Aims of the course:
- to introduce the Roman Empire to those new to the topic
- to show how different Mediterranean civilizations merged into a single culture
- to demonstrate the deep roots of the Roman empire in modern Europe
- to teach collaborative working techniques in an online environment
Outcomes:
- understand the Roman empire as a political and social construct of huge consequence
- understand methods of historical enquiry and debate
Schedule:
Orientation Week: 16-22 February 2026
Purpose/Learning outcomes
By studying this week the students should have:
- Become familiar with navigating around the VLE and from VLE to links and back
- Tested their ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sorted out any problems with the help of the eLearning team
- Learnt how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
- Used Quickmail to introduce themselves to other students
- Contributed to a discussion forum to introduce themselves to other students and discuss why they are interested in the course, what they hope to get out their studies and also to respond to News item sent out on behalf of tutor
Teaching Weeks: 23 February-29 March 2026
Week 1 The Republican Empire
Purpose:
- To show how Rome gained an empire before it had emperors.
- To show the huge degree of diversity among the peoples subject to Rome, and how provincial governance was subverted by infighting among Rome's political elite.
By studying this week the students should have:
- A good idea of the chronology in which the foundation of the Roman empire was laid
- Understanding of the political and strategic problems facing the late Republic
- A basic idea of first-century Mediterranean cultures and peoples
- Engaged with original texts and sources
Week 2 The Early Empire
Purpose:
- To examine what the change from Republican government to imperial autocracy meant to the people of the empire
- To show how an integrated Mediterranean economic system came into being.
By studying this week the students should have:
- An understanding of how and why Augustus created the Principate
- A grasp of the basic chronology of events and outstanding personalities
- A knowledge of the main texts and personalities in the golden age of Latin literature
- Engaged with original contemporary texts
Week 3 The Golden Age
Purpose: To examine the key period in which the subjects of Rome started to consider themselves Roman. An overview of the empire by region, and a discussion of unresolved flaws in the imperial system.
By studying this week the students should have:
- An understanding of ancient economies and demographics
- An understanding of the development of Mediterranean and North-west European culture
- An understanding of how to present and deconstruct historical theories
- Engaged with original contemporary texts
Week 4 A Century of Crises
Purpose: To examine the 'Third Century Crisis' and determine it was in fact a series of separate but related crises. Also to explain why perceptions may have been worse than reality.
By studying this week the students should have:
- An understanding of the limitations of the imperial system
- A knowledge of the chronology of events
- An understanding of the fundamental changes which happened at this time
- Understood how to parse texts for incidental meaning
Week 5 Rome in Late Antiquity
Purpose: To show that the Late Roman Empire was very different from the Principate. To discuss the issues of 'decline and fall' and to show how the end of the western empire set the stage for medieval Europe, Byzantium and the Caliphate.
By studying this week the students should have:
- Understood religious and geopolitical issues in the 5th century
- Understood the transition from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages
- Engaged with aspects of contemporary historical debate
- Engaged with original contemporary texts
Feedback Week: 30 March-5 April 2026
- Assessment of student learning
- Assessment of student satisfaction
- Encouragement of further study
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).
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.
What our students say
"As an educator myself I felt that the tutor was able to cater to students of a range of interests, abilities and learning styles very effectively, doing so with charm, good humour and a welcome concern for accuracy."
"Once again(the 5th time) Mr Maty is fascinating in how he teaches one of his courses. Thank you very much."
"The fact the tutor gave personal feedback is much appreciated. I was sent extra resources specific to interests I expressed or comments I made. The quality of the seminars is high due to the level of knowledge of fellow students."
