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Fall 2014 Latin CAS CL 102 (4 credits)

THE WORLD OF ROME
General Course Information
Latin CAS CL 102
Lecture: Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 10:00-11:00 (CAS 313).
Discussion sections: Mon, 12:00-1:00, 1:00-2:00; Wed, 12:00-1:00, 2:00-3:00.
Lecturer Information
Professor James Uden
Office address: STH 433
Office hours: Monday 2:00-3:00; Friday 11:00-12:00; or by appointment.
Email: uden@bu.edu
Discussion Section Leaders
Daniel Libatique (dlliba10@bu.edu) - Monday discussion sections
David West (dwest@bu.edu) - Wednesday discussion sections

Course Objectives
This course plunges you into the world of Ancient Rome. By examining a variety of different
aspects of Romans daily lives (religion, education, politics, marriage, leisure, slavery, food,
dress, gladiators, chariot racing, philosophy, magic), we will encounter a world very different
from our own, yet also familiar in many ways. It is not a conventional history course; it does not
tell the story of Rome. Its emphasis is on the lived experience of Romans male and female,
rich and poor, free and slave who lived in the late Republican and early Imperial eras (1st
century B.C. 2nd century A.D.). In addition, we will read three great literary works from ancient
Rome: the culture-defining epic Aeneid by Vergil; thought-provoking philosophical letters by
Seneca, the childhood tutor to the emperor Nero; and the racy novel The Golden Ass by the
orator, showman, philosopher and (perhaps) black magician, Apuleius.
Required Texts
1. Shelton, J.A. 1998. As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. 2nd
edition. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Shelton)
2. Mandelbaum, A. 1971. The Aeneid of Virgil. New York: Bantam Books.
3. Fantham, E. 2010. Seneca: Selected Letters. New York & Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
4. Walsh, P.G. 2008. Apuleius: The Golden Ass. New York & Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
These books are available at the BU Bookstore (Barnes & Noble), 660 Beacon St. If you want to
purchase second-hand copies of these books, you are welcome to do so, but please ensure that
they are the same editions. Different translations of the ancient works lead particularly to
confusion. If you cite a different translation in your papers, it may be construed as evidence of
plagiarism.

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Academic Conduct
Your work in this course, and every course you undertake at Boston University, is bound by the
Academic Conduct Code. You should familiarize yourself with this code, which is found on the
Boston University website: http://www.bu.edu/academics/resources/academic-conduct-code/. Pay
particular attention to the Codes detailed description of plagiarism.

Attendance
Each week, you are required to attend three lectures and a one-hour discussion section. The
lectures are the backbone of this course: this is not a course that you can teach yourself from the
textbook. I will post supplementary materials online from time to time, but I will not post my
notes or my PowerPoint slides, so in order to complete the course, you have to come to class.

Assessment
1) Final exam 20%
A final exam will be held during the exam period, covering material we have learned throughout
the entire course. Check the online schedule for the exact date.
2) Papers 15%, 15%.
There will be 2 papers (6 pages each) due during the semester. The first will be due in your
discussion section in week 5. The second will be due in your discussion section in week 11.
3) Midterm 15%
There will be a midterm held in the lecture on Monday, October 20th (week 8), covering all
material in lectures and readings up to that point.
4) Short quizzes 15%
You will complete 6 short quizzes in your discussion sessions throughout the semester, based on
information presented at the lectures. Each will be held at the beginning of your discussion
section class and will take at most ten minutes to complete. The policy in the course is not to
allow makeup quizzes. But we allow you to drop one quiz: only your five best quiz grades will
be counted towards your final grade for the course.
5) Participation 20%
Your discussion leaders will assign you a grade based on your degree of engagement in your
discussion section. It is not sufficient merely to attend your weekly discussion section (though
attendance is mandatory): you must also ask questions, participate in exercises, and contribute to
the intellectual excitement of the class. Note: there will be no discussion sections in the first week
of class.

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Grades
The final grade will be calculated as a percentage of 100 and will be converted to a letter grade
according to the following scheme:
A (95-100%), A- (90-94%)
B+ (87-89%), B (84-86%), B- (80-83%)
C+ (77-79%), C (74-76%), C- (70-73%).
D+ (67-69%), D (65-66%)
F (0-64%).

Schedule
NOTE: Before each lecture, please complete the required reading for that session from our
textbook, J.A.Shelton, As the Romans Did (Shelton).

WEEK ONE:

Wed Sept 3rd: Introduction to the course.

Fri Sept 5th: Roman values and ideals.
READING: Shelton: pp.1-3; 98-9; 125-9; 160-2.
Begin reading the Aeneid.

WEEK TWO: Mon Sept 8th: Marriage in ancient Rome.

