1. Participation: Participation refers to much more than simply being in attendance. In order to receive full marks for participation (worth 10% of the overall grade), students must consistently demonstrate their commitment to the course by being well-prepared for all classes, and completing any required tutorial reading and discussion preparation. Participation marks are also gained through active involvement during tutorials, demonstrated by asking and answering questions, participating constructively as required, and showing consideration for their fellow classmates and teaching staff by behaving in a considerate and mature manner.

2. Tutorial Paper: Topics for discussion and assignment questions are set out under each week on the unit's iLearn site. ONE written assignment (tutorial paper) is to be submitted for assessment. It will count for 15% of the final mark. (Preparation for each tutorial, however, is strongly advised, since the material covered in tutorials will be examined and will count towards the participation mark.) Assignments must be submitted via Turnitin on the iLearn site BEFORE the relevant tutorial: they will NOT be accepted after tutorial discussion has taken place. Students are advised to submit a tutorial paper by the mid-session break.

The appropriate length of tutorial assignments will vary with the topic but should not exceed 1000 words. The assignment is not necessarily to be regarded as a mini-essay. What is often required are succinct, sharply-focused and tightly expressed answers to the particular questions set. The paper must be documented and based on a direct examination of the ancient sources. If modern scholarship is used, a bibliography should be attached (see Essay Presentation Guides on the Ancient History website at <http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/faculties_and_departments/faculty_of_arts/department_of_ancient_history/current_students/teaching_materials/>. To reiterate and clarify, we will be assessing the degree to which you answer the question/s set (within the word limit), the degree to which you cite the ancient evidence in support of your arguments and the clarity of your presentation and written expression.

2. Essay: One essay, counting for 35% of the final mark, is required. It should not exceed 2000 words. IT IS DUE TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29th. Topics and marking criteria will be handed out early in the session.

Note that you should always keep a copy of completed tasks in case of loss.

3. Examination:

There is a two-hour examination worth 40% of the final assessment. It will include:

* a range of passages for discussion (drawn from the passages that will be studied in lectures and tutorials);

* a set of ten short-answer questions testing your knowledge of the Roman political system and the significant events of the period (worth 10% of the overall examination mark);

* a compulsory question (which is here pre-circulated): Was Brutus right?

The question seems simple; the answer is anything but. We shall discuss its various ramifications as the course progresses.

Important: The University Examination period in 2nd session 2015 is from 9th November to 27th November.

You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations at: <http://students.mq.edu.au/student_admin/timetables>.

The only exception to sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for Special Consideration. To be eligible for Special Consideration, a student must notify the University of a serious and unavoidable disruption within five (5) working days of the commencement of the disruption (Disruption to Studies notification). All Disruption to Studies notifications are to be made online via the University’s Ask MQ system. Information about the unavoidable disruption to studies process is available under the 'Policies and Procedures' section of this Unit Guide.

You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, that is, the final day of the official examination period.

Grading:

The grade a student receives will signify their overall performance in meeting the learning outcomes of the unit. Grades will not be awarded by reference to the achievement of other students nor allocated to fit a predetermined distribution. In determining a grade, due weight will be given to the learning outcomes and level of the unit. Markers in the unit will use the following grades:

HD = High Distinction 85–100

D = Distinction 75–84

Cr = Credit 65–74

P = Pass 50–64

F = Fail 0–49  

Assignment Submission

ALL written assignments (tutorial paper, essay) must be submitted online through the AHIS211 iLearn site via Turnitin.

Return of marked work:

Staff will endeavour to return tutorial papers by the time of the next tutorial though this may not always be possible.

Staff will also endeavour to return essays by the end of the session.

Over the course of AHIS211 your work will be marked by at least two members of staff.

Classes

For lecture times and classrooms please consult the MQ Timetable website: <http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au>. This website will display up-to-date information on your classes and classroom locations.

Lectures: There are two lectures a week for most weeks of the semester. The importance of regular attendance is that in the lectures we signal the topics that we deem significant. It is these topics which will be examined.

