CLA 101C: Rome in World History

Lecture/Discussion TR 1:40 PM 3:00 PM OLSON 00163

Since the emergence of world history in the late twentieth century as a better alternative to western civilization, some scholars have begun to reassess the history of Rome as city, culture, state and empire using world historical questions and frameworks. They ask how Rome compares to other empires, both those in antiquity, such as the Chinese Han empire and the Parthian and Sassanian Persian Empires, and empires before and after that time. They examine the ways in which Rome was embedded in trade networks such as the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean network. They pose questions and apply theories from other social science disciplines, such as post-colonial theory, to reassess how the Romans thought about, ruled over and fought with other peoples, both inside and outside their empire. We will investigate these questions through lectures and reading and discussing secondary and primary sources. There will be 2 papers, a midterm and a final.

General Education: Arts & Humanities (AH); World Cultures (WC); Writing Experience (WE).