ASSESSMENT TASKS

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 lecture on "The Roman 'Constitution' & Roman Society" in Week 3. The tutorial this week will also touch upon the Roman political process. Feedback will be provided in the following week.

The aim 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 in the period 168–80 BC.

It is due to be submitted on Thursday (Ides of) March 15th by 11.59pm. Beware!

2. Preparatory Exercise: This task counts towards only 10% towards your final grade.

We would like to give you as much feedback as possible as soon as possible in the session. As many of you will be undertaking this unit as the first in your university career, we are offering a very short exercise based on Tutorial Topic Two ('The Values and Goals of the Roman Nobility'), to ensure that you are familiar with the desired mode of presenting evidence and documenting an academic paper.

To that end we are asking that you submit a very short paper (of no more than 100 words) on the following topic:

Identify three important values of the Roman nobility, and provide the evidence from the ancient sources for our knowledge of each of these values. (The means of referencing your paper will be discussed at the preceding tutorial for internal students and in the Discussion Group for externals.)

In this exercise, we are looking for three distinct Roman aristocratic values found in the sources provided, clearly outlined (within the word limit), the citation of ancient evidence, clarity of presentation, good expression and grammatical accuracy. The exercise will be graded according to these criteria (e.g., systematic citation, number of sources cited, and standard of presentation). The paper should be written in prose, not point form.

This is what is termed a 'low-risk task'. It will count relatively little towards your final assessment (thus removing a good deal of pressure), but it will get you into the swing of things early; it is due to be submitted on Thursday March 29th by 11.59pm). The assignment is designed to assist you in the preparation for your essay.

The mode of desired referencing will be found on the iLearn website.

3. Ancient Source Dossier (worth 15% of your final grade):

In this exercise, you will construct a ‘source dossier’ of at least ten ancient sources on a particular Roman politician to be identified in Week 7 (from a variety of source material that will be discussed in class in that week). In this way, you will become familiar with the different information that can be extracted from literary testimonia (i.e., written texts), epigraphical sources (i.e., inscriptions) and numismatic sources (i.e., coins).

Exercises will be graded according to the number of sources found, proper source citation and clarity of presentation. The assignment must be submitted on Thursday May 3rd by 11.59pm.

4. Prosopographical Paper/Essay: One essay, counting for 35% of the final mark, is required.

The staff will prepare a full source dossier based upon the research we have undertaken together for the previous exercise. Using this dossier, you will submit a profile and an evaluation of the career of the same individual. The Essay is due Thursday May 24th by 11.59pm. (Fuller details will be supplied later in the course [in Week 7], together with guides to the exercise). This will be done in the first lecture at 12pm on Monday 9th April.  (It is essential that you attend or listen to this lecture.)

This essay will be graded according to the rubrics provided on the iLearn site.

Please note that Ancient History Essay Presentation Guides will be made available on the iLearn website.

5. Examination: There is a two-hour examination scheduled in the University Examination Period. It is worth 40% of the final assessment. It will include:

 (i) a compulsory question on the nature of Rome's crisis and the Republic’s strengths and weaknesses (which is here pre-circulated.)

"A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation." (Edmund Burke)

Discuss this proposition with regard to the Roman Republic between the period 168 and 80 BC.  Was the Roman Republic without the means of change? Was change the solution in your opinion? Discuss with regard to political developments between 168 and 80 BC. (In your answer, you should make specific references to the particular problems that Rome faced in this period and to the solutions proposed and/or enacted by various individuals.)

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

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

IMPORTANT: The University Examination period in 1st Session 2016 is from 12th of June to 29th of June.

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.

GRADING

Criteria and standards required for the assessment tasks will be found on the 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

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.

Assessments 2 to 4 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.

Over the course of AHIS110 your work will be marked by at least two members of staff.

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

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.)

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 five (5) 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

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.

