This page is for an
old class and may be out of date
Romans
& Provincials
Allegory of a Roman Province from
the Temple of Hadrian, now in the
courtyard of
Palazzo dei Conservatori in
Rome
CLAS 4003H / HIST 398V
TTh 3:30-4:50
Old Main 423
Office: 407 Old
Main
Office Hours: Tu 12:30-1:30, W 3:45-4:45, and by
appointment
Phone: (479) 575-5891
Email: cmuntz@uark.edu
In this course we will look at the
complex relationships between the Romans and the
different cultures that they conquered and ruled. In
particular, we want to explore views of the Romans and
their policies in respect to their provincials and the
views and reactions of the provincials Regarding Rome,
employing as wide a range of evidence as possible. Then
we will briefly look at some modern empires and see how
they compare to the rule of Rome.
Workload
Oral
Reports: Each student
will be responsible for giving 4 oral reports, based on an
assigned article or book chapter. These reports should last
for about ten minutes, and should try to answer the
following questions:
What is the author’s argument/thesis?
What ancient evidence does the author employ?
What methodology does the author use?
What previous scholarship does the author use?
What previous scholarship does the author rebutt?
What are the larger implications of the author’s
scholarship?
How would this author define the process of “Romanization”?
What does this author’s evidence point to - the adoption of
Roman customs or the resistance of Roman customs?
How is this author either reacting against, or reinforcing
earlier views of Romanization?
What “transcripts” public and private does this author see
as taking place among conquered and conquerer?
How does this scholarship inform our understanding of
Romans & Provincials?
And most importantly,
What do you think?
Paper: A 15-20 page research paper, due on the
last day of class. Each student will also give a brief
presentation of their research to the class on April 28
& 30. The paper will be done in several stages. First,
students choose a topic and prepare a preliminary
bibliography, due March 24. We will then have a peer review
on rough drafts (8-10 pages). These drafts are due April 7
and the peer comments are due April 14. The final drafts of
the papers are due April 28. Please consult the following
pages for more information:
Bibliographic
resources for ancient history
Formatting guidelines
Grading
policies
Participation:
This course is a seminar, so
everyone needs to contribute even on days when you are not
presenting an oral report. I will try and let the
discussion develop on its own, but if you find you are
having trouble taking part please come and see me.
Attendance: This course
is a seminar, so regular attendance is important. If you
need to miss class, please arrange to go over the material
covered that day with one of your classmates. If you miss
more than three classes without a legitimate excuse such as
a serious illness or religious observance, I will deduct
half a mark from your final grade. If you miss a quiz or
exam date without a valid excuse, you will receive a zero
for that exam. Please arrive at class on time as well -
more than three instances of tardiness will also result in
your final grade being lowered by half a mark.
Reading
Materials
Birley, Anthony, trans..
Tacitus: Agricola and
Germany.
ISBN 0192833006.
Turner, Paul, trans. Longus: Daphnis and
Chloe. ISBN
0140440593.
Walsh, P. G. Apuleius: The Golden
Ass. ISBN
0192838881.
Additional books and articles will be made available,
either through photocopies, course reserves in the library,
or links from this webpage.
Policies
Inclement
Weather: If the
University stops running the Razorback Bus System because
of snow or bad weather, there will be no class. Otherwise,
class is on!
Miscellaneous:
Please turn off all cell phones and finish any food you
might be eating before coming into class. Drinks are
acceptable.
Equal
Access: University of
Arkansas Academic Policy Series 1520.10 requires that
students with disabilities are provided reasonable
accommodations to ensure their equal access to course
content. If you have a documented disability and require
accommodations, please contact me privately at the
beginning of the semester to make arrangements for
necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must
first verify your eligibility for these through the Center
for Educational Access (contact 479-575-3104 or
visit http://cea.uark.edu for more information on registration
procedures).
Daily
Topics and Assignments
January 13 -
Introduction
January 15 - The Greek
Novel and Greek Identity I
Daphnis & Chloe Prologue, Books 1 & 2
(pg. 17-68)
What time frame is the novel set in, and why?
What kind of lifestyle is emphasized, and why?
Why do you think novels like Daphnis and Chloe
become so popular during the Second Sophistic?
Oral Report: Longus’ Prologue and Thucydides
- Robert 1
January 20 - The Greek
Novel and Greek Identity II
Daphnis & Chloe Books 3
& 4 (pg. 69-121)
What is the place of sex in the novel?
