HY301: Historical Methods
Political Violence in the Late Roman Republic
30% Regular attendance and participation (includes reference to specific
passages in texts)
30% Regular short writing assignments as they appear on the schedule
40% One substantial (7000-word) research paper
TEXTS
(These texts are also on
reserve in Morgan Library and many are available
on-line)
REQUIRED
Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic (Penguin)
Julius Caesar, The Civil War (Penguin)
Appian, The Civil Wars (Penguin)
Cicero, Selected Political Speeches of Cicero (Penguin)
Gruen, Erich S. The Last Generation of the Roman Republic (U. of
California)
Lintott, Andrew, Violence in Republican Rome (Oxford U.)
Booth, Wayne C., The Craft of Research (U. of Chicago) 2nd ed.
RECOMMENDED
Cicero, Cicero's Letters to his Friends (Penguin)
Some version of Cicero's Letters to Atticus
POLICIES
This is an upper division course; please behave accordingly. Come to class
on time and regularly. One absence (= nearly 7 % of the class) is undesirable,
more than one is unacceptable. Be prepared for class. This means do the
reading, think about it, and be prepared to discuss it intelligently.
Late assignments are unacceptable. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.
You may see the professor's advice
pages for further advice. Please note, the professor does use a +/-
grading system.
Thursday, January 22
Introduction: History of the Roman Republic; Violence; Research
Modern Scholarship: Lintott, p. 6-21; Booth, ix-xii
Thursday, January 29
The Gracchi
Ancient Reading: Appian, BC 1.1-27; Valerius Maximus (Val. Max.) 3.2.17; Plutarch, Ti. Gracchus, scan 8-15; read 16-21; Plutarch, C. Gracchus 3-6, 13-18; Livy, Per. (= Summaries, vol. 14 of the Loeb) 61 (on reserve); de viris illustribus urbis Romae (=de vir. ill.) 72.9
Modern Scholarship: Lintott, p.175-185; Booth, 29-30; Nippel, Public Order in Ancient Rome, 60-69 (on reserve)
Written Assignment: 500 words; a practice in argument, quotations and citations
Questions to consider: Who killed Tiberius Gracchus? What weapons were used in the conflict? What was the alleged reason for killing Tiberius? What happened to those who were involved in the killing (on both sides)? How did Gaius Gracchus respond to the death of his brother? What legislation did he pass in reaction to the killing of his brother? How was Gaius' death similar to and different from Tiberius'?
Thursday, February 5
Enemies of the State: Marius and Sulla
Ancient Reading: Appian, BC 1.28-104; Plutarch, Marius, translator's intro., scan 10, 12, 27, read 28-45; Plutarch, Sulla, translator's intro., first paragraph of 6, 7-10, first couple sentences of 20, and all of 22, 27-34; Plutarch, Pompey, 5-8; Valerius Maximus, 3.2.18; Caesar, BC 1.7; Cicero, Against Catiline (in Cat.) 1.4 (p. 77); de vir. ill. 73
Modern Scholarship: Lintott, 149-174, 185; Booth 35-47
Written Assignment: 500 words; a practice in argument and paraphrasing;
Questions to consider: Figure out what happened when. In what ways was Marius' career exceptional? What motivated Sulla to march on Rome the first time/ the second time? How and when did Sulla become dictator? You might use the links provided below to determine chronology. Why is the nature of the violence conducted by and against men of consular authority such as Marius and Sulla necessarily different from that participated in by, or executed against, tribunes?
Thursday, February 12
Aftermath of Sulla's dictatorship: Catilinarian Conspiracy, et al.
Ancient Reading: Appian, 1.105-121; 2.1-7
Cicero, In Cat. (all four speeches); In Defense of Milo (pro Mil.) 70; Plutarch, Cicero 10-22; Plutarch, Pompey, skim 16-21; Sallust, Catilinarian Conspiracy (Cat.), (entire); If you have time, read Dio's Roman History 29 ff.
Modern Scholarship: Lintott, 187-189; Gruen, 6-46, 411-433; Booth, 47-72
Written Assignment: 500 words; a practice in argument and language
(specific requirements for different students)
Questions to consider: What is Catiline's justification for political
violence? Who were Catiline's supporters? What action did Cicero and his
colleague take against Catiline? Is there any evidence that Cicero was
hesitant to take action? If so, why do you think that was? What is Cicero's
justification for political violence?
