HI363 Age of Augustus

“I found Rome a city of bricks, and I leave it clothed in marble." These are the words of Rome's first Emperor, Gaius Octavian Augustus, who ruled an empire stretching from Spain to Syria, from Britain to Egypt. Students in this seminar will explore the social, artistic, literary and political successes and failures of this "golden age" of Rome's past. Each student will select a topic from the Augustan age—such as Vergil's Aeneid, the Imperial Forum of Augustus, art as propaganda, the creation of empire, the multiculturalism of the Mediterranean, the role of women in the Roman world—and assess it within the context of Augustan ideology and history.

Course Objectives: Goals

to understand the sources - literary, historical, archaeological, art historical - for the study of Augustus and his age
to assess scholarship that draws upon these sources
to gain a comprehensive perspective on Rome's golden age, on the author of that age, and the legacy he established

Course Objectives: Skills

to participate effectively in classroom discussion, to lead dialogue among one's peers, and to share scholarship - one's own and others' - in effective oral presentations
to conduct research by print and digital methods
to develop critical thinking abilities and learn to articulate them succinctly
to write a literary, historical, art historical, or philosophical analysis supported by primary and secondary sources