|
A/S HUMA 2105: Roman Literature and Culture Fall/Winter 2008-9 |
|
This course is an introduction to the literature and culture of the ancient Romans. We will read a wide variety of Roman literature, including epic, elegy and other lyric poetry, historiography, myth, comedy and novels. We will also look at non-literary sources for the ancient world: inscriptions, art, public and private architecture, material remains, administrative and technical writing. The objective is to achieve familiarity with the key moments in Rome’s political and literary history as well as to gain an understanding of Roman culture, that is, the beliefs, values and practices of a society has had such an impact on the development of western culture. A second objective of this course is to develop the critical skills needed to study the culture of another time and place. While engaging with the texts and other remains of the ancient Roman world we will ask: What is a ‘Roman’ and what constitutes ‘Roman culture’? What are Roman practices and beliefs about gender, class and status, race and ethnicity, violence war, freedom and slavery? What aspects of Roman culture have survived to us and how? How have these ideas and ideals been transmitted over more than 2000 years, and what do they mean to us as students of the Humanities and as residents of Toronto in 2008?
|
|
Course Description |