ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION

This unit uses ‘Turnitin Assignments’ as the submission method for all assessment tasks. Assignments are submitted through the appropriate portal in the ‘Assessments’ section of the iLearn website.

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

GRADING

Criteria and standards required for the assessment tasks will be found on the unit iLearn site.

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

EXTENSIONS AND PENALTIES FOR LATE SUBMISSION FOR ALL 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 (on which, see below), (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 the final exam.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATION

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 five (5) working days after the assessment task due date, examination or test date.

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

IMPORTANT NOTE ON FINAL MARKS

Please note with respect to the marks you receive for work during the session: that 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.

ABOUT THIS UNIT

The aim of this unit is to examine the ethos of the Roman Republic’s political elite as it met Rome’s changing circumstances. The period chosen for study also allows us to examine the complex phenomenon of that Republic’s failure at the very time of Rome’s successful imperial expansion around the Mediterranean basin.

The course concerns itself with the last century and a half of the period conventionally designated in modern times as the Roman Republic: from 168 BC, when Roman troops destroyed the Macedonian army at the battle of Pydna, and particularly from 146 BC, the year of the destruction of Carthage and Corinth, to 27 BC, the year in which C. Iulius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian) assumed the title Augustus, with the last lecture looking at the long principatus (or “premiership”) of Augustus which lasted until his death in AD 14. (Special emphasis is placed on the second century BC.) Developments in this period, both internal and external, are of critical significance in the history of western civilization. We look closely at traditional political and social institutions, values and practice, and try to assess the effect on these of Rome’s emergence as the supreme power in the Mediterranean.

The main questions will be how and why the traditional political order was challenged and finally overrun by violence leading to military autocracy and the radical transformation of the Republic. Larger social and economic developments in Italy and the Mediterranean will need to be addressed, and the distinctive features of moral and political thought of the period will also be considered. The course is largely a study of the Roman nobility and its members’ response to change and crisis. One of the themes of the course will be the values of Rome’s elite.

Lectures:

The lectures for this unit have been recorded and the audio recordings can be downloaded or streamed via the Echo 360 system 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 unit site. The material covered will form an essential preparation for your responses in Part (i) in the Examination. 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. Students are asked to discuss tutorial topics amongst themselves by posting online via the Discussion Forum for the appropriate week on the iLearn website.

We hope that participation in these discussions will be a vital and rewarding part of the unit.

RESOURCES

Required Reading and Texts

Plutarch, Makers of Rome (London, Penguin Books Ltd, 1965)

Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic (London, Penguin Books Ltd, 1958, 2005 edition)

H.H. Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero (5th edition, London, 1982)

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.

Required texts are available for purchase at the Co-Op bookstore < https://www.booktopia.com.au/books-online/text-books/higher-education-vocational-textbooks/cXA-p1.html?utm_source=coop.com.au&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=301&utm_term=default&bk_source=coop&bk_source_id=default&hb=coop>.

UNIT WEBPAGE AND TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED

This unit will use iLearn: <https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/index.php/>. 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

Students are required to participate in tutorial discussions online via the Discussion Fora on the iLearn website.

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.      

Week 1 An Introduction to Roman Culture and History

Week 2 The Rise of Rome to 146 BC

Week 3 Scipio Aemilianus

Week 4 Problems Facing Rome in the Mid-Second Century

Week 5 133 BC: The Tribunate of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus

Week 6 The Killing of Tiberius Gracchus

Week 7 Archaeological Evidence for the Impact of Gracchus’ Land Program

Week 8 The Tribunates of Gaius Sempronius Gracchus

Week 9 The Killing of Gaius Gracchus and the Rise of Marius

Week 10 From the Political Violence of 100 BC to the Dictatorship of Sulla

Week 11 Pompey the Great

Week 12 Caesar

Week 13 Augustus