ROME COURSE: ITAL 250/HSTEU250/ ART HISTORY 250

FIRST PAPER ASSIGNMENT: Due Tuesday January 27 at lecture.

The purpose of this assignment is to encourage a close reading of the primary texts from the first weeks of the course, and an understanding of on central concepts presented by ancient Roman historians and writers.

Once you choose a topic, go back over the readings and select specific episodes that illustrate your theme. Then you need to make an argument about these texts, and support that argument with references and quotations from texts or lectures. You should include well-chosen quotations, but don't make your essay into a string of quotations. Instead, quotations should illustrate a statement or point you are making. Avoid unsubstantiated generalizations and try to be persuasive in your argument.

Your essay should be 2-3 pages, typed and double spaced.
Instructions on format and citation are posted separately on course website

Assistance with papers is available from your Teaching Assistant, Professors Sbragia and O’Neil,
Research and Writing Center in OUGL http://depts.washington.edu/owrc/
[ OUGL = Odegaard Undergraduate Library]
History Department Writing Center http://depts.washington.edu/histwrit/.
Please feel free to contact any of us by e-mail and at our office hours.
We would like to meet you and can also meet at other times when needed

The following topics draw on readings from Livy (Wks1-2) and Virgil (Wk 3); in some cases Augustus' Res gestae may be relevant (but not required). In your essay you should choose two or three specific examples of characters or events from Livy'sHistory of the Roman Republic &/or Virgil's Aeneid that illustrate a theme.

Founding Rome: Both Livy and Virgil, writing during the age of Augustus, were concerned with the successive foundings of Rome. Choose two or three founders and re-founders of Rome from Livy &/or Virgil, and discuss what each of them brings to the Roman state. Are their contributions positive or negative, and it what ways? As an alternative you can analyze Augustus’s positioning of himself as a re-founder of Rome with reference to the Res gestae and Livy.

Virtue and vice: What are the Roman concepts of virtue and its opposite? Select two or three characters from Livy’s History &/or Virgil’s Aeneid and show how they embody specific Roman virtues or defy those virtues, becoming “vicious” and undermining Rome.

Gender: Roman society had definite ideas about the respective roles of women and men. Select two or three characters from Livy &/or Virgil, and discuss how each embodies positive or negative gender roles. You may select all men, all women or a combination of each.

War and peace: Romans writing under Augustus were keenly aware of the newly established pax romana, or Roman peace. Select two or three episodes or characters that demonstrate how Livy &/or Virgil present the alternation between war and peace in Roman history. How do the two interact to create Rome’s understanding of itself?

Religion: How important is religion in ancient Rome? Select two or three episodes or characters from Livy &/or Virgil that illustrate the role of religion in the evolution of Roman culture. What is Roman religion like, why is it important and how does it differ from superstition in Livy’s account?

Public and private: How are public and private life distinguished in ancient Rome? Discuss the role of family and women in contrast with the public sphere of politics and the state, using two or three examples from Livy, Virgil, &/or Augustus’ Res gestae.

Foreigners: The Roman state expanded by absorbing or conquering people from many other cultures, but this process created tensions and anxiety about the role of foreigners. Using two or three examples from Livy &/or Virgil, discuss the positive and negative aspects of foreigners’ contributions to the evolution of Roman culture, politics or society.