Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor Peter Keegan AHIS212 Dialogue (iLearn) Contact via AHIS212 Dialogue (iLearn) W6A 236 By appointment
Credit points	Credit points 3
Prerequisites	Prerequisites 12cp at 100 level or above
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This unit comprises a study of Rome from the murder of Julius Caesar (44 BCE) to the end of the reign of Hadrian (138 CE). There is a large emphasis on political history, but attention is also paid to social, cultural and economic developments. Evidence is drawn from documents, monuments and the literature of the period.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

Actively participate in group discussion; work with and respond to the views of Ancient History staff and other students in the unit in an oral form
Analyse and express your judgement about Roman imperial political, social, economic and cultural history in an oral and written form
Find, analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources for early imperial Roman history and present the information in a written format; interpret historical and historiographical information with appreciation and understanding

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Participation	25%	No	Every tutorial
Source Analysis	15%	No	Weeks 2-7
Essay	30%	No	5.00pm AEST, Sunday, Week 8
Source Analysis + Minor Essay	30%	No	7-10pm AEST, Week 13

Participation

Due: Every tutorial
Weighting: 25%

Seminar participation refers to much more than simply being in attendance. In order to receive marks for participation, you must consistently demonstrate your commitment to the unit by being punctual and well-prepared for all seminars, and completing any required seminar reading and discussion preparation. Participation marks are also gained through active involvement during the seminar meeting, demonstrated by asking and answering questions, participating constructively as required, and showing consideration for your fellow classmates and lecturer by behaving in a considerate and mature manner.

After reading the texts prescribed for each week, you will prepare your thoughts and post brief responses in the Seminar Forum to the questions set for consideration. (Required word length: 150-200 words/response to each question). Ensure that your discussion posts develop further the seminar outline. NOTE: No posts will be assessed if submitted after the required deadline in any week set for discussion of a particular topic.

Submission: via Forum.

Required word length: 150-200 words/response to each question.

Due submission: required deadline in any week set aside for seminar forum discussion. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED unless an application for Disruption to Studies is made and approved.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Actively participate in group discussion; work with and respond to the views of Ancient History staff and other students in the unit in an oral form
Analyse and express your judgement about Roman imperial political, social, economic and cultural history in an oral and written form

Source Analysis

Due: Weeks 2-7
Weighting: 15%

Length: 850 words (+/- 10%). ONE (1) written assignment (Source AnalysIs) is to be submitted for assessment. Your Source Analysis will count for 15% of your final mark. You choose the seminar week and therefore which seminar questions you will address in your responses. Seminars in Weeks 2-7 (Seminars 1-6) only are available for selection of your Source Analysis topic and questions. Your Source Analysis must be submitted via Turnitin before the scheduled time of the relevant seminar. Your response will NOT be accepted after seminar discussion has taken place.

Your analysis should be based firmly upon the ancient evidence, and should show an appreciation of what is primary evidence and what is secondary evidence. Your task will comprise written responses to each of the questions set for discussion in whichever seminar you select as the focus of your analysis.

You will base your work principally on the material to be discussed in the pertinent week's seminar. Obviously, there is only so much you can say in 900 words. You should consider this an exercise in expressing yourself succinctly. When citing the ancient evidence upon which you are basing any observation, you may choose to cite it in parentheses (brackets) or you may choose to use footnotes. Any material in footnotes is not considered to be part of your word-length. As you will almost certainly know, historians of the ancient world consider footnotes to be a holding-place for material which you believe necessary to underpin your statements in the text of your source analysis; your response itself should be as trim as is possible. (Please note: That is the Unit convenor's attitude to footnotes! Some people don't like them. In future courses, you should ascertain the individual approach of your teachers in this regard - just to be on the safe side.)

A bibliography of any modern works utilised must be provided.

Submission: via Turnitin.

Required word length: 850 words (+/-10%). All +/- tolerances included in the word length range.

Due submission: Before relevant seminar, Weeks 2-7 only. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED unless an application for Disruption to Studies is made and approved.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Analyse and express your judgement about Roman imperial political, social, economic and cultural history in an oral and written form
Find, analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources for early imperial Roman history and present the information in a written format; interpret historical and historiographical information with appreciation and understanding

Essay

Due: 5.00pm AEST, Sunday, Week 8
Weighting: 30%

Length: 1500 words (+/- 10%). This is a pre-circulated task. ONE (1) written assignment (Major Essay) is to be submitted for assessment. Your Major Essay will count for 30% of your final mark. Your Major Essay must be submitted via Turnitin by no later than 5pm AEST Sunday in Week 8.

