Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

This course broadly investigates 'religion' both in the Rome and across the empire, from its earliest manifestations through to the high empire. By exploring a range of literary and non-literary evidence, students will get the opportunity to study religion as it was lived, perceived, and experienced. This course will also give students the opportunity to consider how Rome and its religions interacted with a range of other cultures and their religions, and responded to a number of internal and external pressures, including the rise of Christianity. A selection of sources (literary and non-literary) will be read in Latin.

5x1hr lectures and 5x1hr seminars to be shared with the new proposed optional CLASSIC course for Honours and PGT, as well as 10x1 hr seminars on reading and discussion of Latin set texts over 10 weeks. This is one of the honours options in Latin and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Successful completion of LATIN2002, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

Religions of Rome (CLASSIC4100, Hons)

None

The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Research Essay (2,000 words) - 50%

■ Set exercise - critical commentary on a selected passage of a literary or non-literary text (1,800 words) - 50%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the assessments, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

This course aims to:

■ Engage with the religious history of Rome from its earliest manifestations through to the high empire;

■ Engage with connections and conflicts between Rome and a variety of other cultures and their religious ideas;

■ Engage with the importance of religion and religious actors in the wider culture of Rome and the Mediterranean, and for a cross-section of society (including freed-persons, elites, and members of lower social strata);

■ Analyse a wide range of literary and non-literary sources;

■ Understand the intricacies of translating particular Latin words and constructions that concern Roman religion into English;

■ Translate a selection of Latin texts (literary and non-literary) concerning Roman religion.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Critically engage with the role of religion across a broad chronological timeframe, and from both the city of Rome and the wider empire;

■ Analyse a wide range of ancient sources, literary and non-literary, in an informed and perceptive manner;

■ Analyse and interpret processes of religious interaction;

■ Translate confidently from the set texts, with due understanding of the nuance and difficulties of translating key Latin terminology that relates to religion;

■ Formulate their own interpretations of the sources and evidence, and present and argue them in a lucid and scholarly manner with due regard for modern scholarship.