Week 1: Introduction and Evidence
Meeting Date: Thursday, February 4
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Sign up for a Presentation.
Everyone does one presentation this semester, and you need to be signed up. If you haven’t already, make sure you are signed up for a presentation using the sign-up sheet.
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
Week 2: Tribes and Kings
Meeting Date: Thursday, February 11
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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I. Roman History: Its Geographic and Human Foundations (WARD 1–10)
II. Phoenicians, Greeks, and Etruscans in Pre-Roman Italy (WARD 11–27)
III. Early Rome to 500 B.C. (WARD 28–39)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
Week 3: Patricians and Plebeians
Meeting Date: Thursday, February 18
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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IV. Early Roman Society, Religion, and Values (WARD 40–55)
V. From Tyrant Kings to Oligarchic Republic (WARD 56–74)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
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DIONYSIUS / Coriolanus Opposes the Plebs
DIONYSIUS / The Tribunes and their Manipulation
FRAGMENTS / The Twelve Tables
LIVY, DIONYSIUS / The Roman Way of Declaring War
CICERO, DIONYSIUS / The Mythology of the Farmer General
LIVY / The Defeat of the Latins
POLYBIUS / The Constitution of the Roman Republic
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Take the quiz.
Take Quiz #1 by Feb. 24. (Closed)
Week 4: Conquering the West
Meeting Date: Thursday, February 25
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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VI. The Roman Conquest of Italy and Its Impact (WARD 75–89)
VII. The First Punic War, Northern Italy, and Illyrian Pirates (WARD 90–101)
VIII. War with Hannibal: The Second Punic War (WARD 102–111)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Take the quiz.
Take Quiz #2 by March 3. (Closed)
Week 5: Acquisition of Empire
Meeting Date: Thursday, March 4
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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IX. Roman Imperialism East and West (WARD 112–128)
X. The Transformation of Roman Life (WARD 129–142)
XI. The Great Cultural Synthesis (WARD 143–153)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Take the quiz.
Take Quiz #3 by March 10. (Closed)
Week 6: Optimates and Plebeians
Meeting Date: Thursday, March 11
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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XII. The Gracchi and the Struggle over Reforms (WARD 154–164)
XIII. Destructive Rivalries, Marius, and the Social War (WARD 165–175)
XIV. Civil War and Sulla’s Reactionary Settlement (WARD 176–183)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Take the quiz.
Take Quiz #4 by March 17.
Week 7: Crossing the Rubicon
Meeting Date: Thursday, March 18
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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XV. Personal Ambitions: The Failure of Sulla’s Optimate Oligarchy (WARD 184–199)
XVI. Caesar Wins and Is Lost (WARD 200–216)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Upload your Proposal.
Upload your proposal to BlackBoard by March 18.
Week 8: End of the Republic
Meeting Date: Thursday, March 25
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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XVII. The Last Years of the Republic (WARD 217–230)
XVIII. Social, Economic, and Cultural Life in the Late Republic (WARD 231–249)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Take the quiz.
Take Quiz #5 by April 7.
Week 9: Augustus, Princeps, Imperator
Meeting Date: Thursday, April 8
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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XIX. The Principate of the Early Roman Empire Takes Shape (WARD 250–262)
XX. Imperial Stabilization under Augustus (WARD 263–278)
XXI. The Impact of Augustus on Roman Imperial Life and Culture (WARD 279–293)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Take the quiz.
Take Quiz #6 by April 14.