It is expected that your answer to the essay question will demonstrate extensive consultation of the ancient sources listed in the Unit Guide. Bibliographies will provide you with a starting point for developing a reading list of secondary literature for the essay topic you have chosen. Essay topics will be available for review and selection on the unit iLearn site. In order to locate further material (both ancient and modern) on particular topics or personalities, consult the footnotes and indices of modern works.

In general, secondary literature should be consulted only by way of explaining the ancient sources or giving a broad perspective on the interpretation of the source material and, of course, all opinions included in the essay, whether quoted directly or paraphrased should be referenced according to the guidelines, Essay Presentation & Conventions: Style Guide, available from the Departmental office (W6A 540) or online at http://mq.edu.au/about_us/faculties_and_departments/faculty_of_arts/department_of_ancient_history/teaching_materials/.

Ensure you download the Full Version of the Essay Presentation Guide.

Submission: via Turnitin

Required word length: 1500 words (+/- 10%). All +/- tolerances included in the word range.

Due submission: 5.00pm AEST, Sunday Week 8. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED unless an application for Disruption to Studies is made and approved.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Analyse and express your judgement about Roman imperial political, social, economic and cultural history in an oral and written form
Find, analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources for early imperial Roman history and present the information in a written format; interpret historical and historiographical information with appreciation and understanding

Source Analysis + Minor Essay

Due: 7-10pm AEST, Week 13
Weighting: 30%

Length: 750 words (+/- 10%) for each response = 1500 words (+/- 10%) in total. There will be a final written task in Week 13. This task will take the form of

ONE (1) compulsory Source Analysis question on the principal ancient literary sources used in the Unit and
ONE (1) Minor Essay question chosen from a selection of six (6) questions.

Your Source Analysis + Minor Essay must be submitted as a single file via Turnitin. This is a timed assessment task (3 hrs) and will be open from 7pm to 10pm AEST on Saturday in Week 13.

Your selection of evidence relating to your response to the Source Analysis question cannot include information already treated in your Source Analysis or Major Essay responses.
Your selection of minor essay question is restricted to topics not already treated in your Source Analysis or Major Essay responses.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your Source Analysis and Minor Essay responses do not relate in any way to written work submitted in previous assessment responses to your chosen Source Analysis and Major Essay topics.

NO LATE SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED unless an application for Disruption to Studies is made and approved.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Analyse and express your judgement about Roman imperial political, social, economic and cultural history in an oral and written form
Find, analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources for early imperial Roman history and present the information in a written format; interpret historical and historiographical information with appreciation and understanding

Delivery and Resources

CLASSES

For seminars 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.NB There are no formal lectures scheduled for this unit. However, recordings of lectures delivered in previous years will be provided on the AHIS212 iLearn site.

RESOURCES

REQUIRED READING

Tacitus, The Annals (transl. and commentary by A.J. Woodman, 2004) [available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/42733871/Annals-Tacitus]

Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars (Oxford World Classics 2000)

This unit will lay great emphasis on the evidence of ancient sources. The Book of Readings (available for download on the unit iLearn site) should (if possible) be brought (or accessible while listening) to lectures and tutorials. Copies of Tacitus and Suetonius should be brought to all the relevant sessions also. You may also wish to purchase some paperback translations of other writers in addition to the above. For example, Cassius Dio, The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus, Vergil, Aeneid, Horace, Odes and Epodes, Pliny the Younger, Letters - all available in a Penguin edition.

RECOMMENDED READING

Werner Eck (transl. D.L. Schneider), The Age of Augustus (Oxford 2003)

Richard Alston, Aspects of Roman History AD14-117 (London 1998, 2nd ed. 2013)

Anthony Birley, Hadrian the Restless Emperor (London 1997)

