Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Brave New Rome of Augustus

Overview
Module description

Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Brave New Rome of Augustus (CLA2354)

Staff	Professor Elena Isayev - Lecturer
Credit Value	15
ECTS Value	7.5
NQF Level	5
Pre-requisites	None.
Co-requisites	None.
Duration of Module	Term 2: 11 weeks;

Module aims

You will consider: What models are drawn on to create the new capital city worthy of empire? How is the art and architecture used to rewrite history and bring in new ideals where gods mingle with mortals and myth becomes reality? Can we begin to understand the effect of the new structures on the Roman population? How did the building programme refocus the centres of activity and redirect the movement and gaze of the city? In what sense is the building programme innovative and to what extent is it simply mirroring trends of other great cities with similar types of rule? Is it a monument to immortality?
This module also provides an introduction into how to use and analyse visual and material evidence as a historical source, drawing on key texts, including poetry and the Res Gestae.
You will engage in in-depth thinking into the underlying aims of and influences on the building programme, the monuments and art of Augustan Rome.

ILO: Module-specific skills

1. Describe and critically evaluate the changes which Augustus brought about in the city of Rome and the desired as well as actual impact of the transformation
2. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of how to use the physical and artistic environment and particularly public monuments to enrich the history of the period
3. Examine and critically evaluate more complex themes connected to imperialism, imagery as a political tool and theoretical models which help in accessing the experience of the ancient viewer

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

4. Use, analyse and critically evaluate visual and material evidence as a major source for understanding the ancient world
5. Demonstrate advanced academic and library skills, as well as an advanced critical ability in assessing more general approaches to the uses of art and architecture by those in power, including ideas about visualising and mythologising history

ILO: Personal and key skills

6. Demonstrate independent and group study skills in research and presentation of findings
7. Select critically and organise relevant material, present a strong argument in oral and written form, and discuss issues in a peer group

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

Introduction and historical background
Achieving immortality: monument & text
What's in a face: the image of youth
Campus Martius: Augustan Theme Park
The Ara Pacis and the new Classicism?
Palatine: inviting gods into the home
New districts of Rome & Imperial cult
Rewriting history: Augustan Forum
The New Women: Cleopatra & Livia
Augustus as seen from Abroad
Mussolini: the legacy of empire

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
26	124	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	22	Lectures (11 x 2 hour)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching	4	Seminars (4 x 1 hours)
Guided Independent Study	124	Preparation for lectures, seminars and coursework assignments

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Oral presentation	5 minutes	1-7	Oral feedback

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Writing Assignment	40	2,000 words	1-7	Mark and written comments
Source commentray	60	1,000 words	1-7	Mark and written comments

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Writing Assignment	Writing Assignment (2,000 words)	1-7	Referral/Deferral period
Source commentary	Source commentary (1,000 words)	1-7	Referral/Deferral period

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Key Text:

Res gestae divi Augusti. English and Latin: text translation and commentary. By Alison E. Cooley. Cambridge, UK ; New York : CUP, 2009.

Reading list:

Core Set Texts
G.K. Galinsky, Augustan culture: an interpretive introduction (Princeton, N.J 1996).
T. Habinek, A. Schiesaro (eds.), The Roman Cultural Revolution (CUP 1997).
K.A. Raaflaub, M. Toher (eds.), Between Republic and Empire: Interpretations of Augustus and his Principate (Berkeley 1990).
P. Zanker, The Power and Images in the Age of Augustus (1988).

Module has an active ELE page?

Yes

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=441

Available as distance learning?

Origin date

2011

Last revision date

01/02/2024

Key words search

Classics, Sources, Rome, Augustus, Architecture, Art, Urbanism

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