Aims of the course
- To inform participants of the life of the emperor Augustus.
- To familiarise participants with the contemporary Roman empire.
- To show the artistic and other achievements of the era.
- To engage students in online discussion.
Schedule (this course is completed entirely online)
Orientation Week: 6-12 January 2025
Teaching Weeks: 13 January-16 February 2025
Feedback Week: 17-23 February 2025
Teaching Week 1 - The Son of Caesar
Learning objectives:
- To have understood the political situation in Rome in 44 BC.
- To gain a knowledge of the major political players.
- To gain a knowledge of the last Republican writers such as Cicero, Sallust and Catullus.
Teaching Week 2 - The Rise to Triumvir
Learning objectives:
- To have understood how Octavian rose to power.
- To gain a working knowledge of the contemporary Roman army.
- To gain an understanding of the allegiances of the provinces of the Rome's empire.
Teaching Week 3 - Becoming Augustus
Learning objectives:
- To understand how Augustus became sole ruler of Rome.
- To know his constitutional settlements.
- To understand the Roman economy.
- To provide an introduction to the first imperial writers, including Vergil, Horace and Livy.
Teaching Week 4 - The first Emperor
Learning objectives:
- To learn about the various events that occurred during the reign of Augustus.
- To learn about the Julio-Claudian family.
- To explore contemporary art and architecture (including Augustan building projects).
Teaching Week 5 - Augustus
Learning objectives:
- To gain an understanding of the size and diversity of the empire.
- To learn about the Client kings.
- To explore how Rome controlled the provinces.
- To understand what is meant by the term 'Romanization'.
- To explore the legacy of Augustus.
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours reading material, etc., although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Virtual Learning Environment
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (discussion boards etc).
Certificate of participation
A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.