Unit Schedule

Week 1	Recorded Lectures 1. Caesar's murder and its political effects. 2. Octavian, Antonius and the battle of Actium.	Seminar 0
Week 2	Recorded Lectures 1. Octavian becomes Augustus - 27 BC. 2. Augustan history: the Res Gestae and Dio.	Seminar 1
Week 3	Recorded Lectures 1. Augustus' military career. 2. Augustus and freedom of speech in Rome.	Seminar 2
Week 4	Recorded Lectures 1. Augustus' plan for his successor. 2. Augustan monuments in Rome.	Seminar 3
Week 5	Recorded Lectures 1. Tiberius and Augustus. 2. Tiberius and his nephew Germanicus.	Seminar 4
Week 6	Recorded Lectures 1. Sejanus and the end of Tiberius' principate. 2. Caligula - hopes for a new Golden Age.	Seminar 5
Week 7	Recorded Lectures 1. Caligula and the Jews of Alexandria. 2. Caligula's sister, Drusilla Panthea, and the precedent of Livia.	Seminar 6
Week 8	Recorded Lectures 1. Claudius' accession and the role of the Praetorian Guard. 2. Claudius' wives and freedmen.	No seminar
Week 9	Recorded Lectures 1. The early years of Nero as ruler. 2. The Pisonian conspiracy against Nero	Seminar 7
Week 10	Recorded Lectures 1. AD 69-70: The Civil Wars. 2. Vespasian and Rome	Seminar 8
Week 11	Recorded Lectures 1. Titus and the fall of Jerusalem. 2. Achievements of Domitian's principate	Seminar 9
Week 12	Recorded Lectures 1. Rome under Nerva and Trajan. 2. Trajan's expansive wars.	Seminar 10
Week 13	Recorded Lectures 1. Hadrian, Trajan's successor. 2. Hadrian and the Jewish War.	No seminar

Learning and Teaching Activities

Source-based Collaborative Participation

This Learning and Teaching Activity pertains to the Participation and Source Analysis Assessment Tasks. As listed in the Unit Schedule, students meet online to examine primary evidence from antiquity which illuminate one or more facets of life under the Caesars (44 BC-AD138). This evidence may be literary, documentary and/or material in nature, and will touch on political and/or military and/or socio-cultural aspects of Roman history during the studied period. As outlined in the Assessment Task summary, this activity requires commitment, preparation and active involvement: (1) COMMITMENT: consistent presence in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode; (2) PREPARATION: pre-reading of prescribed source materials and relevant note-taking; (3) ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT: posts responding directly to stimulus questions and fellow student comments in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode. For students enrolled in external mode, this Learning and Teaching Activity will take place in the online Learning Forums.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

Find, analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources for early imperial Roman history and present the information in a written format; interpret historical and historiographical information with appreciation and understanding

Assessment task

Participation

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Actively participate in group discussion; work with and respond to the views of Ancient History staff and other students in the unit in an oral form
Analyse and express your judgement about Roman imperial political, social, economic and cultural history in an oral and written form
Find, analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources for early imperial Roman history and present the information in a written format; interpret historical and historiographical information with appreciation and understanding

Assessment task

Participation

Learning and teaching activity

This Learning and Teaching Activity pertains to the Participation and Source Analysis Assessment Tasks. As listed in the Unit Schedule, students meet online to examine primary evidence from antiquity which illuminate one or more facets of life under the Caesars (44 BC-AD138). This evidence may be literary, documentary and/or material in nature, and will touch on political and/or military and/or socio-cultural aspects of Roman history during the studied period. As outlined in the Assessment Task summary, this activity requires commitment, preparation and active involvement: (1) COMMITMENT: consistent presence in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode; (2) PREPARATION: pre-reading of prescribed source materials and relevant note-taking; (3) ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT: posts responding directly to stimulus questions and fellow student comments in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode. For students enrolled in external mode, this Learning and Teaching Activity will take place in the online Learning Forums.

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Assessment tasks

Essay
Source Analysis + Minor Essay

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Actively participate in group discussion; work with and respond to the views of Ancient History staff and other students in the unit in an oral form
Analyse and express your judgement about Roman imperial political, social, economic and cultural history in an oral and written form
Find, analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources for early imperial Roman history and present the information in a written format; interpret historical and historiographical information with appreciation and understanding

Assessment tasks

Participation
Source Analysis
Essay
Source Analysis + Minor Essay

Learning and teaching activities

This Learning and Teaching Activity pertains to the Participation and Source Analysis Assessment Tasks. As listed in the Unit Schedule, students meet online to examine primary evidence from antiquity which illuminate one or more facets of life under the Caesars (44 BC-AD138). This evidence may be literary, documentary and/or material in nature, and will touch on political and/or military and/or socio-cultural aspects of Roman history during the studied period. As outlined in the Assessment Task summary, this activity requires commitment, preparation and active involvement: (1) COMMITMENT: consistent presence in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode; (2) PREPARATION: pre-reading of prescribed source materials and relevant note-taking; (3) ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT: posts responding directly to stimulus questions and fellow student comments in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode. For students enrolled in external mode, this Learning and Teaching Activity will take place in the online Learning Forums.

