Download Introduction to Roman History: The Roman Republic

History N106A
Summer 2013, Session A (May 28 – July 13)
Introduction to Roman History:
The Roman Republic
Monday-Thursday, 12:00-2:00pm, 56 Barrows
This course offers an introduction to the history of the Roman Republic, from the foundation of the
city in the 8th century BC to the cataclysmic civil wars that destroyed the Republic in the 1st century
BC. The central theme of the course is Rome’s imperial expansion, first within Italy and then
throughout the Mediterranean, with special attention to the political, economic, social, and cultural
impact of Roman imperialism, both on conquered territories and on Rome itself. Lectures will
provide an essential historical narrative and interpretations of central problems in Roman
Republican history, and primary-source readings will give students an opportunity to engage with
key texts and documents from the period.
This is a compressed six-week version of a normal semester course; therefore, each day represents
almost a week of a normal semester. Although this is technically a “lecture course,” a portion of
most class meetings will be devoted to discussion of primary texts. Therefore, in addition to
completing the assigned reading from the textbook (Boatwright et al., The Romans), please arrive in
class every day with the ancient texts in hand, having already read them carefully.
Instructor
Laura Pfuntner ([email protected])
Office: TBD
Office Hours: TBD
Course Website: https://bspace.berkeley.edu.portal (all students officially enrolled in the course
have automatic access to the course website).
Requirements: The formal requirements for this course include (i) a map quiz; (ii) a midterm
examination; (iii) a research paper (8-10 pp.), topics and format TBA; and (iv) a final examination.
Grading:
map quiz
class participation
midterm exam
5%
15%
20%
research paper
final exam
25%
25%
Required Texts (all paperback, available at the ASUC Bookstore; all required texts also on 2-hour
reserve at Moffitt Undergraduate Library):
M.T. Boatwright et al., The Romans: From Village to Empire (2nd ed. 2012).
Livy, The Early History of Rome, Books I-V, transl. A. De Selincourt (2002).
Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire, transl. I. Scott-Kilvert (1979).
Plutarch, Roman Lives, transl. R. Waterfield (1999).
Sallust, The Jugurthine War/The Conspiracy of Catiline, transl. S.A. Handford (1963).
Cicero, Selected Political Speeches, transl. M. Grant (1969; repr. 1989).
Caesar, The Civil War, transl. J. Carter (1997).
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History N106A
Summer 2013, Session A (May 28 – July 13)
Course Outline
LECTURES & TEXTBOOK / PRIMARY SOURCE READINGS
Please note: readings from the textbook, M.T. Boatwright et al., The Romans: From Village to Empire, and from primary sources are
assigned on a daily basis and should be completed before the lectures for each day.
Lecture Topic
Textbook
Primary Sources
Week 1
Tu 5/28
Course Introduction; Pre-Roman Italy: Greeks and Etruscans
pp. 1-27
n/a
W 5/29
Archaic Rome: Myth, History, and Archaeology
27-42
Livy, 1 (pp. 27-104)
Th 5/30
Social and Political Conflict in the Early Republic
43-53
Livy, 3.33-58 (pp. 233-66)
Week 2
M 6/3
The Conquest of Italy, 509-264 BC
69-85
Livy, 5 (pp. 367-435)
Tu 6/4
The Roman Army, Religion, and Government;
The Dynamics of Roman State Formation
53-69, 85-94
Polybius, 6.11-42 (pp. 311338)
W 6/5
Map quiz; The First Punic War (264-241 BC) and its Aftermath
94-100
Polybius, 1.5-end (pp. 45110)
Th 6/6
The Second Punic War (218-202 BC) and the Conquest of
the Western Mediterranean, 200-133 BC
100-109
Polybius, 3.6-35 (pp. 183212)
The Hellenistic World and Roman Expansion in the East,
200-129 BC
117-24
Polybius, 18.1-12 (pp. 494504), 18.44-46 (pp. 513-7),
24.11-13 (pp. 518-20);
Plutarch, Aemilius Paullus
(pp. 36-76)
The Provincialization of the Mediterranean;
109-117, 167-70
Polybius, 6.43-end (pp. 338-
Week 3
M 6/10
Tu 6/11
History N106A
Summer 2013, Session A (May 28 – July 13)
W 6/12
Italy in the mid-Republic: Economy and Demography
125-141
Plautus (handout)
Th 6/13
The City of Rome; Roman Art and Visual Culture
n/a
Catullus (handout)
Week 4
M 6/17
Midterm; The Roman Family
154-7
n/a
Tu 6/18
The Second Century BC; The Gracchi
141-53
Plutarch, Tiberius and Gaius
Gracchus
W 6/19
Marius, the Social War, and Sulla
157-67, 170-93
Sallust, The Jugurthine War
Th 6/20
The Rise of Pompey; Cicero & Catiline
196-215
Cicero, Against Catilina I;
Sallust, The Conspiracy of
Catiline
Week 5
M 6/24
Politics and Society in the Late Republic
217-29, 238-41
Cicero, On the Command of
Gnaeus Pompeius
Tu 6/25
The Rise of Julius Caesar, the Civil War,
and Caesar’s Dictatorship
229-38, 241-56
Caesar, The Civil War
W 6/26
The Ides of March and its Aftermath; The Triumvirate
257-69
Cicero, First Philippic
Th 6/27
The Grand Finale: Octavian vs. Antony
269-80
Plutarch, Antony
Week 6
M 7/1
Conclusion: The Roman Republic in Perspective
280-308
n/a
Tu 7/2
Review session
n/a
n/a
W 7/3
Final exam
n/a
n/a
IMPORTANT DATES
Wednesday, 6/5: map quiz (taken in the first 15 minutes of class)
Monday, 6/17: midterm examination (1 hour, taken in class)
Friday, 6/28: research paper due (by 4:00 pm)
Wednesday, 7/3: final exam (2 hours, taken in class)
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