Course description: The ancient Romans are both fascinating in their own right and uniquely useful for contemporary Americans. Because Rome has been so influential on our own institutions and culture, the Romans offer us invaluable perspectives on the modern world. At the same time, the Romans were in many ways frighteningly different from us. The study of Rome thus helps us to appreciate how cultural differences can determine how humans think and act. Our aim in this course is to gain a fuller understanding of Rome--its similarities to, and its differences from, us--in order to understand better who we are, both as humans and as modern descendants of the Romans. We will reach this goal through reading and discussion of works written by the ancient Romans and secondary works on Roman history and culture.
Texts:
Course packet, available from University Duplication, Welch
2.228
Henry C. Boren, Roman Society, 2nd edition.
Vergil, Aeneid, translated by Robert Fitzgerald.
Petronius, Satyricon, translated by William
Arrowsmith
Grading:
3 midterm exams: 20% each
Comprehensive final exam: 40%
CC 347 students must also write a 5-page
book report. The report will be
graded on a pass/fail basis (standards for pass are high). The report
will not count towards your final grade, but you must complete it
successfully in order to get credit for CC347.
Missed and late work
Exams may not be made up, and papers may not be handed in late,
except in the case of a religious holiday (see below), or a
documented medical or family emergency. Missed work must be made up
within two weeks.
Attendance
Please do not think that because this class is large, attendance
is not important. It is absolutely imperative that you attend class
each day, except in the case of emergencies. Much of each exam will
be based on material only covered in class, and no amount of help you
can get from the TAs, the web, your colleagues, or the instructor can
substitute for attendance in class.
Reading Assignments
It is vitally important that you read the assigned readings
before class. Lectures and discussions will take for granted that you
are familiar with the readings assigned for the day.
Common courtesy:
As you see, our class is a very large one. We must therefore all
follow the following rules religiously:
1. Cell phones must be turned off during class.
2. No talking (even in a whisper) during class: it is simply too
distracting.
3. No reading of other material (especially newspapers) during
class.
4. Class lasts until 10:45 AM: Please remain still in your seats
until that time. It is impossible for anyone to learn when 300 people
are closing notebooks, shuffling papers, and getting up to leave.
Infringement of these rules may lead to expulsion from
class.
Please do not take this class if you are
unwilling or unable to do the following:
1. Attend class each day, except in the case of medical or family
emergency ("I slept late," "It's the OU football weekend," "I had a
test in another class" are not medical or family emergencies).
2. Remain quiet and attentive throughout class.
3. Read and think about assigned readings before class.
4. Review class notes and readings carefully before exams.
Scholastic dishonesty:
Scholastic dishonesty on any graded assignment will result in a
failing grade (Zero), which you may not drop. Scholastic dishonesty
includes any kind of cheating; if you are unsure about the exact
definition you should consult the General information catalogue,
Appendix C, Section 11-802 (http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs/gi01-02/app/appc11.html)
Academic disabilities:
The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request
appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with
disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of
Students at 471-6259 or 471-4641, or the information online at
http://www.utexas.edu/depts/dos/ssd/index.html
Religious holidays:
You may make up work missed because of a religious holiday if you
bring me documentation of the holiday fourteen days ahead of
time.
Changing sections:
Please note that a switch from CC302 to CC347 or vice-versa is like
any other change from one course to another and is therefore subject
to all rules of adding and dropping.
I. Rome through the Middle
Republic
August 29:
Introduction to course
September
3 Early
Rome: Boren, 1-21; Start Vergil,
Aeneid; end of official add/drop period
5 The Early
Republic: Boren, 23-48
10 The
Middle Republic: Boren, 49-85
12 Plautus:
The Haunted House (in course
packet)
13: Last day to add; Last day to drop with possible
refund.
17 Terence:
The Brothers (in course
packet)
19 Exam I
II. The Late Republic
24 Rome,
146 BC-44 BC: Boren, 93-130
25: Last day to drop without possible academic penalty
26 Selected
poems of Catullus (in course
packet)
October
1 Visit by Actors from the London Stage: topic to be announced
3 Lucretius, On
the Nature of Things, Book 3 (in
course packet)
8 Cicero,
First Oration Against Catiline
(in course packet)
III. The Augustan Age
10 Rome, 44 BC-14
AD; Boren, 131-137,
163-184
15 Livy,
From the Founding of the City,
Selections from Books 1-2 (in course packet)
17 Exam
II
22 Vergil
I: Complete Vergil's Aeneid
by today
Oct. 23rd: last day to withdraw from university or drop a course
except for urgent nonacademic reason; last day to change to or from
pass/fail
24 Vergil
II
29 Selections
from Horace's Odes and Satires
(in course packet)
IV. The Principate
31 Rome,
14AD-192AD; Boren, 191-207, 233-252
November
5
PetroniusSatyricon 38-84
7 Exam
III
12 Suetonius,
Nero (in course packet)
14 Tacitus,
Annals, selections (in course
packet)
19 Juvenal,
Satires 3 and 10 (in course
packet)
21 Private Art and
Architecture; Andrew
Wallace-Hadrill, Houses and Society in Pompeii and
Herculaneum, 3-37 (in course packet)
26 Public Art and Architecture; John E. Stambaugh, The Ancient Roman City, 67-85 (in course packet); CC 347 book reports due
28: Thanksgiving (Dies Gratias Agendi)
V. The Empire's last centuries
December
3 Rome,
192AD-476AD; Boren, 252-265,
299-306, 319-323
5 Pondering Rome's
Fall and Rome's Legacy; Karl
Galinsky, Classical and Modern Interactions: Postmodern
Architecture, Multiculturalism, Decline, and Other Issues
53-73
Saturday, Dec. 14, 9AM through 12noon, UTC 2.112A and 1.102: Final Exam