How does Daphnis & Chloe reinforce the
social structure of the 2nd century?
What does Daphnis & Chloe ultimately show
about elite Second Sophistic society?
Why do you think novels like Daphnis and Chloe
become so popular during the Second Sophistic?
Oral Report: War and Peace in the Greek Novel -
Avalon 1
Oral Report: Utopian Themes in Three Greek
Romances - Bryan 1
January 22 - Plutarch I
Lives
of Philopoemen & Flamininus, Comparison of the two, Life of Sulla
Oral Report: Moralism in Plutarch’s Lives (pg.
52-71 of Duff’s Plutarch’s
Lives) (JP 1)
Oral Report: Plutarch and the return of the
archaic (pg. 369-390 in Flavian Rome) (Megan 1)
Oral Report: Plutarch’s lives and their Roman
readers (pg. 123-135 in Greek Romans and Roman
Greeks) (David 1)
January 27 - Icestorm!
January 29 - Icestorm!
February 3 - Plutarch II
Political Precepts, Roman Questions Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5, Fortune of the Romans
Oral Report: Roman Rulers and the Philosophic
Adviser (Philip 1)
Oral Report: Greek and Roman in
Plutarch’s Pyrrhus (text here) (Tyler 1)
How does Plutarch feel about Greek and Roman
Integration, and why?
What role does Plutarch see for Greek leaders?
What is the role of the Greek past in the
Political Precepts?
What role should the Greeks play in the Roman
Empire?
How is Plutarch’s view of the role of Rome
different from in the lives we read last week?
What does Plutarch see as the benefits of Roman
rule?
What is the intended audience of the Political
Precepts?
February 5 - Dio
Chrysostom
Kingship Orations:
One Two Three Four
These speeches are ostensbibly addressed to the
Emperor Trajan - how likely is this? What broader audience
might Dio have in mind?
What are Dio’s views on the nature of Roman
power? Do these differ between the even and odd speeches?
What can we see of Dio’s views on the role of
Greeks and Greek culture in the Roman empire?
What are Dio’s views on kingship, and how have
these been shaped by his experience with Rome?
How does Dio feel about Trajan in particular as
emperor?
How do Dio’s attitudes differ from those of
Plutarch?
What role does Greek education/wisdom play for
Dio?
What roles do Dio see for himself or other
Greek intellectuals in the Roman empire?
Create your own question!
February 10 - Aelius
Aristides
Aelius Aristides: Regarding
Rome, Sacred Tale 4 (handouts)
Oral Report - Sarah 1
How does Aristides’ portrayal of Rome differ
between these two speeches, and is it possible to reconcile
them?
What is Aristides’ view of the gods, and how
does this differ from that of Plutarch and Dio Chrysostom?
What role do the gods have to play in the Roman
world according to Aristides?
What role do the Greek elite have to play in
the Roman world according to Aristides, and how does this
differ from what we have seen so far?
What does the Regarding Rome tell us about
Aristides’ Roman audience?
What does the Regarding Rome tell us about what
Aristides considers important, and what he does not?
How consistent is Aristides in the Regarding
Rome? Does he come across as insincere?
Why might Aristides be so willing to write a
speech like Regarding Rome?
How does the Regarding Rome compare to the
Kingship Orations of Dio?
Create your own question!
February 12 - Lucian
The
Dream, Nigrinus (handouts), The Dependent Scholar (aka on Hirelings)
Oral Report - Overview of Roman Syria - Chris 1
Oral Report - Strangers in their own land
What role does education play in Lucian’s life
and career, and what does this show about an outsider’s
view of the elite?
How do Lucian’s views on education differ from
the other authors we have read, and why?
In what ways might the Nigrinus be a reply/rebuttal to Aelius Aristides?
What are Lucian’s views on money, the poor and
class divisions in general?
What are Lucian’s views on the Roman elite, and
its interaction with the Greeks?
What can we infer about Lucian’s opinions of
the Roman Empire and the role of the Greeks in it as a
whole?
What are the failings of Roman society and
culture in Lucian’s opinion? Does he offer any positive
criticism?
Is Lucian Anti-Roman?
