HIST265 - Ancient Rome: Kingdom, Republic and Empire

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Incompatible

Unit rationale, description and aim

Historians are fascinated with the question of why empires rise and fall, and the Roman Empire was one of the largest and most powerful empires of history. This unit provides a survey of Roman social, political, religious, and military history from the beginning of the Roman kingdom, through thedevelopment of the Republic of Rome and the rise of the Roman Empire. Students will have the opportunity to develop their understanding of key historical skills and concepts using a range of written and archaeological sources which reveal the lives of everyday Romans as well as Emperors and other significant individuals. The aim of this unit is to assist students to come to understand the significance of Rome in the development of western civilization.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Discuss theoretical and factual knowledge of historical concepts of Ancient Rome as kingdom, republic, empire and an awareness of historical debates surrounding this (GA5, GA6) 

LO2 - Communicate clearly in written and/or oral form, in a style appropriate to a specified audience (GA9) 

LO3 - Locate, use and appropriately reference a variety of primary and secondary materials relevant to the history of Ancient Rome to develop an evidence-based historical narrative or argument (GA3, GA8, G10) 

LO4 - Apply critical reading skills to your understanding of Ancient Rome and the methods that historians have used to research it. (GA4, GA5) 

LO5 - Interpret and reflect on key historical debates relating to real-world situations/case studies in Ancient Roman history over time. (GA3-6). 

Graduate attributes

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

Topics may include: 

• The historical and mythological beginnings of Rome 
• The development of the Roman Republic  
• Roman expansion and the development of the Roman Empire  
• The reigns of emperors including Julio-Claudian & Flavian dynasties  
• Military developments including significant campaigns and personnel 
• Roman state religions, and Rome’s interactions with foreign religions e.g. Judaism and Christianity 
• the daily life of the Roman family  
• Influential women of the Empire 
• The role of slavery within the history of Ancient Rome 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the semester. To achieve a passing standard in this unit, students will find it helpful to engage in the full range of learning activities and assessments utilised in this unit, as described in the learning and teaching strategy and the assessment strategy. The learning and teaching and assessment strategies include a range of approaches to support your learning such as lectures, tutorials, reading, reflection, discussion, film screenings, skills workshops, and assignments etc. 

Students in this unit will be encouraged to: develop specific skills in locating, reading and analysing sources; consider different approaches to the past and the dynamics of historical and historiographical debate; and employ active research techniques into their own research and analysis. This unit introduces students to strategies that will: a) help them to develop their investigative skills using a range of written and archaeological sources and b) focusing on ancient Roman society student will develop their understanding of key historical skills & concepts.  

The unit embraces active learning to engage students in practical activities which develop their abilty to apply core knowledge and skills. Lectures provide foundational content to provide students with the necessary knowledge to understand more nuanced historical debate presented in the set readings, and tutorials will guide students in developing and applying the skills they need to analyse primary sources, and in reaching their own informed conclusions about historical questions. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. Such procedures may include, but are not limited to: essays, examinations, student presentations or case studies.  

In the History discipline, second year units are designed to include a selection of the following assessment tasks: 

• Active research tasks that require students to find and use primary and secondary sources 
• Digital search techniques for online archives and/or digital newspaper databases 
• ‘Hands on’ historical methods such as oral history, textual and visual analysis, etc. 
• Research essay/challenge  
• In-class debates or team challenges 
• Forums/blogs/online discussion/critical reflections 
• Short answer responses 
• Short quizzes/in-class tests 
• Tutorial-based assignments/presentations 

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. The assessment tasks and their weighting for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome.  

The tasks are linked in a developmentally progressive sequence.  

Assessment task one is a relatively lightly-weighted assessment task to assess student achievement of LO1 and LO2 through a critical reflection on in-class active learning tasks and associated course content. It gives students the opportunity to consider how those activities have extended, challenged, changed or reinforced their understanding of key factual knowledge and historical concepts relating to Ancient Rome as a significant civilization. The assessment task helps students to identify the skills and knowledge they have acquired through active learning tasks (what they have learned; how they have learned it; how they have applied that learning).  

The Research Task assesses student achievement of LOs 1-4 and is designed to give students the opportunity to demonstrate and develop their ability to locate and use relevant primary and secondary materials and to apply critical reading skills to a specific issue, debate, site or theme linked to the historical study of Roman society. The assessment task also allows students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of particular historical, social, military or religious issues, debates, archaeological sites, or themes studied, and show they can clearly communicate their findings in written and/or oral form, incorporating some relevant discipline terms.  

The Summative Task assesses student achievement of LOs 2-5. This task allows students to demonstrate the skills, understanding and knowledge they have acquired and/or developed during the unit through the construction of an appropriately referenced and sourced, evidence-based, historical narrative or argument. The task also allows students to demonstrate their ability to communicate their ideas and arguments clearly in written form.  

Students in this unit will be encouraged to develop independent skills in locating; reading and analysing sources; consider different approaches to the past and the dynamics of historical and historiographical debate and employ active research techniques into their own research and analysis. The unit offers students the option of submitting work in oral, written or mixed media formats. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Bennett, J. Trajan: Optimus Princeps. London: Routledge, 1997. 

Boatwright, Mary T. Peoples of the Roman World. Cambridge University Press, 2012. 

Dobbins, J.J. and Foss, P.W. (eds.). The World of Pompeii. New York: Routledge, 2007. 

Erdkamp, P. The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rome. Cambridge: CUP, 2013. 

Lewis, N. And Reinhold, M. Roman Civilization Vol.II: The Empire. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990. 

MacLachlan, Bonnie. Women in Ancient Rome: a sourcebook. Vol. 19. A&C Black, 2013. 

North, J. A. Roman Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. 

Pollini, John. From Republic to Empire: rhetoric, religion, and power in the visual culture of ancient Rome. Vol. 48. University of Oklahoma Press, 2012. 

Scarre, Chris. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors: The Reign-by-reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome. London: Thames and Hudson, 2014. 

Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome. London: Penguin, 1996