Thursday, February 19
Mob Violence: Clodius and Milo
Ancient Reading: Appian, 2.15-16, 20-24; Plutarch, Cicero 28-35; Plutarch, Caesar, 9-10 (for the kind of guy Clodius was); Cicero, pro Mil. (entire); Dio's Roman History, 40.48-55
Modern Scholarship: Lintott, 74-124, 189-203; Gruen, 433-448; Booth, 73-84
Written Assignment: List of questions based on the reading and footnotes indicating where answers to questions are to be found.
Questions to consider: See above under "Written Assignment"
Thursday, February 26
Civil War
Ancient Reading: Appian, BC 2.9-12, 25-41, 48, 70-71, 82, 87; Plutarch, Pompey, 43- 47, 51, 53-79; Caesar, 13, 21, last of 23, 28-42; Cicero 37-39; Caesar, Civil War 1.1-33; last sentence of 2.21, 3.5-6, 106; Cicero, Letters to His Friends (ad Fam.) 2.7, 15; 8.14-16; 14.14, 18; 16.2, 12 (= # 96-97, 107, 143-146, 149, 153 in Shackleton-Bailey's translation)
Modern Scholarship: Lintott, 52 to top of 53; Gruen, 449-497
Written Assignment: Topic for research paper due 9 AM Wednesday, February 25. Directions are available here.
Questions to consider: At what point did Civil War become inevitable? What precedents set by other Romans helped to bring about the military conflict between Pompey and Caesar? Is it valid to define this conflict as being between Pompey and Caesar? Why or why not?
Thursday, March 4
Assassination of Caesar
Ancient Reading: Appian, BC 106-119; Plutarch, Caesar 57-69; Cicero 40-42
Modern Scholarship: Lintott, 204-208; Booth, 85-110, 212-214 (read Booth, before writing abstract)
Written Assignment: Abstract of research paper due 9 AM Wednesday, March 3. Directions for the abstract are available here.
Questions to consider: How was Julius Caesar assassinated? Why was Julius Caesar assassinated?
Thursday, March 11
Regular Class Meeting, Discussion of Progress
Ancient Reading: Researcher's choice
Modern Scholarship: Booth, 111-131
Written Assignments: Bibliography due 9 AM Wednesday, March 10. Instructions are available here. On Thursday, March 11, bring to class an example of a warrant (see Booth) from your research. Please have enough copies for everyone.
Thursday, March 18
SPRING BREAK
Thursday, March 25
Individual Meetings Scheduled
Ancient Reading: Researcher's choice
Modern Scholarship: Booth, 132-148
Written Assignment: Introductory paragraph with thesis and essay map due 9 AM Wednesday, March 24. Instructions are available here.
Thursday, April 1
No Class Meeting
Ancient Reading: Researcher's choice
Modern Scholarship: Booth, 149-174
Thursday, April 8
Regular Class Meeting, Discussion of drafts
Ancient Reading: Researcher's choice
Modern Scholarship: Peers' research papers; Booth, 201-211
Written Assignment: First Draft Due to Peer Reviewers Monday, April 5
Thursday, April 15
No Class Meeting
Ancient Reading: Researcher's choice
Modern Scholarship: Booth, 215-233
Written Assignment: Second Draft Due to Professor by 1 PM
Thursday, April 22
Individual Meetings with Professor
Ancient Reading: Researcher's choice
Modern Scholarship: Booth, 234-254
Written Assignment: Questions to pose to professor
Thursday, April 29
No Class Meeting
Ancient Reading: Researcher's choice
Modern Scholarship: Booth, 255-258
Thursday, May 6
No Class Meeting
Written Assignment: Final Draft of Paper and Abstract due by 9 AM
Thursday, May 13
Final Discussion Meeting 11:20-1:20
Modern Scholarship: Peers' research papers
USING MORGAN LIBRARY FOR THIS COURSE
The History Librarian has set up a useful website specifically for students
doing research for this course. Take a look at it.
http://lib.colostate.edu/research/history/RomanRepublic.html
PEOPLE AND CHRONOLOGY
A brief chronology of Roman History
http://duke.usask.ca/~porterj/CourseNotes/RomChrono.html
Chronology of the Roman Republic
http://www.personal.kent.edu/~bkharvey/roman/sources/repchron.htm
Chronology for Julius Caesar and some of his contemporaries:
http://heraklia.fws1.com/timeline/index.html
This Cicero page includes chronology
http://www.utexas.edu/depts/classics/documents/Cic.html
Who was Who in Roman Times main menu
http://www.romansonline.com/Inf_name.asp
SOME GOOD GENERAL SITES:
Forum Romanum
http://www.forumromanum.org/
Dalton Group
http://www.dalton.org/groups/rome/RPol.html
Barbara McManus's Roman pages
http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/romanpages.html
MAP OF THE CITY
http://www.roman-empire.net/maps/map-rome.html