Week 10: Succession and Empire
Meeting Date: Thursday, April 15
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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XXII. The First Two Julio–Claudian Emperors: Tiberius and Gaius (WARD 294–305)
XXIII. Claudius, Nero, and the End of the Julio–Claudians (WARD 306–316)
XXIV. The Crisis of the Principate and Recovery under the Flavians (WARD 317–326)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
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CLAUDIUS / A Speech on Incorporating the Gauls
SENECA / The Pumpkinification of Claudius
TACITUS / The Principle of Adoption
TACITUS / The Legions Proclaim Vespasian Emperor
JOSEPHUS / The Roman Army in the First Century CE
LEGAL TEXT / Law Concerning the Power of Vespasian
PLINY THE YOUNGER / Panegyric Addressed to the Emperor Trajan
PLINY THE YOUNGER / The Correspondence of a Provincial Governor and the Emperor
SUETONIUS / How Domitian Attempted to Amuse the Populace
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Upload your Representations and Images Essay.
Upload your images essay to BlackBoard by April 15.
Before you upload, make sure you have checked your submission against the essay requirements and the requirements for all essays.
Week 11: The Roman Peace
Meeting Date: Thursday, April 22
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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XXV. The Five “Good” Emperors of the Second Century (WARD 327–342)
XXVI. Culture, Society, and Economy in the First Two Centuries A.D. (WARD 343–366)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Take the quiz.
Take Quiz #7 by April 28. (Closed)
Week 12: Third Century Crisis
Meeting Date: Thursday, April 29
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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XXVII. Conflicts and Crises under Commodus and the Severi (WARD 367–381)
XXVIII. The Third-Century Anarchy (WARD 382–391)
XXIX. Changes in Roman Life and Culture during the Third Century (WARD 392–407)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Take the quiz.
Take Quiz #8 by May 5. (Closed)
Week 13: The New Empire
Meeting Date: Thursday, May 6
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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XXX. Diocletian: Creating the Fourth-Century Empire (WARD 408–419)
XXXI. Constantine the Great and Christianity (WARD 420–431)
XXXII. From Constantine’s Dynasty to Theodosius the Great (WARD 432–438)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Take the quiz.
Take Quiz #9 by May 12. (Closed)
Week 14: The End of antiquity
Meeting Date: Thursday, May 13
1. Watch the video lectures.
2. Do the readings.
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XXXIII. The Evolving World of Late Antiquity in the Fourth Century A.D. (WARD 439–453)
XXXIV. Christianity and Classical Culture in the Fourth Century (WARD 454–471)
- Read one of these primary source documents from the Reader:
3. Post in the discussion area below.
Respond to and discuss the readings and lecture.
4. Upload your Position Paper.
Upload your paper to BlackBoard by May 17.
Before you upload, make sure you have checked your submission against the essay requirements and the requirements for all essays.
Final Examination
Due: Thursday, May 20
1. Prepare for the Exam.
2. Upload your Final Exam.
You must upload your responses to BlackBoard in a Word or PDF file no later than Thursday, May 20.
Presentation #1 Sign-Up
Reply in the comments below with the presentation you want to take. Specify by number so it’s clear. Make sure the one you’re signing up for is not already taken by someone else. Everyone must sign up for one presentation. As always I'm grateful to those who sign up for the earlier ones!
- Presentations will be given in the discussion that class meeting’s weekly page. Discussion area presentations are due the night before the class meeting day, so they are already there for people to read and respond to.
- Please also submit a Word or PDF version as an essay assignment on BlackBoard.
- Your written presentation must meet the write-up requirements in the syllabus in terms of length (the length of a 2-3 page essay = ~500-750 words) and expected content (reactive and analytical).