Tutorials: There is one tutorial a week for most weeks of the semester. Participation in tutorial discussion is considered a vital and rewarding part of the unit but you should attend only if you have completed the reading prescribed for the week. Material from tutorials will be examined. Unexplained and persistent failure to participate may incur a penalty of 10% of the total mark for the course.

Student Workload: In accordance with Senate Guidelines, a student workload of 3 hours per credit point (i.e., 9 hours per week for this 3-credit point unit) for 15 weeks (13 weeks of lectures + 2 weeks of recess) is expected.

Required Reading and Texts

(i) Ancient Sources

All students are expected to have a copy of the ancient sources listed below. All tutorial exercises which do not draw on material in the Unit Book of Readings (see below) will be based on source material in these works.

Cicero, Selected Letters (Penguin Classics)

Cicero, Selected Political Speeches (Penguin Classics)

Sallust, Catiline's Conspiracy, The Jugurthine War, Histories (Oxford World's Classics) OR Sallust, Catiline’s War, The Jugurthine War, Histories (Penguin Classics) OR Sallust, The Jugurthine War. The Conspiracy of Catiline (Penguin Classics)

Plutarch, Roman Lives (Oxford World’s Classics) OR Plutarch, The Fall of the Roman Republic (Penguin Classics)

Appian, The Civil Wars (Penguin Classics)

Other essential ancient sources to which reference will be made in the lectures have been compiled in a Book of Readings Ciceronian Rome which will be available for purchase at the Co-op at the beginning of the semester. It should be brought to all lectures and tutorials.

NOTE

In this course emphasis is placed upon the direct examination of the ancient sources and evidence. Students are expected to base all their work on a personal examination of these sources. It will not be sufficient simply to read modern studies on any topic, however sound and highly recommended these are: it will be essential to look first at the ancient sources on which all modern studies are necessarily based.

(ii) Modern Studies

A useful textbook account for the period will be found in H.H. Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero (5th edition, 1982) whose notes on pp. 381ff. provide reference to more recent modern studies. It is highly recommended for background reading. A limited number of Scullard is available at the Co-op. Students may also find H. Swain and M.E. Davies, Aspects of Roman History, 82 BC–AD14. A Source-based Approach (Routledge, 2010) a useful narrative of events in this period.

A short paperback which provides an introduction to the Republic and Republican history – Michael Crawford, The Roman Republic (Fontana, 1978)—might be useful to students who are feeling a little rusty on this period. Again, for students needing a primer, David Shotter's The Fall of the Roman Republic (Routledge 1994, 2nd edition 2005) provides a simple narrative.

A very readable introduction to the period is W. Jeffrey Tatum’s Always I am Caesar (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2008). A limited number of Tatum is available at the Co-op.

A stocktaking of modern scholarship and a useful summation of many of the problematic issues arising in this course will be found in M. Beard and M. Crawford Rome in the Late Republic. Problems and Interpretations (London, Duckworth, 1985). Even more recent introductions to various themes are provided by Harriet I. Flower (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004) and Nathan Rosenstein and Robert Morstein-Marx (eds), A Companion to the Roman Republic (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2006), both designed for readers new to the subject.

More detailed reading lists relating to particular topics will be provided on the iLearn site. The most important recommended books will be held in Reserve in the Library.

There are two essential works of reference for the course which are to be consulted in the Library:

The Oxford Classical Dictionary (abbreviated OCD) of which multiple copies are held in the Library. This is the standard work of reference in English for Roman and Greek history and culture. It provides reliable and succinct explanations and definitions of technical terms, summary biographies of prominent individuals, and accounts of institutions, etc.

T.R.S. Broughton The Magistrates of the Roman Republic (abbrev. MRR; 2 vols, 1951–2; Vol. 1 covers the period 509–100 BC; vol. 2 the period 99–31 BC), copies of which will be held in Reserve. This is an invaluable book which gives, year by year, a full, systematic list of the known political officials and magistrates, a summary of their actions in office and full references to the known ancient sources. A supplementary volume (vol. 3) was published in 1986.

Also to be regarded as a standard work of reference is J.A. Crook et al. (ed.), The Cambridge Ancient History vol. IX (2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, 1994).

