HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION OF ANCIENT ROMANS

The course is one of the core educational activities characterizing the Master’s Degree Programme in Humanities.
It has the purpose to guarantee to the students the advanced knowledge of historical processes and of the methodology of research in a historic environment through the study of a central topic in ancient Rome history. It intends to guarantee the acquisition of these abilities: sketch out a scientific research and be able to hand the results over through the public history and the scientific communication. The students will develop research and didactical skills in the subject and acquire skills as critical approach during the evaluation of information and news, and understanding of events and cultural processes crucial in the constitution of the occidental identity.
The reachment of these goals assures to the student the cultural, disciplinary, methodological knowledge to insert in the world of work in didactical, cultural, divulgation and communication-linked field suitable with his itinerary of the academic studies.

Attending the course and the seminar and practicing individual study allow students to acquire specific knowledge: the methodology of historical reconstruction, the deep knowledge of fundamental events of Roman history. Will make students acquire these cognitive abilities: applying the historical research methodology with particular focus on the exegesis of different kinds of ancient sources functional to the reconstruction of ancient Rome history and on critical analysis of modern bibliography; be able to reconstruct historical processes through reserach itinerary. Will make students acquire these practical abilities: sketch out a scientific research and be able to hand the results over through the public history and the scientific communication selecting the contents, the ways of communication, the time, know how to deal with team work. The students will have acquired these skills: know how to interpret historical processes; know how to employ a critical approach toward the information sources; interpret correctly the origin of customs of Roman age that survived in contemporay age.

Students should already have attended a BA level Roman history course. Foreign students are invited to contact the course tutor beforehand.
A good knowledge of italian language is necessary.

Through an ample introduction and an exemplification made by the teacher and a presentation, result of teamwork made by students, the course will examine the subject: "Becoming Emperor: the Succession in the Early Roman Empire”. The course will examine Augustus’ and his successors’ strategies to choose a heir to the Principate. The course will allow students to acquire historical data, to reconstruct, with the best approximation and with the help of modern studies, the political action of the first princeps, the strategies for transmitting imperial power, the role of power groups in the choice of successor (the senate, the domus principis , the populus and the legions), the strategies used by the other principes of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. The aim is to allow the student to acquire the methodology, the tools of historiographic research and the appropriate use of the scientific lexicon.

All foreign students are invited to contact the course tutor beforehand in order to discuss their study programmes for individual assessment.

Programme for students attending the course (6 ECTS)

Mandatory texts:
- class notes;
- additional learning and self-evaluation tools, which can be found in the Ca’ Foscari Moodle e-learning platform;
- M. PANI, Tendenze politiche della successione al principato di Augusto, Bari 1979
- F. ROHR, Contro il principe: Congiure e dissenso nella Roma di Augusto, Bologna 2011
- A. VALENTINI, Agrippina Maggiore: una matrona nella politica della domus Augusta, Venezia 2019

Reference texts (choose one text)
- A. FRASCHETTI, Augusto, Roma-Bari 2002
- L. CANFORA, Augusto, figlio di Dio, Roma-Bari 2015
- A. MARCONE, Augusto, Roma 2015
- B. LEVICK, Augustus, Image and Substance, Harlow 2010

Reference texts (choose one text)
- E. LYASSE, Tibére, Paris 2011
- D. SHOTTER, Tiberius Caesar, London 2004
- B. LEVICK, Tiberius, the Politician, London-New York 1999
- A.A. BARRETT, Livia, la First Lady dell’impero romano, Roma 2006

- individual research on an assigned topic

Programme for students who cannot attend classes

Mandatory texts:
- M. PANI, Tendenze politiche della successione al principato di Augusto, Bari 1979
- F. ROHR, Contro il principe: Congiure e dissenso nella Roma di Augusto, Bologna 2011
- A. VALENTINI, Agrippina Maggiore: una matrona nella politica della domus Augusta, Venezia 2019

Reference texts (choose one text)
- A. FRASCHETTI, Augusto, Roma-Bari 2002
- L. CANFORA, Augusto, figlio di Dio, Roma-Bari 2015
- A. MARCONE, Augusto, Roma 2015
- B. LEVICK, Augustus, Image and Substance, Harlow 2010

Reference texts (choose one text)
- E. LYASSE, Tibére, Paris 2011
- D. SHOTTER, Tiberius Caesar, London 2004
- B. LEVICK, Tiberius, the Politician, London-New York 1999
- A.A. BARRETT, Livia, la First Lady dell’impero romano, Roma 2006

- individual research on an assigned topic

The evaluation is based on three parts: the check of knowledge on the course contents through an oral examination on topics of the course and on topics developed on texts recommanded in the bibliography; during the same oral test the check of knowledge on contents explained by other students; during seminar, the oral exposition of brief personal research about a case of dissent during Augustan age (substituted for non attending students by extra lectures).
Through these exam the teacher verifies:
1) knowledge: acquisition of fundamental concepts and scientific lexicon of the subject and the methodology of historical research;
2) cognitive abilities: the application of the methodology of historical research with particular focus on the use of sources and on critical approach on bibliography; the ability of analysis of historical processes; practical abilities: communicative abilities, for the public history and scientific communication (selecting the contents, the ways of communication, the time, know how to deal with team work)
3) skills: capability to analyze reality and information.
Each category of examination is judged according to a scale of thirty points, and the final mark is the result of the average of the points earned for each examination.
All foreign students are invited to contact the course tutor beforehand in order to discuss their study programmes for individual assessment.

Classes will be conducted as seminars, so that all students will have the opportunity to participate in class presentations. A specific research topic will be assigned to each participant. Ancient sources and further readings that will help students prepare their presentation will be provided in class.

Italian

Students who attend this course will be entitled to take part to the seminar activities, stages and training courses organised by the Roman History and Classics faculty during the two terms (the calendar of activities will be provided in class and on the Ca' Foscari website). Students who attend two courses of Roman History and/or Latin Epigraphy will also be entitled to participate to a three-day field trip to Rome that will presumably take place in Spring 2022.

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