Forma Urbis: Architecture, Topography, and Urban Life in Ancient Rome

Undergraduate / Graduate

Rome wasn't built in a day. How did historical, sociopolitical, cultural, and economic developments lead to its transformation over time into the city considered to be the caput mundi ('head of the world')? In this seminar, we will explore the archaeological and architectural remains of ancient Rome from the 8th century BCE to the imperial period in order to understand how Romans constructed and experienced the urban environment of their capital city. We will consider not only public spaces and monuments (e.g., temples, roads, shops, theaters, baths, the Forum, triumphal arches, aqueducts, etc.) but also the domestic sphere (from elite houses to apartment blocks) to interrogate the ways in which space and architectural form can delineate and articulate social hierarchies, cultural identities, and political ideologies. Readings will include both ancient textual sources and modern scholarship. This course will also examine comparative material from other cities in ancient Italy (e.g., Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Ostia).