Pick one, then click on the blue button at the bottom to open the sign-up page:
- (Johnathan) DIONYSIUS / On the Subject of Roman History
(Post in the Week 2 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 11) - (Vanessalee) DIONYSIUS / Early Rules for Clients and Patrons
(Post in the Week 2 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 11) - LIVY / Numa’s Religious Settlement
(Post in the Week 2 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 11) - (Carol) LIVY / The Capture of the Sabine Women
(Post in the Week 2 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 11) - DIONYSIUS / Servius Tullius’s Reform of the Comitia Centuriata
(Post in the Week 2 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 11) - (Francis) LIVY / The Rape of Lucretia
(Post in the Week 2 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 11) - (Saila) DIONYSIUS / Coriolanus Opposes the Plebs
(Post in the Week 3 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 18) - DIONYSIUS / The Tribunes and their Manipulation
(Post in the Week 3 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 18) - (Naya) FRAGMENTS / The Twelve Tables
(Post in the Week 3 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 18) - LIVY, DIONYSIUS / The Roman Way of Declaring War
(Post in the Week 3 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 18) - CICERO, DIONYSIUS / The Mythology of the Farmer General
(Post in the Week 3 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 18) - LIVY / The Defeat of the Latins
(Post in the Week 3 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 18) - (Rush) POLYBIUS / The Constitution of the Roman Republic
(Post in the Week 3 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 18) - POLYBIUS / The Roman Maniple vs. the Macedonian Phalanx
(Post in the Week 4 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 25) - LIVY / The Samnites’ ‘Linen Legion’ Remains Undaunted
(Post in the Week 4 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 25) - (Erika) CORNELIUS NEPOS / Hannibal
(Post in the Week 4 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 25) - (Elio) POLYBIUS / The Battle of Cannae
(Post in the Week 4 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 25) - (Maria) LIVY, PRUDENTIUS / The Magna Mater
(Post in the Week 4 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 25) - (Kyle) POLYBIUS / The Siege of Syracuse
(Post in the Week 4 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Feb 25) - POLYBIUS / The Destruction of Corinth
(Post in the Week 5 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 4) - (Arely) LIVY / Cato Opposes Extravagance
(Post in the Week 5 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 4) - PLAUTUS / From The Menaechmi
(Post in the Week 5 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 4) - (Youshmattie) VARIOUS / Accounts of the Roman State Religion
(Post in the Week 5 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 4) - VARIOUS / Slavery in the Roman Republic
(Post in the Week 5 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 4) - APPIAN / On Tiberius Gracchus
(Post in the Week 6 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 11) - (Declan) PLUTARCH / On Tiberius Gracchus
(Post in the Week 6 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 11) - APPIAN / On Gaius Gracchus
(Post in the Week 6 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 11) - SALLUST / Speech of Marius Against the Nobility
(Post in the Week 6 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 11) - APPIAN AND PLUTARCH / Mithridates Against Rome
(Post in the Week 6 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 11) - (Hanielyah) APPIAN / Drusus and his Enemies
(Post in the Week 6 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 11) - (Ashley) LIVY, APPIAN / Sulla’s Brutality
(Post in the Week 6 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 11) - SALLUST / Pompey’s Letter to the Senate
(Post in the Week 7 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 18) - (Kelvin) CICERO / Against Catiline
(Post in the Week 7 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 18) - (Autumn) APPIAN / Pompey’s Conquest of the East
(Post in the Week 7 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 18) - (Ruth) ASCONIUS / The Murder of Clodius
(Post in the Week 7 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 18) - (Kevin) SUETONIUS / On Julius Caesar
(Post in the Week 7 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 18)
Presentation #2 Sign-Up
Reply in the comments below with the presentation you want to take. Specify by number so it’s clear. Make sure the one you’re signing up for is not already taken by someone else. Everyone must sign up for one presentation. As always I'm grateful to those who sign up for the earlier ones!
- Presentations will be given in the discussion that class meeting’s weekly page. Discussion area presentations are due the night before the class meeting day, so they are already there for people to read and respond to.
- Please also submit a Word or PDF version as an essay assignment on BlackBoard.
- Your written presentation must meet the write-up requirements in the syllabus in terms of length (the length of a 2-3 page essay = ~500-750 words) and expected content (reactive and analytical).
