44132 - Roman Epigraphy and Institutions

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will have a basic ability to use epigraphic sources for historical analysis of the ancient world. They will know the digital tools for the study of epigraph and for classification and appraisal of epigraphic documents. They will be aware of communication issues in Roman society and the importance of the epigraphic heritage. They will have a basic knowledge of Roman private and public institutions, and how that society’s institutions and political system worked. They will know how to read, comment and use epigraphic sources critically, and will also critically use the sources serving for reconstruction and study of the ancient world. They will be able to explain institutional and social phenomena, comparing and linking them over different eras and geographical settings. They will discuss the main themes of the course, using the specific terminology. They will have a critical approach to problem-solving via analysis of inscription data and applying the relevant models to interpret social and institutional processes.

Course contents

The course consists in two parts.

*First part: Roman Epigraphy

** Second part: Istituzioni romane

In order to attend this course the student is required to have a basic knowledge of the Latin language.

Who need to recover this type of knowledge, can consult the Course of Letters website and check the offer for the recovery of OFA credits in Latin.

*First part - Roman Epigraphy

Topics treated during the course

-Latin inscription characters and the oldest epigraphic documents (two lessons).

-Taxonomy of Latin inscriptions (two lessons)

- Main paper and online collections of Latin inscriptions (one lesson).

-Methodological approach to Latin inscriptions (two lessons).

-The onomastic system and its social and juridical  value (three lessons)

- The Latin inscription as a document for the study of ancient society. In particular, example will be made from various towns of the octava regio augustea relating to the world of work (three lessons).

-Practical exercises in class and interpretation of inscriptions and use of the main epigraphic databases (two lectures).

All points analyzed provide for reading and commenting on registrations.

-Visit to the lapidary of the Archaeological Civic Museum of Bologna with a direct approach to epigraphic documents (one lesson).

- Practical exercises in the classroom for reading and interpreting inscriptions and using the main epigraphic databases (two lessons).

At the end of the first 30 hours, students must demonstrate that they are able to read an enrollment, identify its type and illustrate its contents.

**Second part - Roman institutions

Topics treated during the course

Thopics covered in the course, which will be held through lectures.

The institutions of Roman society.

The following topics will be addressed:

- the imperial title (two lessons);

- birth and evolution of the republican institutional system with particular attention to:

- main governing bodies: senate and popular assemblies (one lesson);

- senatorial career (one lesson);

- main forms of government adopted by Rome during the territorial conquest phases (two lessons);

Developments in imperial age:

- the equestrian career (two lessons);

- evolution of the cursus senatorio and the equestrian one (two lessons);

- institutional changes starting from the dominato (one lesson);

Municipal careers: birth and development from the republican age to the late ancient age (two lessons).

All points analyzed provide for reading and commenting on inscriptions.

Practical exercises will be carried out in the classroom for reading and interpreting inscriptions relevant to the Roman institutions (one lectures).

Students not attending lessons, must contact the professor (daniela.rigato@unibo.it)

N.B:

The students who will have to take the 6 CFU exams of Roman Epigraphy or Roman Institutions will have to prepare respectively on the first part or the second part of the program indicated here.

The students who will have to take the exam from 6 CFU of Epigraphy and Roman institutions refer to the first part of the program and to this they will add:

-G. Poma, Le istituzioni politiche del mondo romano, Il mulino 2009, seconda edizione: reading of two chapters (at choice).

Readings/Bibliography

For the 1.st section (Roman Epigraphy):

1) Lessons Notes.
2) Read the book: 

A. Buonopane, Manuale di epigrafia latina, nuova edizione accresciuta e rinnovata, Carocci Editore, Roma, 2020.

The reading of the chapter  A. Donati, Epigrafia romana, in La storia antica. Metodi e fonti per lo studio, a cura di G. Poma, Il Mulino 2016, pp. 245-261, is recommended.

For the 2.st section (Roman Institution):

1) Lessons Notes.

2) Read the book: G.Poma, Le istituzioni politiche del mondo romano, Il mulino, 2009

Students not attending lessons, must contact the professor (daniela.rigato@unibo.it)

 

Students not attending lectures will have to read the subsequent books:

A. Buonopane, Manuale di epigrafia latina, Carocci 2020;

G. Poma, Le istituzioni politiche del mondo romano, Il mulino 2009, seconda edizione.

Choise 15 inscriptions from:

Epigrafia latina. Ostia: cento iscrizioni in contesto, a cura di Mireille Cébeillac Gervasoni, Maria Letizia Caldelli, Fausto Zevi, Roma, Quasar, 2010.

For the 15 inscriptions identified, the student must demonstrate their ability to read, translate and frame them in the historical context of reference.

Teaching methods

Lessons will be of oral type.

Students are required to actively participate with personal opinions during the analysis of the epigraphic and literary documents.

There will take place an organised tour to the Museo Civico Archeologico in Bologna, where students will have the possibility to better and closely know the epigraphic material.

Assessment methods

The exam will take the form of an oral discussion and the student will be assessed according to the knowledge he has acquired, his ability to provide a clear summary of the topics covered and his critical handling of the material. He will be expected to refer to both the exam bibliography and the inscriptions and discussed during the lectures.

The assessment will concentrate particularly on the skill displayed by the student in handling the sources and material in the exam bibliography and his ability to find and use information and examples to illustrate and correlate the various themes and problems addressed in the course.

The assessment will thus examine the student's:

- factual knowledge of the subject;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and his ability to use it effectively.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.
Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.
A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

The student will have to answer for questions concerning:

-the handbooks,

-the items discussed during the lectures,

-the inscriptions analyzed during the  lectures.

Teaching tools

Hand-outs of examined inscriptions and analyzed literary sources will be given;  ppt concerning the different studied topics.

The epigraphs analyzed in the classroom and those provided to students for personal performances will be uploaded among the teaching materials of course (IOL).

 

Office hours

See the website of Daniela Rigato