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Actively participate in group discussion; work with and respond to the views of Ancient History staff and other students in the unit in an oral form
Analyse and express your judgement about Roman imperial political, social, economic and cultural history in an oral and written form
Find, analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources for early imperial Roman history and present the information in a written format; interpret historical and historiographical information with appreciation and understanding

Assessment tasks

Source Analysis
Essay
Source Analysis + Minor Essay

Learning and teaching activities

This Learning and Teaching Activity pertains to the Participation and Source Analysis Assessment Tasks. As listed in the Unit Schedule, students meet online to examine primary evidence from antiquity which illuminate one or more facets of life under the Caesars (44 BC-AD138). This evidence may be literary, documentary and/or material in nature, and will touch on political and/or military and/or socio-cultural aspects of Roman history during the studied period. As outlined in the Assessment Task summary, this activity requires commitment, preparation and active involvement: (1) COMMITMENT: consistent presence in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode; (2) PREPARATION: pre-reading of prescribed source materials and relevant note-taking; (3) ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT: posts responding directly to stimulus questions and fellow student comments in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode. For students enrolled in external mode, this Learning and Teaching Activity will take place in the online Learning Forums.

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

Find, analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources for early imperial Roman history and present the information in a written format; interpret historical and historiographical information with appreciation and understanding

Assessment tasks

Source Analysis
Essay

Learning and teaching activities

This Learning and Teaching Activity pertains to the Participation and Source Analysis Assessment Tasks. As listed in the Unit Schedule, students meet online to examine primary evidence from antiquity which illuminate one or more facets of life under the Caesars (44 BC-AD138). This evidence may be literary, documentary and/or material in nature, and will touch on political and/or military and/or socio-cultural aspects of Roman history during the studied period. As outlined in the Assessment Task summary, this activity requires commitment, preparation and active involvement: (1) COMMITMENT: consistent presence in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode; (2) PREPARATION: pre-reading of prescribed source materials and relevant note-taking; (3) ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT: posts responding directly to stimulus questions and fellow student comments in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode. For students enrolled in external mode, this Learning and Teaching Activity will take place in the online Learning Forums.

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Actively participate in group discussion; work with and respond to the views of Ancient History staff and other students in the unit in an oral form
Analyse and express your judgement about Roman imperial political, social, economic and cultural history in an oral and written form
Find, analyse and interpret primary and secondary sources for early imperial Roman history and present the information in a written format; interpret historical and historiographical information with appreciation and understanding

Assessment tasks

Participation
Source Analysis
Essay
Source Analysis + Minor Essay

Learning and teaching activities

This Learning and Teaching Activity pertains to the Participation and Source Analysis Assessment Tasks. As listed in the Unit Schedule, students meet online to examine primary evidence from antiquity which illuminate one or more facets of life under the Caesars (44 BC-AD138). This evidence may be literary, documentary and/or material in nature, and will touch on political and/or military and/or socio-cultural aspects of Roman history during the studied period. As outlined in the Assessment Task summary, this activity requires commitment, preparation and active involvement: (1) COMMITMENT: consistent presence in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode; (2) PREPARATION: pre-reading of prescribed source materials and relevant note-taking; (3) ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT: posts responding directly to stimulus questions and fellow student comments in weekly online forums if enrolled in external mode. For students enrolled in external mode, this Learning and Teaching Activity will take place in the online Learning Forums.

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Assessment tasks

Participation
Source Analysis
Essay

Changes from Previous Offering

The following elements of AHIS212 have changed:

1. Assessment: weighting and type

Seminar participation assessment has increased from 20% to 25%; source analysis assessment has decreased from 20% to 15%.
Written seminar submissions have decreased from 2 to 1; a take-home extended responses task in Week 13 replaces the formal examination.

2. Lectures and classes

Lectures are provided as recordings from previous years rather than presented in real-time.
Internal classes take the form of 2hr seminars instead of 1hr tutorials.
External online forums take the form of mandatory posts (original responses to prescribed discussion questions + selective response(s) to one (or more) named peers).

Assignment Submission and Extensions

ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSIONS

ALL written assignments (seminar paper, essay, extended response) will be submitted via Turnitin.

EXTENSIONS

ALL deadlines are firm unless an extension has been requested no later than one (1) week before the due date. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED unless an application for Disruption to Studies is made and approved.