Living with the Romans: Urbanism in the Roman Empire

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Think across the academic divide between the Late Pre-Roman Iron age and the Roman period
• Analyse and interpret evidence for towns within the broader social, economic, political and cultural contexts of the Roman empire.
• Better understand the complex interplays of academic argument in Roman archaeology
• Be more critical in your thinking about the nature of urbanism in the Roman world
• Integrate the analysis of different kinds of archaeological and historical data

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Understand the broader ramifications of the archaeological evidence for towns on study visits and on the excavation/survey of Roman towns
• Deal with historical, epigraphic, geophysical and architectural evidence
• Undertake comparative analyses of archaeological evidence for towns across the Roman empire

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Evaluate and synthesize complex bodies of data
• Undertake research on a specific theme
• Make/contribute to group presentations with confidence
• Work successfully in a group
• Critically analyze complex issues

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• the ways in which towns acted as key conduits for social and political change in the Roman empire
• the role of Roman towns in creating interlinked economies within the Roman empire
• the ways in which monuments and public texts created a sense of “belonging” within the empire
• the ways in which monuments and public texts worked together to help articulate ideologies of empire
• the relationship between pre-Roman and Roman towns
• social, economic and cultural connectivity between towns in the Roman empire
• the structuring principles underlying the layout of different kinds of public and residential buildings and townscapes

The module is organized thematically, and encompasses Roman towns from across the Roman world between the 3rd century BC and the 6th century AD.

Part One explores ideas concerning the origins of the Roman concept of town, the susceptibility of towns to definition from a range of different perspectives, and the relevance of urban models to our understanding of towns in the Roman empire.

Part Two looks at the archaeological evidence for townscapes, analyzing evidence for the changing roles and character of walls, streets, public building and public architecture, houses and gardens, cemeteries, and buildings/areas set aside for production and exchange.

Part Three introduces you to issues such as visibility and access, the ways in which people may have “negotiated” townscapes, either individually or as groups through processions and in meetings.

Part Four explores the relationship between buildings and monumental writing and art. In particular, it presents a range of texts and examples of monumental art, examines the kinds of information/message that they carried, and looks at the ways in which both were meant to be read in the context of the buildings themselves.

In Part Five the module concludes by looking at towns in the broader landscape, touching upon issues such as the “edges” of towns, the relationship of towns to non-urban settlements, and the connectivity of towns in regional contexts. The module will maintain a balance between general background and specific case-studies in different parts of the Roman empire at different periods.

Teaching methods include

• Lectures
• Student-led discussion groups
• Student led presentations

Learning activities include

• Formal and structured seminar classes to support the lecture programme.
• Standard lecture and class-based activities; use of handouts
• Essay writing, source evaluation and learning through oral presentation
• Preparation of detailed reading lists for assessments
• Some informal self-learning through videos/CD-Rom/Web

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Presentation

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback: Peer and teacher verbal feedback in the class and written feedback via feedback forms
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.