covered in the module through a wide range of source material including textual material of all types, inscriptions, art and archaeological evidence. Some sessions will be dedicated to the examination of particular sources, for instance Tacitus and Dio Cassius’ pictures of Boudicca and what they can tell us about Roman views of the world and non-Roman society.
Teaching and learning methods
Lectures incorporating class discussion and additional classes