February 17 - Historians
of Rome (Appian, Arrian, Cassius Dio)
Cassius Dio
History of Rome Book 55, esp. 14-21, 23-34; Appian
Civil Wars Book 1, esp. 54-104; Plutarch
Life of Sulla
Oral Report: Dio and Rome - Rachel 1
How similar/different are Cassius Dio’s views
on tyranny and good government to Dio, Plutarch, and
Aristides? What might account for the differences?
Overall, what are Cassius Dio’s ideas about
Roman government and the senate, and does this reflect the
viewpoint of an upper-class Greek or an upper-class Roman?
How much does Cassius Dio seem to identify with
Rome in this book, how much with Greece?
Should we consider Cassius Dio to be a Greek or
a Roman?
What do Appian’s views of the nature of Rome
and Roman power seem to be?
How much do Appian’s views seem to agree with
Cassius Dio’s?
How does Appian’s portrayal of Sulla differ
from Plutarchs, and what does this reveal about the two
authors, their aims, and their audiences?
What might account for all the Greek historians
writing about Rome during the Second Sophistic?
February 19 - Landscapes
of Roman Greece
Oral
Report:Cultural Interchange - Robert 2
Oral Report:Role of Women - JP 2
Local Heroes - Tyler 2
February 24 - Hellenized
Romans
Apuleius, The Golden Ass, Tale of Cupid and Psyche (4.28-6.24, pp.
75-113 in you translation)
Compare the story of Cupid and Psyche with
Daphnis and Chloe. What are the similarities and what are
the differences between the two? How might the fact that
one is a Roman novel and the other is a Greek account for
this? Does the Roman novel seem to have been influenced by
the Greek, or vice versa? Does one seem to resist the
other, or try and present the story in a wholly different
way? Why might that be?
Oral Report: Nero at Play? The Emperor’s
Grecian Odyssey - Rick 1
Oral Report: Strangers in their own land -
Bryan 2
March 3 - Spain 1
Oral
Report: Cultural Identities and Hispano-Roman Sculpture -
Stewart 1
Oral Report: Writing Latin in Lusitania - Meg 2
Oral Report: Life and Death - Avalon 2
March 5 - Spain 2
Oral
Report: Flavian Municipal Law - David 2
Oral Report: Lost Identity - Chris 2
Oral Report: Survival of Non-Roman forms -
Philip 2
March 10 - Gaul
Cicero, Pro Fonteio; Julius Caesar, Gallic Wars
Book 6 Chapters 11-20; Tacitus, Annals XI.22-26 (handout);
Claudius, Lyons Speech (handout)
How does the portrayal of the Gauls differ
between Cicero’s speech and Caesar’s account?
Why might Cicero and Caesar choose to emphasize
the different aspects of the Gauls that they do?
What do Cicero’s and Caesar’s accounts of the
Gauls say about Roman perceptions and beliefs about their
northern neighbors?
Compare the original speech of Claudius with
its adaptation in Tacitus - how do they justify admitting
Gallic senators?
What do the differences between the speeches
say about Tacitus’ attitudes towards the Gauls versus
Claudius’?
How do the attitudes of Cicero and Caesar
contrast with Tacitus and Claudius, and what might account
for these changes?
Oral Report:The Rise and Fall of the Gallic
Iulii - Rachael 2
March 12 - Gaul
Oral
Report:Local Cult in Imperial Context - Rick 2
Oral Report:A negotiated Syncretism - the
development of Romano-Celtic Religion - Sarah 2
Oral Report:Urbanization and its discontents in
early Roman Gaul - JP 3
March 24 - Britain
Tacitus, The Agricola (book)
What elements of the Britons and their culture
makes them barbarians, according to Tacitus?
What does the Agricola show about the methods
and purposes of Roman imperialism?
How does Tacitus’ characterization of the
Britons help define the Romans?
What, in Tacitus’ view, makes one a Roman? What
aspects of “Romanness” does Tacitus dislike?
Is there any aspect of the Britons that Tacitus
admires compared to the Romans, and why?
How would Tacitus define “Civilization” as
opposed to barbarism?
Why is Agricola such a successful governor?
How does Agricola contrast with Calgacus, and
what does this show about Tacitus’ views on Romans v.
Barbarians?
What policies does Agricola pursue towards the
Britons? Does he encourage Romanization, and if so, how?
What broader conclusions about Roman policies
towards the provinces can we make from the Agricola?
