Unit rationale, description and aim
This unit will engage with different types of evidence to provide a study of Roman social and political history around the end of the Roman Republic. The main theme of the unit will be the historical developments that led to the fall of the Republic and the establishment of one-man rule under Augustus, including the impact of Roman imperialism, social and cultural change, and the careers of such Roman leaders as Sulla, Pompey, Caesar and Antony. The unit will introduce students to, among other topics, Roman religion, laws, political structures, wars and external relations, society, class, gender, and culture.
The aim of this unit is to develop students’ understanding of the events of the late Republican period in their historical context and to explore how these events brought about the fall of the Roman Republic.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitLearning 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.
Describe the culture, people and major events of t...
Learning Outcome 01
Develop and demonstrate collaboration and communic...
Learning Outcome 02
Communicate clearly in written and/or oral form, i...
Learning Outcome 03
Locate, use, and appropriately reference a variety...
Learning Outcome 04
Apply critical reading skills to your understandin...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- The political and military developments which formed the context for the fall of the Roman Republic, such as:
- the career and dictatorship of Sulla
- first and second triumvirates
- the dictatorship of Julius Caesar
- the civil war
- Roman family and religion during the later Republic
- The beginning of the principate and the reception of the Republic
Assessment strategy and rationale
In the History discipline, second-year units are designed to include a selection of the following assessment tasks:
- Primary source document analyses (maps, images and documents)
- Analytical reading challenges
- In-class debates
- Advanced-level research/library exercises
- Research Essay/Challenges
- Online discussion boards
- Short answer responses
- Short quizzes/In-class tests
- Tutorial assignments/presentations
Students in this unit will undertake an assessment that is designed to develop advanced-level skills in reading and researching ancient history and the ways in which historians engage each other and the public to communicate this knowledge. To begin with, a Skills/Knowledge Development Assignment introduces some discipline-specific concepts and terminology. This will equip students to understand the primary and secondary sources they will locate and analyse in the Active Research Task that follows. This assignment and the student-led learning task/s introduce students to the dynamics of historical and historiographical debate in ancient history, and how they can engage in these debates and material through their own research, analysis and active face-to-face or ‘camera-on’ communication techniques. The Summative Task prompts students to make connections between the ideas examined in each week of the course and to demonstrate an ability to link overarching debates and themes to specific course content.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Ancient History Skills Task&nb...
Assessment Task 1: Ancient History Skills Task
The purpose of this exercise is to develop discipline-specific concepts, terminology and approaches to using ancient history sources.
25%
Assessment Task 2: Student-led Learning Task/s&nb...
Assessment Task 2: Student-led Learning Task/s
The purpose of this task is to develop effective oral communication techniques in student-led learning that engage fellow students in a tutorial task and respond to other students as they engage the class.
The lecturer may design this task to include short presentations or student-led tasks in tutorials, throughout the semester. In multi-mode or online live tutorials, this task must be done with the camera on.
10%
Assessment Task 3: Active Research Task &nbs...
Assessment Task 3: Active Research Task
The function of this assessment is to develop skills in critical reading, locating, using, and appropriately referencing a variety of ancient and modern materials relevant to the history of late Republican Rome to develop an evidence-based historical narrative or argument.
35%
Assessment Task 4: Summative/Analytical Task ...
Assessment Task 4: Summative/Analytical Task
The purpose of this task is for students to demonstrate their knowledge of the content presented throughout the course, and to apply critical thinking, and clear written communication skills.
The lecturer may designate this task to be in the form of short answer responses, test/s, take-home exam, exam, reflective essay/poster or simulation exercise.
30%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This 10-credit-point unit is designed to engage students in active learning activities to introduce them to the skills required to understand and interpret the range of ancient and modern sources commonly used in ancient history. The lectures introduce students to key intellectual ideas, texts, themes, events, and people related to the unit content, and the face-to-face or ‘camera-on’ multimode/online live tutorials provide a more structured and hands-on learning experience valuable for practical learning and skill development appropriate to a study of ancient history.
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 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, video/film screenings (where relevant), skills workshops, private study, and assignments etc. In multi-mode or online-live modes of delivery, students and staff are expected to engage with the tutorials in camera-on mode.