ROMAN HISTORY

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

General Module

Course Sheet

Course code:

MM020N

Academic Year of enrolment:

2021

Year of supply:

2021/2022

Type of Course:

Characterising

Degree:

Course of 2nd Cycle Degree in CULTURAL HERITAGE: ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF ART

Disciplinary Sector:

ROMAN HISTORY

Is part of:

ROMAN AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY

Location:

CHIETI

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

FILIPPINI ALISTER

Cycle:

First semester

Hours of classroom activity:

Individual study hours:

108

Prerequisites:

Students are supposed to have already taken the exam of Roman History (Bachelor Degree Course).
Otherwise they are kindly requested to:
1) study a handbook of Roman History (mandatory):
AA.VV. (coordinamento di M. MAZZA), Storia di Roma dalle origini alla Tarda Antichità, Catania, Edizioni del Prisma, 2014, the whole book (pp. 9-469).
2) contact Dr. Filippini, long before taking the exam, in order to fix the program in advance, beyond any doubt: alister.filippini@unich.it

The knowledge of ancient languages, Latin and Greek, is quite useful (yet not mandatory).

Objectives

This class aims to supply students with the basics and method necessary for acquisition of the skills of analysis and reflection on the tradition concerning the Roman imperial government facing a great emergency (medical, social, economic). The fundamental aim is to focus on dynamics, contradictions and reference contexts, and to possess adequate communicative resources on historical dynamics analogous to those in question.

This class contributes to the achievement of the learning objectives of the Master Degree Course of Beni Archeologici e Storico-Artistici, aiming to consolidate and broaden the knowledge and philological / technical methodologies acquired over the three years, with view to either proceeding towards a research Doctorate or finding work with public/private research and cultural institutes or cultural and academic foundations.

Contents

Title: "The Empire and the pandemic: the Roman government and the Antonine Plague in the age of Marcus Aurelius".
Credits: 6 CFU / 42 hours of class lectures.

Extended Syllabus

This class focuses on the figure of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD), the so called Emperor-Philosopher, and the problematic reaction of the Roman imperial authority to the pandemic emergency (the so called Antonine Plague). Ancient sources of different kinds will be analysed and discussed:
a) literary sources (Cassius Dio, Herodianus, Historia Augusta; Aelius Aristides, Galen, Lucian, Philostratus, Ammianus Marcellinus etc.);
b) “non literary” sources, that is epigraphic (Latin and Greek inscriptions), papyrological (Egyptian papyri) and numismatic sources (coins).

Recommended Bibliography

A. Texts and teaching documents which are mandatory for ALL STUDENTS (attending / non-attending):
1) A. FRASCHETTI, Marco Aurelio. La miseria della filosofia, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008, the whole book (pp. XXV + 1-250).
Foreign students may change this book with A.R. BIRLEY, Marcus Aurelius. A Biography, London, Routledge, 1993 (and following reprints), the whole book.

If any student has already studied this book (Fraschetti 2008) for the previous exam of Roman History LT (BA), he is requested to change it and choose one among these:
1.a) E. RENAN, Marco Aurelio e la fine del mondo antico (French original edition 1882, with several Italian translations by different publishers, Treves, Res Gestae, Castelvecchi, Edizioni Tesi etc.), the whole book;
1.b) A.R. BIRLEY, Marcus Aurelius. A Biography, London, Routledge, 1993, English original edition or Italian translation: A.R. Birley, Marco Aurelio, Milano, Rusconi, 1990; the whole book.

2) Selected essays and articles: some essays and articles in Italian and English, taken from E. LO CASCIO (a cura di), L’impatto della “peste antonina”, Bari, Edipuglia, 2012, and from international scientific journals, will be provided as files.PDF, downloadable from the website DiLASS, page Materiale didattico: https://www.dilass.unich.it/node/6865

3) slides of class lectures, including the ancient sources, analysed and discussed in class, will be provided as files.PDF, downloadable from the website DiLASS, page Materiale didattico: https://www.dilass.unich.it/node/6865

B. Additional texts, which are mandatory just for NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:
4) Additional selected articles: further articles in Italian and English, taken from international scientific journals, will be provided as files.PDF, downloadable from the website DiLASS, page Materiale didattico: https://www.dilass.unich.it/node/6865

Attention: NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS are kindly requested to contact Dr. Filippini, long before taking the exam, in order to fix the program in advance, beyond any doubt: alister.filippini@unich.it

Teaching Methods

Lectures, guided reading of texts and multimedia resources. The teaching documents shown and discussed in class will be downloadable (texts and slides, as files.PDF) from the website DiLASS, page Materiale didattico: https://www.dilass.unich.it/node/6865
42 hours of class lectures; conferences and seminars will be organized throughout the semester. It is recommended that students regularly attend lesson.
Non-attending students are gently requested to contact Dr. Filippini before taking the exam: alister.filippini@unich.it
The teacher is available to give assistance in English for foreign students.

Evaluation methods

Verification of learning:

The final assessment consists of an oral exam on the entire syllabus (texts, lessons, sources, teaching materials). The aim is to assess students’ skills and in particular, an understanding of the issues discussed during the course, an appropriate knowledge of the bibliography in the course programme, a correct command of the specific language as well as critical and methodological abilities will be evaluated. The grading scale goes from 1 to 30 with honours (cum laude): 1-17 fail, 18-21 sufficient, 22-24 fair, 25-27 good, 28-29 very good, 30-30 with honours (cum laude) excellent.

Contacts/More Information

Attention: NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS are kindly requested to contact Dr. Filippini, before taking the exam, in order to fix the program in advance, beyond any doubt: alister.filippini@unich.it
The teacher is available to give assistance in English for foreign students.

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

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