March 26 - Britain /
Draft Bibliographies Due
Oral
Report: Writing to the gods in Britain - Meg 3
Oral Report: Alternative Iconographies -
Stewart 2
Oral Report: Social Distribution of Roman
Artefacts - Chris 3
March 31 - The Rhineland
and Germany
Tacitus, The Germany
What elements of the Germans make them
barbarians?
How does the landscape influence the nature of
the Germans?
What qualities in the Germans does Tacitus most
admire, and why?
How does Tacitus use the Germans as a way of
defining what it is to be Roman?
What, if anything, does Tacitus want his Roman
audience to learn from the Germans?
How is Rome a force among the Germans, whether
directly or indirectly, according to Tacitus?
Why, according to this account, were the Romans
never able to conquer the Germans?
How does Tacitus’ portrayal of the Germans
compare with his portrayal of the Britons?
What larger inferences can we draw from these
two works about the views of Romans towards “Barbarians?”
April 2 - The Frontiers
of Rome
Oral
Report: Confrontation and Interactions: Celts, Germans, and
Romans - Robert 3
Oral Report: The Romanization of the diet in
the western empire - Sarah 3
Oral Report: Seal-boxes and the spread of Latin
literacy in the Rhine delta - Bryan 3
April 7 - Judaea / Draft
Papers Due
Josephus: Against Apion, Book 2
What are the common prejudices against Jews
according to Josephus, and what does this say about those
who hold them?
What can we ascertain about the Jews and why
they had such a hard time living alongside others in the
Graeco-Roman World, or being Romanized?
What is Josephus’ attitude in general towards
Graeco-Roman culture?
What aspects of Jewish culture does Josephus
most strongly assert, and why?
How is Josephus making use of themes from
Graeco-Roman thought (think back to the Second Sophistic)
in order to present the Jews, and why might he do so?
Why so much emphasis on Moses?
How does Josephus try to make the Jews sound
more acceptable to the Greeks? What does this say about
what a Greek might find attractive about Judaism?
April 9 - Judaea
Tacitus: Histories Book 5
What does Tacitus find most offensive about the
Jews?
How does his portrayal of the Jews compare with
the Germans and the Britons?
Do the Jews have any redeeming characteristics
according to Tacitus?
How does Tacitus define what it means to be
Roman by his description of the Jews?
Oral Report: Anti-Semitism in antiquity -
Avalon 3
Oral Report: The influence of Judaism among
non-Jews - Stewart 3
Oral Report: Roman religious policy and the
Bar-Kokhba War - Rachael 3
April 14 - The Egyptians
/ Peer Comments due
The
Acts of the Pagan Martyrs (handout), the Oracle of the
Potter (handout)
How is the emperor portrayed in the Acts, and
what does this show us about how the Alexandrian felt about
him?
What, according to the Acts, the main reason
for Alexandrian resistance to Rome?
How much actual “resistance” to Rome is really
going on here?
What can be inferred about the intended
audience of the Acts?
What can be inferred about the nature of
Egyptian resistance from the Oracle of the Potter?
What can be inferred about the audience of the
Oracle of the Potter?
What signs of Romanization, if any, can be seen
in these texts?
April 16 - The Egyptians
Juvenal, Satire XV (handout),
Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
How does Juvenal define the Romans through his
portrayal of the Egyptians?
How is Juvenal criticizing his Roman audience
through this satire?
How does Plutarch make the myth of Isis and
Osiris into a part of universal Greek knowledge?
How might Plutarch and Juvenal be said to
“conquer” Egypt by way of these texts?
How are these two texts similar in their
presentation of Egypt, and what does this show about the
dissemination of Egyptian culture in the larger Roman
world?
Oral Report: Urbanization in Roman Egypt
Oral Report: Bilingualism in Roman Egypt
April 21 - The Egyptians
Apuleius, The Golden Ass, Book
XI
What Egyptian elements in the Isis cult are
particularly emphasized and why?
What generic elements of the Isis cult are
particularly emphasized and why?
What might account for the appeal of the Isis
cult among the Romans?
Is The
Golden Ass an
advertisement for Isis?
How does the portrayal of Egyptian religion
here contrast with Juvenal Satire XV, and is it possible to
reconcile the two?
Oral Report: Obelisks in Exile
April 23 - Modern views
of Rome
April 28 - Presentations
of Final Papers
April 30 - Presentations
of Final Papers