Overview
Examines the rise and fall of the Roman Republic. Topics include political ideology, the expansion of the empire, Roman religion, and the life of Julius Caesar.
Over the course of several centuries Rome transformed from a small community in Italy to become the greatest imperial power in the Mediterranean world. This paper examines the remarkable story of Rome’s rise to power and the unsettling issues it raises for us still today. It is a story of violent conquest, colonisation, and exploitation, but also of reverence for liberty, law, and ancestral tradition, of religious practice, and of the management of political and economic crisis. How did a state so full of contradictions and opposing interests manage and sustain itself for so long? And why did it all end in civil war, the dictatorships of Julius Caesar, and the authoritarian reforms of Augustus? This paper explores the history of the Roman Republic, beginning with the seven kings and the development of the republican constitution and ending with the life and death of Julius Caesar.
About this paper
| Paper title | The Roman Republic, from the Kings to Julius Caesar (Advanced) |
|---|---|
| Subject | Classical Studies |
| EFTS | 0.1500 |
| Points | 18 points |
| Teaching period | Not offered in 2025, expected to be offered in 2026 (On campus) |
| Domestic Tuition Fees ( NZD ) | $1,040.70 |
| International Tuition Fees | Tuition Fees for international students are elsewhere on this website. |
- Prerequisite
- 18 200-level CLAS, GREK, LATN points, or 54 points
- Restriction
- CLAS 247
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Contact
- Teaching staff
Associate Professor Sean McConnell and Dr Gwynaeth McIntyre
- Textbooks
Reading material will be made available through eReserve
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Communication, Critical thinking, Cultural understanding, Self-motivation.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes. - Learning Outcomes
- The ability to engage critically with the historical framework and sources from Rome’s foundation to the death of Julius Caesar
- To critique the Romans’ presentation of the impact of globalisation, imperial expansion, and conquest on communities, regions, etc. and how this can inform experiences and events in our own time
- The ability to evaluate different sources of evidence (literary, archaeological, numismatic, etc.) used to reconstruct Rome’s past.
- To construct clear and effective written scholarly argumentation