CL1560
Roman History and Society: The Julio-Claudians
Syllabus
Lectures
Introduction: Politics and Society
Politics and Power
The Augustan Inheritance
Tiberius: The Politics of Friendship
Gaius: The Politics of Madness
Claudius: The Politics of the Household
Nero: The Art of Politics
Empire and Resistance: What have the Romans
Ever done for us?
Empire and Resistance: New Gods, Other Worlds
The Household: Reconstructing the Roman
Household
The Household: Sex and Society
The Household: Slavery and Violence
Land, Power and Food: Farming
Land, Power and Food: the Roman Poor
Imagining the Roman Empire: Empire and
Politics
Seminars
The Accession Debate
Being Roman Emperor
Essays and Essay Writing
Religion and Society
Provincial Views
Assessment
Two essays by the stated deadlines, the best one of which will account for 20% of the final mark. Failure
to submit an essay will result in a mark of 0 being recorded for coursework. Late submission results in a
mark of 0 for the particular essay. 80% is on the final examination of 10 questions of which you answer 3
in 2 hours.
Tutor
Dr Richard Alston, Rm FW33. r.alston@rhul.ac.uk
Course Books
Tacitus, Annals (Penguin)
Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars
R. Alston Aspects of Roman History AD 14 – 117 (Routledge, London, New York, 1998)
Aims
This course aims to
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Introduce students to a range of source material
Introduce some of the key problems and methodologies faced by ancient historians
Inform students about the social and political history of Rome and its empire AD 14 – 69
Explore the main themes of political history of the period
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Develop students’ skills in writing
Develop students’ ability to analyse ancient literary material as a historical source
Develop students skills in oral presentation and argument
Objectives
By the end of this course students should be better able to
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Analyse source material
Argue a historical point
Understand historical methodology
Present historical material in oral or written form
Course Summary
What was a Roman emperor?
Was there resistance to the empire?
What was Roman civilization?
How did the Roman household work?
Why did the Romans not abolish slavery?
How did the Romans feed themselves?
Why do we keep thinking about Rome?
Gaius Caligula: A favourite Emperor
Essays
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5.
What was the senatorial debate at the accession of Tiberius about?
Can we trust Tacitus’ account of the murder of Nero’s mother?
To what extent can we detect opposition to the Roman empire?
Why are historians so interested in whether the Roman family was nuclear or extended?
Why was Christianity such a controversial religious choice?