All the written assessment tasks are compulsory components of this unit and must be submitted on time.

Guidelines for the assessment tasks, assessment criteria (rubrics), and standards for grading each of the tasks are available on the unit iLearn site.

 

1. SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE: This exercise is compulsory but does not count towards your final grade.

You will provide ten short answers based on questions which relate to the first six lectures at the end of Week 3. Feedback will be provided in lectures in the following week.

One of the aims of this exercise is to measure your understanding of the Roman republican political process which will form the basis for your future study of the political evolution of the Roman state during the period of Cicero's lifetime. It will also serve as a guide to the sort of questions that will be asked in the Short-Answer section of the Examination.

It is due to be submitted on Sunday August 16th by 11.59pm.

 

2. TUTORIAL PAPER: Topics for discussion and assignment questions are set out under the relevant weeks 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 as a pdf via Turnitin on the iLearn site BEFORE the relevant tutorial. (For external/online students the paper must be submitted before 9am on the Monday morning of the relevant week's discussion.) Tutorial papers will NOT be accepted after tutorial discussion in the classroom (or on the External/Online Forum) has taken place. Students are advised strongly to submit a tutorial paper by the mid-session break.

The appropriate length of tutorial assignments will be 1000 words (plus or minus 10%). 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 the Short Ancient History Presentation Style Guide available on the unit iLearn site). I 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. Marking rubrics and guidelines for referencing will be provided on the unit's iLearn site.

Please note that footnotes and bibliography due not count in the word length for this unit.

 

3. ESSAY: One essay, counting for 35% of the final mark, is required. It should be 2000 words (plus or minus 10%). IT IS DUE ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 2ND by 11.59pm. Topics and marking criteria will be handed out early in the session. Marking rubrics and guidelines for referencing will also be provided on the iLearn site.

Please note again that footnotes and bibliography due not count in the word length for this unit.

 

4. 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 dates and 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 2020 is from 9th of November to 27th of 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. 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.

 

5. ACTIVE PARTICIPATION: 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. Active participation is assessed by a student’s engagement in activities such as discussions facilitated by the lecturer/tutor, the proposal of well-informed questions and contributions in tutorials, lectures and in online discussion forums; and involvement in set activities. Participation is expected to be well considered and relevant to this unit of study. Please note that attendance alone cannot be assessed. Students are also expected to show consideration for fellow classmates and teaching staff by behaving in a considerate and mature manner.

 

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 AND RETURN

All written work (apart from that undertaken in the examination) must be submitted through the iLearn website. Please upload your assignment to the drop-box under the relevant week. Save your assignment as a pdf file. All assignment files should be saved with your full name in the label of the file. All assignments should include the following at the start: Student name; Student number; Assessment Task Title or Question.

The Tutorial Paper and Major Essay will be returned via the Turnitin tool on the iLearn site and will contain feedback from the marker. Every effort will be made to return assignments in a timely fashion. Information about how to submit work online can be accessed through the iLearn site.

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

Staff shall also aim to return essays by the end of the session.

N.B. (NOTA BENE), i.e. NOTE WELL: You should always keep a copy of completed assignment tasks in case of loss.

 

EXTENSIONS AND PENALTIES FOR LATE SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENT TASKS

Extensions for assignments can only be granted for serious and unavoidable disruptions that arise after a study period has commenced and may only be sought with the support of documentary evidence. If you anticipate any difficulty in meeting due dates for assignments then it is important that you contact the unit convenor as early as possible and before the deadline. Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.  

 

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION

The granting of extensions is subject to the University's Special Consideration Policy.

A student who has experienced unexpected, unavoidable, and serious circumstances affecting their assessable work may lodge an application for Special Consideration.

Applications will only be accepted in the following circumstances:

• where academic work has been hampered to a substantial degree by illness or other cause; and
• the circumstances are serious and unavoidable and beyond the student’s control; and
• the application for Special Consideration is lodged no later than fifteen (15) working days after the assessment task due date or examination date.

https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

 

ASSIGNMENT LENGTH

Markers will not read assignments which are more than 10% over the specified word length. Please note that footnotes and bibliography do not count in the word length in this particular unit. (You should not expect that this will be the case in other units that you are undertaking.)

 

IMPORTANT NOTE ON FINAL MARKS

Please note with respect to the marks you receive for work during the session: the marks given are indicative only; final marks will be determined after moderation. See further the note on Results in the Policies and Procedures section below.

 

DIFFICULTIES

If you have any difficulties submitting assessments, please do not hesitate to contact the unit convenor: lea.beness@mq.edu.au

CLASSES FOR INTERNAL/SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE STUDENTS

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 and listening is that in the lectures we signal the topics that we deem significant. It is these topics which will be examined.

Tutorials: Topics for discussion and questions to be addressed are set out under the appropriate week on the iLearn site. There are tutorials for most weeks of the session. All tutorials will focus upon the historiographical aspects of studying this period. Preparation for each tutorial is advised, since the material covered in these sessions will be examined. Only by reading the material set for discussion in advance will you receive the full benefit of these sessions. I hope that participation in these discussions will be a vital and rewarding part of the unit.