ABOUT THIS UNIT

This unit concerns itself with the beginning of the Roman Republic's drift towards its political collapse, and in particular with the beginnings of the so-called "Roman Revolution". Special attention will be paid to the period from 168 BC, when Roman troops destroyed the Macedonian army at the battle of Pydna, to the establishment of Sulla's dictatorship (82–80 BC), when the age of the General was at hand and the Republic's days were numbered. 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 dominating 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 the 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.

CLASSES FOR INTERNAL STUDENTS

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

Lectures: The lectures for this unit will be 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 site. All tutorials will focus upon the historiographical aspects of studying this period and 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.

There are tutorials each week for most weeks of the session. We hope that participation in these discussions will be a vital and rewarding part of the unit.

EXPECTATIONS FOR EXTERNAL 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 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. You should use the Tutorial Forum for External Students at the top of the iLearn site to discuss the questions posed each week. All tutorials will focus upon the historiographical aspects of studying this period and 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 the questions and issues discussed in the forum.

There are tutorial topics set each week for most weeks of the session. We hope that participation in these discussions will be a vital and rewarding part of the unit.

RESOURCES

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.

Plutarch Roman Lives: A Selection of Eight Lives (Oxford World's Classics)*

Appian The Civil Wars (Penguin Classics)

* Please note that the Lives of Plutarch that are covered in this unit are also available in two Penguin editions: Plutarch Makers of Rome (Penguin Classics) and Plutarch The Fall of the Roman Republic (Penguin Classics). These two books could be purchased as an alternative to the first of the two books above.

Other essential ancient sources to which reference will be made in the lectures have been compiled in a Book of Readings The Roman Republic in Crisis (revised edition) which will be available at the beginning of the session. Internal students should bring it 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. An online version of Scullard is available through the Library website.

Required and recommended texts are available for purchase at the Co-Op bookstore <http://www.coop-bookshop.com.au>.

Shorter paperbacks which provide an introduction to Republican history and a background to the period we are studying are:

Michael Crawford, The Roman Republic (Fontana, 1978); P.A. Brunt, Social Conflicts in the Roman Republic (Chatto & Windus, 1971); David Shotter, The Fall of the Roman Republic (2^nd edition, Routledge, 2005); and Catherine Steel, The End of the Roman Republic 146 to 44 BC. Conquest and Crisis (Edinburgh University Press, 2013).

These (the last two especially) are readily available and are recommended for purchase to those wanting a wider perspective.

A stocktaking of modern scholarship and a useful summation of many of the problematic issues arising in this topic will be found in M. Beard and M. Crawford Rome in the Late Republic. Problems and Interpretations (London, 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), designed for readers new to the subject; and Nathan Rosenstein and Robert Morstein-Marx (eds), A Companion to the Roman Republic (Oxford, Blackwell, 2006).

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

The Oxford Classical Dictionary (abbreviated OCD) 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. Hard copies of the various editions are held in the library and the latest edition is available online through the library website.

Copies of 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) will be held in Reserve in the library and is available for consultation online. This is an invaluable work 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. IX² (Cambridge University Press, 1994).

More detailed reading lists relating to particular topics will be made available electronically on the iLearn unit site. The most important recommended books and articles will be held either in Reserve in the Library or will be available electronically on the Library website.

UNIT WEBPAGE AND TECHNOLOGY USED AND REQUIRED

This unit will use iLearn: <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

Attendance

It is expected that internal students attend lectures and 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 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 5 assessment tasks and will need to achieve an overall mark of 50% or above to complete the unit satisfactorily.

AHIS110   ROME: From Republic to Empire

Lecture and Tutorial Program

N.B. This schedule may be altered according to the availability of guest lecturers.

Week 1

Lecture 1: Introduction to the Course

Lecture 2: The Culture of Republican Rome

There are TUTORIALS in the first week but they will be introductory (no preparation required).