Technology Used and Required

The unit has an iLearn page which can be accessed at: <https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/>. PC and internet access are therefore required. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement. Please consult teaching staff for any further, more specific requirements.

Satisfactory Completion of Unit

In order to complete the unit satisfactorily students must gain a mark of 50% or more overall.

Please note that this schedule may be altered according to the availability of guest speakers.

Week 1

Lecture 1: Introduction to the Course

Lecture 2: An Introduction to Cicero: Looking back from 88 BC

Tutorial:  There are no tutorials in the first week

Week 2

Lecture 1: Cicero’s Early Life to 88 BC

Lecture 2: 88 BC

Tutorial: Roman Religion in the Time of Sulla and Roman Religion in General

Week 3

Lecture 1: The March on Rome to Sulla's Dictatorship

Lecture 2: Sulla, Pompeii and Praeneste

                 The Seventies and Growing Discontent: What was the Ventus Popularis?

Tutorial: Pompey's Early Career

Week 4

Lecture 1: Gladiators & Slaves I

Lecture 2: Gladiators & Slaves II

Tutorial: T. Pomponius Atticus

Week 5

Lecture 1: The Seventies and Growing Discontent: What was the Ventus Popularis?

Lecture 2: The Equites and Pompey’s Great Commands. Reading Cicero's pro lege Manilia: A New Way of Looking at War?

Tutorial: The 'First Catilinarian Conspiracy'

Week 6

Lecture 1: Cicero’s pro lege Manilia and the Mithridatic War: Pompey in the East

Lecture 2: Pompey’s Return and Life in Ciceronian Rome

Tutorial: The Bona Dea and the Bona Dea Affair

Week 7

Lecture 1: The 'Catilinarian Conspiracy'

Lecture 2: The 'Catilinarian Conspiracy', the Bona Dea Affair: the Politics of Enmity

Tutorial: Caesar's Early Career

_______________________________________________________________________________

Mid-semester Recess (two weeks)

_______________________________________________________________________________

Week 8

Tuesday September 29th: Essay Due

THERE ARE NO LECTURES OR TUTORIALS THIS WEEK

Week 9

Lecture 1: Cicero' Career to the late sixties BC

Lecture 2: The Coalition of Caesar, Crassus and Pompey

Tutorial: Cicero's Letters and Sallust: History and the Desire for Fame

Week 10

Lecture 1: Caesar’s Gallic Wars

Lecture 2: Theatre in Life and Politics; Pompey's Theatre and the Urban Landscape

Tutorial: Cicero's Letters: Relationships

Week 11

Lecture 1: The Post-Marian Army and Caesar's Gallic Wars

                 The Coalition of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus cont'd

Lecture 2: Exam Chat

                 The Breakdown of the Coalition and Civil Violence

Tutorial: The Wives of Pompey & Women in Politics

Week 12

Lecture 1: The Breakdown of the Coalition cont'd

Lecture 2: The Roman Civil Wars

Tutorial: Caesar's Assassination

Week 13

Lecture 1: Caesar’s Dictatorship

Lecture 2: The Triumvirate and the Death of Cicero and the Rise of Octavian

Tutorial:  There are no tutorials in the last week

A mark for participation has been introduced in this offering. This means that the essay and tutorial papers are less heavily weighted than in previous years.

ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSIONS

ALL written assignments (tutorial paper, essay) will be submitted online through the AHIS211 iLearn site via Turnitin.

You are required to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The only exception to sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances, please consult University Policy for the available procedure.

EXTENSIONS

Extensions for assignments and waivers for penalties for non-attendance can only be granted for medical reasons or on compassionate grounds.

Without documentation (medical or counselling certificate), a penalty of 2% a day (including weekends) will be applied.

If you need an extension this must be agreed on after discussion with the course convenor, who may ask for documentation. You must apply for an extension before the assignment due date. Extensions asked for after the date will not be granted.

Unexplained and persistent failure to participate in tutorial discussion may incur a penalty of 10% of the total mark for the course.

Note: Always retain a copy of completed tasks in case of loss.