 

EXPECTATIONS FOR EXTERNAL/ONLINE STUDENTS

Lectures: As for internal students, the lectures for this unit will be recorded and the audio recordings can be downloaded or streamed via the Echo 360 system or via Zoom which can be accessed via the iLearn site.

Tutorials: Topics for discussion and questions to be addressed are set out under the appropriate week on the iLearn site. EXTERNAL/ONLINE STUDENTS WILL BE INVITED TO BEGIN DISCUSSION OF THE TUTORIAL QUESTIONS FROM 9AM ON THE RELEVANT WEEKS OF THE SESSION. All tutorials will focus upon the historiographical aspects of studying this period. Preparation for each tutorial is advised, since the material covered in these sessions will be examined. Only by reading the material set for discussion in advance will you receive the full benefit of the questions and issues discussed in the forum. There are tutorial topics set for most weeks of the session. I hope that participation in these discussions will be a vital and rewarding part of the unit.

 

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 ancient 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 electronically on the ilearn site.

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. An online version of Scullard is available through the Library website (via Leganto).

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). Tatum's work is available online in the Library (via Leganto).

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 and via Leganto.

There are two essential works of reference for the course:

The Oxford Classical Dictionary (abbreviated OCD), multiple copies of which are held in the Library and it is also accessible online via the Library website. 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 may be found in the Library. 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. All volumes are accessible as e-books on the Library website.

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 THE UNIT

It is expected that INTERNAL students audit lectures and attend tutorials and that they spend 9 hours per week on individual study and participation in class across the 15 weeks of the session. EXTERNAL students should devote the same time to the unit, listening to lectures through the Echo 360 system and via Zoom and participating in the discussion forum on the set tutorial topics online.

The importance of a regular commitment to the activities in the unit is reflected in the final examination in which questions are drawn directly from material covered in the lectures and tutorials.

Students will be expected to attempt each of the assessment tasks and will need to achieve an overall mark of 50% or above to complete the unit satisfactorily.

 

*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:  The first tutorial will be introductory (no preparation is required)

 

Week 2

Lecture 1: Cicero’s Early Life to 88 BC

Lecture 2: 88 BC

Tutorial: Roman Religion (especially in the time of Sulla)

 

Week 3

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

Lecture 2: The Sullan aftermath

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

Tutorial: There are no tutorials this week but there will be a quiz on the first six lectures due at the end of the week (due Sunday 16th August by 11.59pm)

 

Week 4

Lecture 1: Gladiators & Slaves I

Lecture 2: Gladiators & Slaves II

Tutorial: Pompey's Early Career

 

Week 5

Lecture 1: Who were the equites?

Lecture 2: Pompey's Great Commands, Cicero’s pro lege Manilia and the Mithridatic War

Tutorial: T. Pomponius Atticus

 

Week 6

Lecture 1: Pompey’s Return and Life in Ciceronian Rome

Lecture 2: The 'First Catilinarian Conspiracy' and the 'Catilinarian Conspiracy'

Tutorial: Caesar's Early Career

 

Week 7

Lecture 1: The 'Catilinarian Conspiracy', the Bona Dea Affair: the Politics of Enmity

Lecture 2: Cicero's Career to the late sixties BC

Tutorial: The Bona Dea and the Bona Dea Affair

_______________________________________________________________________________

Mid-semester Recess (two weeks)

_______________________________________________________________________________

Week 8

Friday October 2nd: Essay Due

THERE ARE NO LECTURES OR TUTORIALS THIS WEEK

 

Week 9

Lecture 1: The Coalition of Caesar, Crassus and Pompey

Lecture 2: Caesar’s Gallic Wars

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

 

Week 10

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: Cicero's Letters: Relationships

 

Week 11

Lecture 1: Theatre in Life and Politics; Pompey's Theatre and the Urban Landscape

Lecture 2: The Culture of the Late Roman Republic: Literature, Philosophy and Rhetoric

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

ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION

All written work (apart from that generated in the examination) must be submitted through the iLearn website. Please upload your assignment to the drop-box under the relevant week. Save your assignment as a pdf. All assignment files should be saved with your full name in the label of the file. All assignments should include the following at the start: Student name; Student number; Assessment Task Title or Question.

Information about how to submit work online can be accessed through the iLearn unit site.

 

ASSIGNMENT LENGTH

Markers will not read assignments which are more than 10% over the specified word length. Please note that footnotes and bibliography do not count in the word length in this particular unit. (You should not expect that this will be the case in other units that you are undertaking.)

 

ASSIGNMENT RETURN

Feedback on tutorial papers and major essays will be returned via the Turnitin tool on the iLearn Unit site and will contain feedback from the marker. Every effort will be made to return assignments in a timely fashion.

 

EXTENSIONS AND PENALTIES FOR LATE SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENT TASKS

Extensions for assignments can only be granted for serious and unavoidable disruptions that arise after a study period has commenced and may only be sought with the support of documentary evidence. If you anticipate any difficulty in meeting due dates for assignments then it is important that you contact the unit convenor as early as possible and before the deadline. Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.