Module CLAS3321: Urbs Roma

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS3321: Urbs Roma

Prerequisites

• CLAS1301 or CLAS2631 or ARCH 1131 or ARCH 2091 or ARCH 2161 or GEOG1211 or GEOG2511

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To equip students with an understanding of the city of Rome from its origins to the late Empire in its historical, cultural, topographical and architectural context and to introduce students to wider themes in urban history and their application to the ancient world.
• To provide experience of evaluating different types of evidence from antiquity and the classical tradition, including maps, plans, drawings, coins, archaeological excavations, standing remains, models and digital reconstructions, and to make sense of and engage with scholarly discussions of history, topography and archaeology.
• To enable students to form independent conclusions relating to the material studied.
• To facilitate research into the urban texture of ancient Rome in a detailed and contextual way and into historical, topographical and architectural aspects of urban history, and to aid the development of independent aesthetic and historical judgments in order to be able to assess visual evidence for ancient Rome.
• To consolidate students' study of historical and art-historical modules relating to the Roman world by helping them to acquire a fuller understanding of how buildings and spaces in ancient Rome are related to Roman history, society and culture and of how they have been used, studied and interpreted up to the present day.
• To provide a combination of lectures and seminars developing skills in particular aspects as a basis for student learning.
• To test subject skills of investigation, interpretation and evaluation regarding the urban history of ancient Rome through essays and presentations on a variety of topics submitted by written coursework.

Content

• The module, intended for students with some previous knowledge of Roman society and of selected buildings of the city of Rome in the Augustan period, but open to others with previous understanding of Roman history or archaeology of the Roman world or understanding of issues of urban geography, typically approaches the study of Rome as a city, regarded above all as a physical and an architectural entity, as well as a cultural phenomenon, and an ideal.
• This topic is organized both chronologically and thematically and involves historical, archaeological, topographical and literary approaches to a wide range of evidence drawn from the Republican and Imperial periods and/or from the later history of the city.
• Aspects covered include themes such as: 1. The site of Rome, its urban origins and early development. 2. The physical and social changes to Rome between the Archaic period and the Republic. 3. The organisation and interpretation of the Roman Forum. 4. The impact of empire on the urban texture of the city. 5. The buildings of the Campus Martius. 6. The Imperial Fora. 7. Housing and burial 8. The religious buildings of the city 9. The aqueducts and imperial bath buildings 10. The social transformation of the city in late antiquity 11. The changes to the city in the medieval period and the growth of the Christian city. 12. The urban developments of the early modern period.
• Archaeological, visual and cartographic material studied may include material such as ancient and later maps of Rome, modern reconstructions of ancient Rome in models, and images of the city in films, as well as selected extracts in translation from various sources (literary and epigraphic).

Learning Outcomes

• A knowledge of the chief city of the ancient Roman and/or Catholic world over a time span of up to 2500 years, based on an acquaintance with the varied range of evidence (visual and literary) which pertains to it; a grasp of Roman self-awareness in relation to the buildings of their city as a cultural monument; sophisticated ability to handle issues of scholarly debate in the areas studied.
• An awareness of the topography and architecture of ancient Rome and an understanding of the literary and archaeological material employed in its reconstruction; sophistication in using cartographic and archaeological evidence.
• A knowledge of relevant aspects of the classical tradition and reception of ancient Rome and an understanding of its importance for shaping modern knowledge and interpretation and modern urban development.

• An ability to handle the methodologies appropriate for a sophisticated understanding of the diverse range of evidence that exists for the history of antiquity: in particular archaeological remains of structures and artefacts, topographical sources, written texts (literary and otherwise), and early modern engravings and maps of the city, using where possible antiquarian resources in the Durham library collections; an ability to synthesize these different forms of evidence in reconstructing a coherent and plausible picture of the city of Rome and its culture and evaluating modern reconstructions of the ancient city through models, films and digital reconstructions; and an ability to present ideas and arguments in written form according to the conventions of academic writing.
• Subject knowledge and skills in historical and topographical evaluation and research, in evaluation of modern receptions of ancient Rome and in illustrated written presentation are tested through the submitted coursework.

• The skills needed to analyse, evaluate, and synthesise a wide range of evidence, and to select and apply the methodologies appropriate in different cases;
• The capacity to sustain a clear, well-structured, and well-defended argument in written form;
• The ability and self-discipline to work autonomously, and the capacity for organisation required to meet deadlines and to negotiate competing claims on finite resources;
• The ability to communicate orally in an academic context and to organise, plan, articulate oral presentations in groups and individually;
• Facility with key IT resources: in particular, the ability to use word-processors and online databases of archaeological or pictorial material and sometimes opportunities to create websites or digital reconstructions;
• Also the ability to make fruitful use of selected scholarly internet resources and to apply scholarly techniques to ancient and modern material.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures are appropriate to the imparting of information and of methods of interpretation, of both ancient evidence and modern scholarship, and facilitate students’ critical handling of evidence and discussion of methodological issues. They may include introduction to a range of specialist skills and techniques relevant to the study of the ancient city, such as cartography, numismatics, archaeological research, architectural evaluation, plastic and digital models, photography, or cinema.
• Student-led seminars on archaeological and topographical material provide engagement with varieties of historical evidence and opportunities to gain practical experience in discussion of material such as ancient or later written sources, maps, or film extracts, as well as developing skills in oral presentation of arguments where appropriate.
• Writing essays enables the assembling and evaluation of material and the formulation of logical and coherent argument, as well as skills in written English.
• Oral presentations and presentations through posters or websites enable students to practise skills in presenting information and ideas to an audience and enhance students' employability by developing skills of communication and presentation.
• The written coursework (research project) tests students' ability to focus relevantly and in depth on historical issues and visual material such as the changes in a particular urban environment across a period of time, assesses their understanding of the methodologies for handling artefactual, visual and written material, and demonstrates their ability to organise knowledge and argument for the purposes of a research project appropriate to the level and to questions raised in the module.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.