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Living in the Roman World: Society and Culture

Module description

This course will explore the experience of living in the Roman world, for ordinary people as well as the wealthy elite,  focusing in particular on the society and culture of Italy and the western provinces. It will consider the conditions of everyday life, including diet, health, housing and family; the organisation of the economy and the evidence for any improvement in living standards under the Roman Empire; population structures; migration, mobility, and travel; the structure of society, the different social groups and the relationships between them; leisure and entertainment; and the question of how Romans thought about themselves and other people. You will learn how to analyse and interpret a wide variety of ancient material, including archaeology, art, graffiti, and inscriptions, as well as many different kinds of literary evidence. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

• To provide you with a thorough and detailed understanding of Roman social and economic structures, and of the main features of life in the Roman world. You will develop your critical skills by using a wide range of ancient sources and addressing the particular difficulties raised by using these sources to write social and economic history.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Detailed knowledge of the society, economy, and culture of the Roman world
• 2. Familiarity with a wide range of sources pertaining to Roman society, economy and culture
• 3. Ability to analyse problems raised by this source material

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Development of critical approaches to ancient source material
• 5. Experience in conducting independent research in Classics and Ancient History
• 6. Experience in formal academic writing in Classics and Ancient History

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Development of skills in critical analysis
• 8. Ability to digest and organise diverse information to form a coherent argument
• 9. Experience in writing an analytical essay or report
• 10. Experience in conducting independent research
• 11. Development of teamworking skills through small group work
• 12. Experience of discussing issues with peer group

Syllabus plan

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

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

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

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

• G. S. Aldrete, Daily Life in the Roman City: Rome, Pompeii, and Ostia (Greenwood, Westport, Conn.; 2004) 

• G. Alföldy, The Social History of Rome (Routledge, London: 1988) 

• P. Garnsey and R. Saller, The Roman Empire: Economy, Society and Culture, 2nd ed. (University of California Press, Berkeley: 2015). 

• M. Gibbs, M. Nikolic, and P. Ripat (eds.), Themes in Roman Society and Culture (Oxford University Press, Oxford: 2013) 

• T. G. Parkin and A. J. Pomeroy, Roman Social History: A Sourcebook (Routledge, London: 2007). 

• W. Scheidel, I. Morris, and R. Saller (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 2007). 

• J. A. Shelton, As the Romans Did: a sourcebook in Roman social history (Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1998). 

• S. Treggiari, Roman Social History (Routledge, London: 2002). 

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11145