Undergraduate Course: Romans Overseas (ANHI10108)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores the nature and consequences of migration from Italy into the wider Mediterranean at the time of Rome's increasing territorial expansion. Italians and Roman citizens who moved overseas on their own initiative frequently formed associations in their new places of residence. These associations not only facilitated economic activities between Italy and the rest of the Mediterranean by forming durable trade networks, but also enabled their members to create and express their Italian and/or Roman identity through cultural and religious practices, in a variety of non-Roman environments. |
| Course description |
What did it mean for local communities to encompass Roman citizen settlers? How did these Romans style themselves and create their own "expat" identity, and how was this perceived locally? To what extent and in what ways were they different from other diaspora communities, e.g. the Jews? By thinking of these and similar questions, the students will be introduced to republican history from an inward rather than outward perspective. Focusing on the periphery and exploring the implications of this phenomenon locally will contribute to more nuanced considerations on the broader question of Rome's expansion between the late republic and the early empire.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students are recommended to have taken and passed Ancient History 2a: Past and Present in the Ancient World (ANHI08014) and Ancient History 2b: Themes and Theories in Ancient History (ANHI08013). |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics, History or Archaeology (at least 1 of which should be in Ancient History) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
2000 word Source commentary (40%)
3000 word Essay (60%) |
| Feedback |
Students will receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours for this course or by appointment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Analyse ancient literary and epigraphic sources concerning Roman/Italian diaspora communities across the Mediterranean, placing them in their proper historical and socio-political context
- Critically assess the phenomenon of migration from Italy into the wider Mediterranean in the late republican and the early imperial periods
- Gain a deeper, multifaceted understanding of the main driving forces behind migration from Italy at this time as well as the consequences for Rome/Italy and provincial communities
- Reflect on the relevance of the study of migration in the ancient world to modern-day societies
- Engage in active scholarly debate with their peers, formulate independent research questions, and express their arguments in written form
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Reading List
Clackson, J., P. James, K. McDonald, L. Tagliapietra, and N. Zair, eds. (2020) Migration, Mobility and Language Contact in and around the Ancient Mediterranean, Cambridge.
Eberle, L. (2016) "Law, empire, and the making of Roman estates in the provinces during the late Republic", Critical Analysis of Law 3.1, 50-69.
Eberle, L. and E. Le Quéré (2017) "Landed Traders, Trading Agriculturalists? Land in the Economy of the Italian Diaspora in the Greek East", Journal of Roman Studies 107, 27-59.
Hin, S. (2008) "Counting Romans", in L. de Ligt and S. Northwood, eds. People, Land, and Politics: Demographic Developments and the Transformation of Roman Italy 300 BC-AD 14, Leiden and Boston, 187-238.
Purcell, N. (2005) "Romans in the Roman World", in K. Galinsky, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus, Cambridge, 85-105.
Ramgopal, S. (2017) "One and Many: Associations of Roman Citizens in Greece", in A. Rizakis and S. Zoumbaki, eds. Social Dynamics under Roman Rule: Mobility and Status Change in the Provinces of Achaia and Macedonia, Athens, 407-425.
Ramgopal, S. (2022) "Connectivity and Disconnectivity in the Roman Empire", The Journal of Roman Studies 112, 215-235.
Rauh, N.K. (1993) The Sacred Bonds of Commerce: Religion, Economy and Trade Society at Hellenistic Roman Delos, 166-87 B.C. Amsterdam.
Roselaar, S.T., ed. (2012) Processes of Integration and Identity Formation in the Roman Republic, Leiden.
Terpstra, T. (2013) Trading Communities in the Roman World: A Micro-Economic and Institutional Perspective, Leiden.
Terpstra, T. (2020) "The imperial cult and the sacred bonds of Roman overseas commerce", in P. Arnaud and S. Keay, eds. Roman Port Societies: The Evidence of Inscriptions, Cambridge, 178-197.
Zoumbaki, S. (2013) "In search of the horn of plenty: Roman entrepreneurs in the agricultural economy of the province of Achaia", in A.D. Rizakis and I.P. Touratsoglou, eds. Villae Rusticae: Family and Market-Oriented Farms in Greece under Roman Rule, Athens, 52-73. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Approach, contextualise, analyse, and critically assess a wide range of primary literary and epigraphic sources
- Synthesise and critically assess modern scholarship on the topics studied, engaging with ongoing scholarly debates and theoretical approaches
- Formulate and express ideas arising from studying primary source material as well as secondary literature
- Construct and pursue independent research questions and arguments in written form |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lina Girdvainyte
Tel: (0131 6)50 6693
Email: Lina.Girdvainyte@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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