HSTAM 313 — The Roman Empire
Autumn 2024
Professor Mark Letteney
Tuesday and Thursday, 3:30–5:20 (ARC 147)
Office Hours: Wednesdays 2:30–3:30 PM (and by appointment), Smith 116B
HISTAM313 is a survey of the Roman Empire, beginning with Roman colonial expansion in the second and first centuries BCE and ending with the profound changes in governance, religion, and regional connectivity that coincide with the birth of a “New Rome” at Constantinople. Along the way, we will discuss historical themes that broaden our understanding of “The Roman Empire” beyond emperors, politics, and monuments — topics like religion, conquest, environment, army, enslavement and incarceration, and the ancient economy.
The function of this class is not primarily to teach you a chronological narrative about the Roman Empire — many wonderful books are available which do just that. Rather, our class aims to teach you how to extract historical data from a wide variety of ancient sources: from novels to speeches to coins and even to archaeological excavations. To that end, each session will comprise two parts: I will lecture for the first hour and fifteen minutes of class (or thereabouts) followed by a five to ten minute break. After the break we will reconvene for an a primary source workshop, in which we read and interpret ancient material together.
Grading
- Response papers (5): 50%
- Map Exercise: 5%
- Object Autobiography: 5%
- Reading quizzes (9): 25%
- Final paper: 15%
Grades will be converted the UW Standard Grading System (4.0 scale) using this scale.
Weekly response papers
At the beginning of the quarter you will write one discussion post responding to an ancient novel. Throughout the rest of the quarter you will write four more response essays of 400–500 words, submitted on Canvas before class time on the following Tuesday. Prompts will ask you to think historically about a primary text and relate it to another reading or topic already covered in our course. The aim is for you to read closely and analyze, and as such the best essays will include short quotations from primary and secondary sources, and direct engagement with those sources. (Note: direct quotations are not included in your word-count.)
Topics will be announced at the beginning of each week and essays will be assessed on a √– (75), √ (87), √+ (100) scale. A √ signals that you have adequately completed the assignment — you have read and thought about the material assigned, and adequately answered the questions posed. A √+ indicates that you have done above average work, and usually indicates that you have gone above and beyond in discussing that source among other sources that we have discussed in their historical context. A √– indicates that you have not satisfactorily answered the questions asked, or that you have engaged in only a cursory or superficial way with the material.
You'll notice that there are five essay prompts on the syllabus: you are allowed to take one response essay “off,” at your own discretion. If you complete more than five, I will simply drop the lowest scoring essay from your final grade.
Reading quizzes
This is not a hard class. The largest proportion of work is simply to read in preparation for our sessions. I am available during class and office hours to answer specific questions about the assigned readings, but we will never ‘go over’ the reading in class and lectures will not cover the same material. Rather, the selected readings serve as background, case studies, and primary materials which inform the lecture. I expect that when you arrive in class, you have read and taken notes on the assigned materials.
Put differently, simply reading the words on the page is not enough. You need to read actively, and the best way to do this is to keep running notes as you work your way through the preparatory material. For primary sources, I recommend taking a moment every page or two to jot down what is happening in the reading. For secondary sources, I recommend keeping a running list of what each page or set of pages is arguing and what evidence the author uses to make their case. Your notes don't need to be extensive — often a single sentence will do. The simple act of attempting to summarize what you’re reading in real time is effective in helping you to read closer, and to remember better what you’re reading and why it matters to the study of ancient Rome. More useful reading strategies are available here.
Because careful reading represents such a large portion of the work for this class, 25% of the grade that you earn results directly from it. Nine times throughout the semester there will be a short quiz based on the reading assigned for the day. The task will be easy and will not take more than 5 minutes — if you read everything and did your best to understand, you should not have any trouble earning full points. Your lowest quiz score is dropped automatically. Missed quizzes cannot be made up without a DRS accommodations agreement.
Finally, if you are not prepared for a quiz and do not receive a grade with which you are happy, you may turn in detailed reading notes within a week of the quiz for a maximum grade of 50.
Final paper
Your final paper will build on skills that you hone while writing your response papers throughout the quarter. I will announce topics in mid-February, and the paper is due December 12th at 5:00 PM. Papers should be 1,250–1,750 words. Drafts submitted by December 7th at 5:00 PM will receive a preliminary grade and comments, after which you may revise and resubmit by December 12th if you choose. Papers cannot be graded if submitted after December 14th.
Late Work
There is a lot of slack already built into the class — your lowest response paper and quiz grades automatically drop. Late work will be accepted at full credit only in accordance with a signed DRS accommodations agreement. Response essays submitted after the deadline forfeit one grade-step (from check plus to check, for instance, or a check minus to no credit). After the submission deadline, final papers, forfeit 5 points for every 24-hour period. If you miss a quiz, you may submit reading notes within a week for a maximum grade of 50%.
Click here to see general policies for every course in the Department of History.
Office Hours
Office hours are an opportunity for you to talk with me one-on-one (or in a group) about anything related to the class. Was a reading not clear? Is something about the course not working? Do you have a question about how you can improve your response grade? Did I mention something in a lecture that you’d like to hear more about? Did you see an interesting on the internet that you’d like to share with me? Come to office hours! I will be in my office (Smith 116B) on Wednesdays from 2:30–3:30 PM, available and eager to talk about whatever you’d like.
- Meme Competition
- Links and class resources
Week 1:
- Thursday, September 26: Introduction to the Roman World
Response to Apuleius, Metamorphoses Book 1 due before class (September 26)
Week 2:
- Tuesday, October 1: Colonial expansion, wars of conquest, and 'The Roman People'
- Thursday, October 3:
Map Exercise (due October 8)
Week 3:
- Tuesday, October 8: The end of the Republic and the rise of Augustus
- Thursday, October 10: The Augustan Revolution
Response Paper 1 (due January 22)
Week 4:
- Tuesday, October 15: The Augustan Renaissance
- Thursday, October 17: Empire beyond the Emperor
Response Paper 2 (due October 22)
Week 5:
- Tuesday, October 22: A New Dynasty
- Thursday, October 24: Technologies of the Gods
Response Paper 3 (due October 29)
Week 6:
- Tuesday, October 29: Economy and Oversight
- Thursday, October 31: Enslavement, Incarceration, and Infrastructure
Response Paper 4 (due November 5)
Week 7:
- Tuesday, November 5: The Emperor and his subjects
- Thursday, November 7: The Roman Army
Object Autobiography (due November 12)
Week 8:
- Tuesday, November 12:
- Thursday, November 14: Environment, Citizenship, and Mortality
Week 9:
- Tuesday, November 19: Crisis and Catharsis
- Thursday, November 21: The 6th Legion — Occupation and Integration
Response Paper 5 (due November 26)
Week 10:
- Tuesday, November 26: Constantine and Christianity
Week 11:
- Tuesday, December 3: The Last Pagans of Rome and The World of Late Antiquity
- Thursday, December 5: