Ampersand: Rome: The Eternal City?

3 units

During the first half of this course we will study the imperial period (27BC-565CE) of ancient Rome, concentrating especially on how people of the empire of various classes, genders, and ethnicities lived, and how they identified themselves as Romans or subjects of Rome. Material studied will include a source book of readings by the Romans themselves, works of art, and modern scholarship on the Roman Empire. The second half of the course will be dedicated to how the city of Rome and the ancient Romans have been perceived since the end o the Roman Empire. We will study works of art, literature, films, and historical and political discourse from numerous places and periods, including the Italian Renaissance, the American and French revolutions, the fascist states of Hitler and Mussolini, 20th-century Hollywood, and peoples responding to British colonialism. Among activities in the class will be field trips to the St. Louis Art Museum (modelled on Roman bath) and the MUNY theater (an echo of large Roman theaters), and preparation for our May trip to Italy.