Week 2

Lecture 1: The Rise of Rome I

Lecture 2: The Rise of Rome II

THERE ARE NO TUTORIALS THIS WEEK. Use the time to do your preparatory reading for next week's tutorial topic on Rome's Destruction of Carthage and to familiarize yourself with the Unit Guide and the AHIS110 iLearn site.

Week 3

Lecture 1: The Roman 'Constitution' & Roman Society

Lecture 2: Scipio Aemilianus

Tutorial Discussion Topic: Rome's Destruction of Carthage

The Self-Assessment Exercise is due this week.

Week 4

Lecture 1: Scipio Aemilianus

Lecture 2: Scipio Aemilianus

Tutorial Discussion Topic: The Values and Goals of the Roman Nobility

Week 5

Lecture 1: Problems facing Rome in the mid-2nd Century I (military)

Lecture 2: Problems facing Rome in the mid-2nd Century II (agrarian/slave)

Tutorial Discussion Topic: The Attitudes and Values of Cato the Elder

The Documentation Exercise is due this week.

Week 6

Lecture 1: Problems facing Rome in the mid-2nd Century III (urban problems)

Lecture 2: Tiberius Gracchus (early career)

THERE ARE NO TUTORIALS THIS WEEK because of the Easter Monday holiday.

THE TWO LECTURES WILL BE RECORDED ON THE ECHO 360 SYSTEM. YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THEM THIS WEEK WHILE YOU ARE HAVING A BREAK FROM TUTORIALS!!

Week 7

Lecture 1: Essential Essay Preparation: an introduction to prosopography

Lecture 2: Tiberius Gracchus (reform and revolution: the crisis of 133 BC)

Tutorial Discussion Topic: The Introduction of the Secret Ballot

                  and an auxiliary discussion on the Ancient Source Dossier and Essay

__________________________________________________________

MID-SESSION RECESS (two weeks)

__________________________________________________________

Week 8

Lecture 1: Archaeological Evidence for the Gracchan Land Program

Lecture 2: The Crisis of 129 BC: the Politics of Anxiety

Tutorial Discussion Topic:  The Latin Sources for Tiberius Gracchus

The Ancient Source Dossier is due this week.

Week 9

Lecture 1: Gaius Gracchus (early career and character)

Lecture 2: Gaius Gracchus (reform program)

Tutorial Discussion Topic: Greek Sources on the Deposition of M. Octavius and the Death of Tiberius Gracchus

Week 10

Lecture 1: The assassination of Gaius Gracchus and the Rise of Marius

Lecture 2: The Extraordinary Military Career of Marius

THERE ARE NO TUTORIALS THIS WEEK. You will be working on Assessment 4 (due next week).

Week 11

Lecture 1: Saturninus and Political Violence

Lecture 2: The Italian Question and the Italian War

Tutorial Discussion Topic: The Letter of Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi

The Prosopographical Paper is due this week.

Week 12

Lecture 1: Sulla, Pompeius Strabo, Cinna and Civil War

Lecture 2: The Cinnan dominatio and the Return of Sulla

Tutorial Discussion Topic: Marius' Consular Speech and Plutarch's Life of Marius (in the first part we return to the topic of Roman elite values and in the second we focus on historiography in preparation for the examination).

Week 13

Lecture 1: Sulla's Dictatorship

Lecture 2: Epilogue: from Sulla to Augustus

Tutorial Discussion Topic: Sulla's memoirs and Plutarch's Life of Sulla (This tutorial will also focus on historiographical issues in preparation for the examination.)

Friday June 8th                     Last day of classes (Valete!)

Tuesday June 12th               Examination Period begins (All the best!)

Friday June 29th                   Examination Period ends (Have a good break!)

The former Co-Convenor of the unit, Associate Professor Tom Hillard, retired in August 2017 but the good news is that he may give us some guest lectures!

Students please note that the Special Consideration Policy is effective from December 4th 2017 and replaces the Disruption to Studies Policy.

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

There are new penalties for late submission which adhere to the required policy of the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University.