Announcements
Bookmark this page as your main entry point to the course website. That way, you’ll be sure to see any changes and other information I’ve posted here.
Current Announcements (2)
Grades are posted
27 December 2024
Course grades have been posted to CUNYfirst. Have a great winter break!
Grading page updated
27 December 2024
The grading page has been updated with all papers I have received and a provisional grade for the course. If there is an assignment or revision you’re sure you submitted but that isn’t reflected on the grading page, please contact me immediately.
Official grades will be posted to CUNYfirst on Friday night (Dec. 27).
I was very impressed by a lot of the written work for this semester—there were some seriously thoughtful essays and papers this time around, and for many of you the effort at insight and scholarship really came through. Thanks for your hard work in your assignments as well as in our class discussions. I hope you have a safe and happy winter break and that you enjoy success in your next endeavors. I look forward to seeing some of you again in future classes.
Archive
Final Exam grades and markups posted
23 December 2024
The grades and markups for the Final Exam are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
Remember, the “Grade so far” calculation is provisional. If you have any missing assignments or reversible deductions, please submit them to BlackBoard as soon as possible to bring about the highest possible course grade. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to seek me out by email.
Images Essay grades and markups posted
17 December 2024
The grades and markups for the Images Essay are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
If you have any questions about the grades, comments, or deductions, please don’t hesitate to seek me out by email or in office hours.
Reversible deductions. Some of you may find that you received “reversible deductions” for issues relating to formatting and citations. The good news is, those are points that you can get back. Check the cover page of your markup to see if there are any check marks and points taken off next to the reversible deductions. If there are, I made notes on the cover sheet or in the essay about the issue, and included a handout with the requirements.
Please resubmit your essay to BlackBoard with those problems fixed, and I’ll be in a position to reverse those deductions. Only reversible deductions can be reversed, so don’t resubmit for anything other than reversible deductions.
Missing essays. If you have not gotten your paper in, please do so as soon as you can. In terms of your course grade you’re better off with any grade, even with a lateness penalty, than a zero for the assignment. Remember also that the lateness penalty is capped at a maximum of 30 points, so turning your paper in, even very late, is better than not doing so.
Good luck on the exam! Be aware of train work on the 4 and leave early
17 December 2024
Email me with any questions about the exam! I’ll also be in my office afterwards if there’s anything you need to discuss regarding late papers, reversible deductions, and the like.
The exam will take place Tuesday, December 17 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in our usual room. See you then!
As with last week, there is track work on the 4 train. If you take the 4 train to Lehman and these changes affect you, make sure to leave early so you are not late for the exam. Here are the details from the MTA website:
Planned track work: In the Bronx, Manhattan-bound 4 skips 176 St, Mt Eden Av, 170 St, 167 St and 161 St-Yankee Stadium, Dec 17 - 20, Tue to Fri, 9:45 AM to 3:30 PM. For service to these stations, take the 4 to 149 St-Grand Concourse and transfer to a Woodlawn-bound 4. For service from these stations, take the 4 to Burnside Av and transfer to a Manhattan-bound 4.
Quiz #9 grades and markups posted
9 December 2024
The grades and markups for Quiz #9 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
I recommend spending a moment to take a look at the Quiz Notes for this quiz, which are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.
Welcome to Week 16!
7 December 2024
This week we’re discussing the principate.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. What exactly is the principate? How is it that Rome, which was so intolerant of the idea of a king that the mere rumor he was angling to become king factored into Caesar’s assassination, accepted the one-man rule of Octavian, who came to be called Augustus? What made Augustus different from a king?
Looking forward to an interesting discussion. See you Tuesday!
A humble request
4 December 2024
At our last meeting, by coincidence, there were a few instances where students needed to leave the class in the middle of the lecture. Of course, I know that this kind of need arises on occasion and for innocent and urgent reasons.
Even so, I would like to request for our remaining class meetings that if you know you are going to need to leave class early or arrive late because of another commitment, please let me know ahead of time so that I can know to expect it.
Class attendance is a part of this course, not just because attendance is graded but because the class meetings are where we make sense of the raw information in the readings and make the connections that will be of great importance on the exam and in your overall perception of the ancient world.
For this reason, and out of courtesy to the rest of your fellow students, and, yes, to me, I respectfully ask that we all please make every effort to attend these critical last meetings; to arrive in class when it begins at three; and, barring personal emergencies, to remain with the meeting until it ends at 4:15.
I ask this knowing that there are many circumstances that impact on our lives and interactions with each other, but as 26 men and women sharing a joint purpose I believe we can make this work. Thank you for your consideration.