READING: Shelton, pp. 37-58.
Wed Sept 10th: Families.
READING: Shelton, pp. 16-24.
Fri Sept 12th: Childbirth and the lives of children.
READING: Shelton, pp. 25-36.
WEEK THREE: Mon Sept 15th: Religion: the gods of ancient Rome.
READING: Shelton, pp. 359-369.
Wed Sept 17th: Sacrifice and prodigies.
READING: Shelton, pp. 370-378.
Fri Sept 19th: State festivals and emperor worship.
READING: Shelton pp. 378-391.
WEEK FOUR: Mon Sept 22nd: Romes great epic: the Aeneid.
READING: Vergil, The Aeneid, books I-IV (pages 1-102)
Wed Sept 24th: Romes great epic: the Aeneid.
READING: Vergil, The Aeneid, books V-VIII (pages 103-211)

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Fri Sept 26th: Romes great epic: the Aeneid.
READING: Vergils The Aeneid, books IX-XII (pages 212-331).
WEEK FIVE: Mon Sept 29th: Class structure.
READING: Shelton, pp. 4-11; 236-242.
First paper due in your discussion section.
Wed Oct 1st: The client-patron relationship; political careers.
READING: Shelton, pp. 11-15; 215-236.
Fri Oct 3rd: Law and crime.
READING: Shelton, pp.100-112.

WEEK SIX:

Mon Oct 6th: Food and dining.

READING: Shelton, pp. 79-85; 129-133; 314-7.
Wed Oct 8th: Women in ancient Rome: ideals and reality.
READING: Shelton, pp. 288-306.
AND the six poems of Sulpicia, translated by Lee Pearcy, available on the
Diotima website (http://www.stoa.org/diotima/anthology/sulpicia-anth.shtml).
Fri Oct 10th: Roman dress and cosmetics.
READING: Shelton, pp. 305-6.

WEEK SEVEN: Tues Oct 14th: Slaves: origins and living conditions.
READING: Shelton, pp. 163-173.
Wed Oct 15th: The master-slave relationship in ancient Rome.
READING: Shelton, pp. 173-185.
Fri Oct 17th: Freedmen and freedwomen.
READING: Shelton, pp. 186-202.
WEEK EIGHT: Mon Oct 20th: Doctors and illness.
READING: Shelton, pp. 358-9.
Wed Oct 22nd: Death, grief and memory.
READING: Shelton, pp. 337-346.
Fri Oct 24th: Midterm
WEEK NINE: Mon Oct 27th: Philosophy and philosophers.
READING: Shelton, pp. 420-430.
Wed Oct 29th: Seneca: A Stoic philosopher in Rome.
READING: Selected Letters of Seneca, letters 1, 2, 3, 5, 19, 28, 54.

Fri Oct 31st: Seneca: A Stoic philosopher in Rome.

READING: Selected Letters of Seneca, letters 7, 18, 37, 44, 47, 56, 70, 83.

WEEK TEN:

Mon Nov 3rd: Urban living.

READING: Shelton, pp. 59-71.
Wed Nov 5th: The Baths.
READING: Shelton, pp. 309-314.
Fri Nov 7th: Romans at leisure: hunting, gambling, drinking.
READING: Shelton, pp.307-8; 320-9.

WEEK ELEVEN: Mon Nov 10th: Life in the army.

READING: Shelton, pp. 243-267.
Second paper due in your discussion section
Wed Nov 12th: Country life and agriculture.
READING: Shelton, pp. 145-160.
Fri Nov 14th: Education in ancient Rome.
READING: Shelton, pp. 100-122.
WEEK TWELVE: Mon Nov 17th: Gladiators I: the culture of spectacle.
READING: Shelton, pp. 329-337.
Begin reading Apuleius, The Golden Ass.
Wed Nov 19th: Gladiators II: life inside and outside the arena.
READING: Shelton, pp. 348-358
Fri Nov 21st: The Circus.
READING: Shelton, pp. 337-346.
WEEK THIRTEEN: Mon Nov 24th: The provinces: visions of Roman rule.
READING: Shelton, pp. 268-287.
Wed Nov 26th: THANKSGIVING BREAK. NO CLASS.
Fri Nov 28th: THANKSGIVING BREAK. NO CLASS.
WEEK FOURTEEN: Mon Dec 1st: Magic and Eastern religion in the Roman World.
READING: Shelton, pp. 391-394; 417-420.
Wed Dec 3rd: The only complete surviving Roman novel: Apuleius.
READING: Apuleius, The Golden Ass, books 1-6 (pp. 1-119).

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Fri Dec 5th: The only complete surviving Roman novel: Apuleius.
READING: Apuleius, The Golden Ass, books 7-12 (pp. 120-240).
WEEK FIFTEEN: Mon Dec 8th: Judaism in the Roman world.
READING: Shelton, pp. 404-406.
Wed Dec 10th: Christianity in the Roman world.
READING: Shelton, pp. 406-417.

WEEK SIXTEEN: Final exam (check online exam schedule for exact date).