Pick one, then click on the blue button at the bottom to open the sign-up page:
- (Ashley) PLUTARCH / The Assassination of Julius Caesar
(Post in the Week 8 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 25) - (Vanessalee) Q. CICERO / The Roman Candidate
(Post in the Week 8 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 25) - (Youshmattie) SALLUST / Life in Rome in the Late Republic
(Post in the Week 8 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 25) - (Carol) CICERO / Scipio’s Dream
(Post in the Week 8 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 25) - (Kyle) CICERO / On the Rise of Augustus
(Post in the Week 8 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Mar 25) - CATULLUS / Selections
(Post in the Week 9 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 8) - (Francis) HORACE / The Secular Hymn
(Post in the Week 9 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 8) - VELLEIUS PATERCULUS / The Battle of Teutoburg Forest
(Post in the Week 9 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 8) - (Erika) AUGUSTUS / Acts of the Divine Augustus
(Post in the Week 9 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 8) - (Eamonn) TACITUS / The Death of Augustus and the Accession of Tiberius Nero
(Post in the Week 9 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 8) - CLAUDIUS / A Speech on Incorporating the Gauls
(Post in the Week 10 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 15) - SENECA / The Pumpkinification of Claudius
(Post in the Week 10 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 15) - (Arely) TACITUS / The Principle of Adoption
(Post in the Week 10 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 15) - TACITUS / The Legions Proclaim Vespasian Emperor
(Post in the Week 10 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 15) - JOSEPHUS / The Roman Army in the First Century CE
(Post in the Week 10 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 15) - LEGAL TEXT / Law Concerning the Power of Vespasian
(Post in the Week 10 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 15) - PLINY THE YOUNGER / Panegyric Addressed to the Emperor Trajan
(Post in the Week 10 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 15) - PLINY THE YOUNGER / The Correspondence of a Provincial Governor and the Emperor
(Post in the Week 10 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 15) - SUETONIUS / How Domitian Attempted to Amuse the Populace
(Post in the Week 10 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 15) - (Saila) PLINY THE ELDER / The Grandeur of Rome
(Post in the Week 11 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 22) - (Maria) STRABO, OXYRHYNCHOS PAPYRI / Egypt under the Roman Empire
(Post in the Week 11 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 22) - (Autumn) VARIOUS / Roman Educational Practices
(Post in the Week 11 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 22) - (Declan) MARCUS AURELIUS / On the Virtue of Antoninus Pius
(Post in the Week 11 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 22) - (Johnathan) EUTROPIUS / The Reign of Marcus Aurelius
(Post in the Week 11 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 22) - (Ruth) ZOSIMUS / Imperial Weakness Invites Barbarian Aggression
(Post in the Week 12 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 29) - EUSEBIUS / The Persecution under Decius
(Post in the Week 12 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 29) - (Elio) VOPISCUS / Aurelian’s Conquest of Palmyra
(Post in the Week 12 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 29) - HERODIAN / How Didius Julianus Bought the Empire at Auction
(Post in the Week 12 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 29) - (Ana) VARIOUS / The Lives of Soldiers and Sailors
(Post in the Week 12 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before Apr 29) - DIOCLETIAN AND CONSTANTINE / Efforts to Stabilize the Economy
(Post in the Week 13 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before May 6) - EUSEBIUS / The Conversion of Constantine
(Post in the Week 13 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before May 6) - CONSTANTINE / The Edict of Milan
(Post in the Week 13 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before May 6) - (Kevin) SOZOMEN / Constantine Founds Constantinople, 324 CE
(Post in the Week 13 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before May 6) - (Naya) JULIAN / Letter to Arsacius
(Post in the Week 13 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before May 6) - (Rush) AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS / The Luxury of the Rich in Rome
(Post in the Week 14 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before May 13) - PROCOPIUS OF CAESAREA / Alaric’s Sack of Rome, 410 CE
(Post in the Week 14 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before May 13) - RUTILIUS NAMATIANUS / The Greatness of Rome in the Days of Ruin, 413CE
(Post in the Week 14 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before May 13) - (Hanielyah) JORDANES / The Battle of Chalons, 451 CE
(Post in the Week 14 discussion area and submit on BlackBoard before May 13)