HI 222: The Roman Revolution

fall 2004

Wednesdays 7:00 pm

Prof. Rosivach                                                                                                                                   

 

 

The roughly one hundred and fifty years beginning in 133 BC are the best documented and, for many, the most interesting time in Roman history.  This period saw the collapse of the Roman Republic and its replacement by the rule of men who called themselves principes and we call emperors, with wide-ranging consequences not only for the Romans themselves but for he whole Mediterranean world and beyond.  In this course we will examine this transformation – this “revolution” – with the goal of understanding as best we can what happened and why it happened in the way it did.

 

 

Textbook:

 

The textbook for this course is H. H. Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero, A History of Rome 133 BC to AD 68.  Supplementary materials will be posted on the class website.

 

 

The work of the course:

 

Assignments for the each class session will be linked to the course schedule, itself linked to the course homepage.  Assignments include study questions to help you focus on the readings.  You are expected to complete each assignment before its class.  Class sessions will be a combination of lecture and discussion based on the evening’s study questions.

 

There will also be a ten-page paper dealing with the collapse of the Republic.  Details of this assignment will be posted on the class website in early October.  Due date is 11:59 pm on November 22.

 

There will also be a take-home final exam consisting of several questions dealing with the Principate.  The exam will be posted on the class website by December 1 and will be due at 11:59 pm on December 15.

 

There will also be a group assignment oral report.  This assignment will be explained in greater detail in our October 6 class.  Reports will be presented in our last class on December 8.

 

 

Grading:

 

The paper on the collapse of the Republic will account for 35% of your semester grade.

The take-home final exam on the Principate will account for 35% of your semester grade.

The group assigment oral report will account for 15% of your semester grade.

Participation in classroom discussions will account for 15% of your semester grade.

 

 

Housekeeping:

            The website for this course is: http://faculty.fairfield.edu/rosivach/hi222

            HI 222 meets on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm in SON 214.

            Professor Rosivach

            DMH 126

             

office hours: Monday and Thursday, 4:30; Wednesday 5:00

 

 E-mail: If you have any questions on any topic related to class, e-mail me and I will answer your question as soon as I am able.  My e-mail address is:

                                   rosivach@mail.fairfield.edu

If you have to communicate with me for any reason, I would prefer that you use e-mail, not voice mail.   If you do use voice mail, I will answer by e-mail to your campus stagweb account if an answer is required.

 

 

Note on class participation: There is no attendance requirement for this course but you cannot paticipate in class discussion if you are not present, and your grade will suffer accordingly. (back)