In 350 BCE, the Roman Republic was a tiny city-state in Central Italy consisting of Rome and its immediate hinterland. Two hundred years later, it stretched from Seville in the west to Cyprus in the East and ruled over 50 million people. How can a state retain its core beliefs and traditions when its size increases dramatically? What challenges does the growth of an empire pose for the stability of the state itself?
This module asks fundamental questions about the nature of imperial power, the ways in which it can be justified and challenged, and the relationship between military expansion on the one hand and changes in culture and politics on the other. Students will study the way in which Rome's imperial boom changed almost all aspects of living in the Roman Republic: its politics and laws; its literature and art; its approach to warfare and international diplomacy; and even the motifs and symbols of civic life itself, from the grand temples of the Roman forum to the tiny silver coins an ordinary citizen would carry around the city.
Rome's Republican empire unified the entire Mediterranean and much of continental Europe under a single banner, creating an idea of a unified Europe that would be imitated centuries later by modern dictators and politicians. Imperial exploitation enriched the elites of the city, but ultimately led to the rise of ambitious generals and populists like Julius Caesar who destroyed the Roman Republic. By charting that history in this module, students confront the corruption of power and its enduring relevance today.
Lecture = 16 hours
Seminar = 8 hours
Magazine Workshop = 4 hours
Magazine Fair = 4 hours
Main Assessment Methods
2,000 words Essay. Assessment Details: Essay on analysis and discussion of a specific interpretative question (70%).
1,000 words Magazine Project. Assessment Details: Group project demonstrating module knowledge through visual media (30%).
Reassessment Method: Single instrument 100% written assessment (2,000 words)
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1. Assess the reasons for the growth of Rome's empire in the Middle Republican period and analyse its impact upon contemporary politics and society.
2. Compare different periods of Rome's imperial growth and differentiate these from early modern and modern industrial imperialism.
3. Evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of a range of primary evidence (literary and archaeological) for our understanding of the period.
4. Critically assess modern scholarship on theoretical approaches to imperialism and evaluate the validity of its conclusions in writing through sustained and coherent argument.
5. Design visually informative media for communicating the results of their learning and independent study to wider audiences by working effectively in groups.
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