Module overview
Ancient history is popularly presented as the history of dead, white leaders, but what about the rest of the population? Too often the history of the non-elite, non-adult, non-male is written through 'common-sense' assumptions about essentialist differences. In this module, you will question these assumptions, and using a variety of evidence, think about what we can reconstruct about what it was to be one of these 'other' groups. You will think about how difference is created between groups, and how these groups were accorded different levels of respect within Roman society. However, as recent research has warned against thinking about the 'typical' woman or child or slave, we will also think about how the intersection between different social categories allows some we think of as powerless to challenge our preconceptions.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Identify and discuss different social groups within Rome
- Analyse critically a range of primary sources in relation to articulating the boundaries between these groups
- Critically evaluate a range of scholarship connected with the development of Roman social history
- Gather, analyse and interpret primary data
- Identify and discuss key factors in the differentiation of groups within Roman society
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- Different approaches to the study of social history
- The social organisation of Rome between 31BCE and c.200CE
- The expression of different types of inequalities
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Present information and argument in a range of written formats
- Work independently on complex tasks to a deadline
- Analyse and interpret different sources of information
Subject Specific Practical Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- Develop your own arguments evidenced from primary materials
- Gather, evaluate and synthesise a range of scholarship
Syllabus
A different topic will be examined each week. These might include:
- An introduction to Roman social history
- The senatorial elite
- Finding dignity through work
- Slaves and freed
- Migration and mobility
- Gender ideals in Roman law
- The bodily ideal for men and women
- Breaking boundaries: women in public
- Queering Roman history
- Neonates and young children
- The gendered lifecourse
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include:
- synchronous and/or asynchronous lectures introducing key material and idea
- seminars to discuss primary evidence and secondary material
- individual tutorials to discuss assignments
Learning methods include:
- analysis of a range of primary evidence, both textual and material
- critical engagement with a body of secondary literature
- preparation of specific material for seminar discussion
- participation in group seminars
- preparation for and writing of commentaries on specific primary sources
- research and analysis of a specific topic through an essay
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 12 |
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 24 |
| Seminar | 12 |
| Independent Study | 252 |
| Total study time | 300 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Gardner, J and Wiedemann, T (1991). The Roman household: a sourcebook.
Hubbard, T (2003). Homosexuality in Greece and Rome: a sourcebook of basic documents.
Lefkowitz, M and Fant, M (2005). Women's life in Greece and Rome.
Gibbs, M et al (2014). Themes in Roman society and culture.
Clarke, J (2003). Art in the lives of ordinary Romans.
Harlow, M and Laurence, R (2002). Growing up and growing old in ancient Rome.
Hallett, J and Skinner, M (1997). Roman Sexualities.
Shelton, J (1998). As the Romans did: a sourcebook in Roman social history.
Bradley, K and Cartledge, P (2011). Cambridge History of World Slavery volume 1.
Peachin, M (2011). The Oxford handbook of social relations in the Roman world.
Evans Grubbs, J (2002). Women and the law in the Roman empire: a sourcebook.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Commentary exercise | 50% |
| Essay | 50% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Commentary exercise | 50% |
| Essay | 50% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Essay | 50% |
| Commentary exercise | 50% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External