ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE
I taught this as a undergrad-grad level lecture course at FSU for the Department of Classics (cross-listed with Art History) in the Spring of 2016. For a discussion of how the SEEDD-as-final-project experiment went, which required ARH4154/5161 students to design exhibits based on the compilation of metadata according to the SEEDD schema, check out SEEDD in the Classroom.
Course Description
This course will survey the material world of the later Roman empire within its historical context, spanning a period from the third century of the common era through the seventh century and beyond. We will focus upon various themes that continue to dominate the scholarly discussions of the late Roman world, from urbanism and the decline and transformation of the late antique city, to the settlement patterns of the late Roman rural landscape, as well as to the monumental and social impact of Christianity in the Mediterranean world. Key to this endeavor is an understanding the geographical scope of the empire alongside the events – political, religious, military – that framed it, from the far reaches of the western Mediterranean and the northernmost provinces to its furthest eastern borders. The aim is to provide you with both the historical and geographical background of these fascinating centuries, as well as a broad but critically informed knowledge of the material remains that have long survived the various peoples who constituted, influenced, and interacted with the Roman empire. To that end we will examine the art, architecture, and archaeology of the dynamic world of the later Roman empire; its many visual, cultural, and religious landscapes; and its lasting resonance in the modern world.
Evaluation and Grading
Participation (20%). Please come to class on time and ready to discuss the day’s reading(s). In addition to regular attendance at all class meetings, be ready to actively contribute to discussion by sharing your thoughts, comments, and/or questions in response to the readings.
Undergraduates: To quantifiably assess your participation grade, I will ask that you come to each class with a short response (150-250 words = less than half a page) that details your questions and reactions to that day’s readings. Directly address the questions: What is the author’s overall argument? How does it contribute to or serve as a counterpoint to other readings and discussions we’ve encountered? in addition to other reactions, questions, and observations to the readings. These responses will be graded on a check ± scale, dependent upon your thoughtfulness and effort, rather than factual accuracy. We will use these responses to direct discussion for that day, so be prepared to explain your questions/reactions to the class.
Graduates: In addition to the short response papers for formal class meetings, we will arrange for a mutually agreeable time slot to meet approximately once each week for an informal short discussion section during weeks 3-11. This section will be oriented towards your individual research interests; accordingly, twice over the course of these weeks, you will be expected to select a reading one week in advance and distribute it to the other graduate students. Whoever has selected that week’s reading will also lead discussion that week. Additionally, you will provide a short (3-4 page) response paper to the reading, including your assessment of the reading and class response/discussion. Volunteers for each week will be selected by the end of the second week of class.
All: Please demonstrate your respect for your classmates, and for me, by silencing your cell phone (and any other devices) before class begins. Remember that texting, chatting, and surfing the internet, Facebook, etc., during class not only compromises your capacity to successfully contribute to class and receive a full participation grade, it can also be extremely distracting to your classmates.
Map Quizzes (15%). Two in-class map quizzes over the course of the semester will ensure that you are familiar with the geography of the wider Mediterranean world that the late Roman empire occupied. Study maps will be distributed in advance of each quiz. On map quiz days, no response paper will be required.
Mid-term Take-Home Exam (20%). The take-home exam will be distributed one week before it is due. Specifics of what is expected will be detailed at that time.
Final Project Proposal (10%). This 1-2 page proposal + annotated bibliography will outline your plans for structuring and arguing your final paper topic.
Final Presentation (10%). These presentations will allow you to demonstrate the expertise that you have gained in the topic for your final paper. Undergraduate students will be expected to present (with PowerPoint or Prezi) for 15 minutes; one peer (assigned in advance) will be expected to lead a 5-minute discussion/response to that paper. After the presentation and response, we will have 5 minutes open for questions and other responses. Graduate students will be expected to present for 25 minutes in the same format.
Final Paper (25%). The final paper will focus on a topic in late Roman archaeology from anywhere in the Mediterranean. Undergraduate papers will be 2500-3000 words (approximately 10-12 pages); graduate papers should be 4000-5000 pages (approximately 15-20 pages).
If you decide to pursue the SEEDD + Omeka final project option:
You will choose 3-5 objects – anything from fortification walls to aqueducts, sculptural programs on fountains to palace mosaics – to illustrate the thesis/question of your final project. The criteria that you use to select your objects are your prerogative, but they must come together to substantiate a coherent argument or theme. The elements of the final project/exhibit will include:
Grade Breakdown (Final Paper + Presentation option):
Participation 20%
Map Quizzes 15%
#1 – 5%
#2 – 10%
Midterm Take-Home Exam 20%
Final Project Proposal 10%
Final Presentation 10%
Final Paper 25%
Total 100%
Grad Breakdown (Final Project + Exhibit option):
Participation 20%
Map Quizzes 15%
#1 – 5%
#2 – 10%
Midterm Take-Home Exam 20%
Final Project Proposal 10%
Final Exhibit 20%
Appendices & Forms 15%
Total 100%
Undergraduates: To quantifiably assess your participation grade, I will ask that you come to each class with a short response (150-250 words = less than half a page) that details your questions and reactions to that day’s readings. Directly address the questions: What is the author’s overall argument? How does it contribute to or serve as a counterpoint to other readings and discussions we’ve encountered? in addition to other reactions, questions, and observations to the readings. These responses will be graded on a check ± scale, dependent upon your thoughtfulness and effort, rather than factual accuracy. We will use these responses to direct discussion for that day, so be prepared to explain your questions/reactions to the class.
Graduates: In addition to the short response papers for formal class meetings, we will arrange for a mutually agreeable time slot to meet approximately once each week for an informal short discussion section during weeks 3-11. This section will be oriented towards your individual research interests; accordingly, twice over the course of these weeks, you will be expected to select a reading one week in advance and distribute it to the other graduate students. Whoever has selected that week’s reading will also lead discussion that week. Additionally, you will provide a short (3-4 page) response paper to the reading, including your assessment of the reading and class response/discussion. Volunteers for each week will be selected by the end of the second week of class.
All: Please demonstrate your respect for your classmates, and for me, by silencing your cell phone (and any other devices) before class begins. Remember that texting, chatting, and surfing the internet, Facebook, etc., during class not only compromises your capacity to successfully contribute to class and receive a full participation grade, it can also be extremely distracting to your classmates.
Map Quizzes (15%). Two in-class map quizzes over the course of the semester will ensure that you are familiar with the geography of the wider Mediterranean world that the late Roman empire occupied. Study maps will be distributed in advance of each quiz. On map quiz days, no response paper will be required.
Mid-term Take-Home Exam (20%). The take-home exam will be distributed one week before it is due. Specifics of what is expected will be detailed at that time.
Final Project Proposal (10%). This 1-2 page proposal + annotated bibliography will outline your plans for structuring and arguing your final paper topic.
Final Presentation (10%). These presentations will allow you to demonstrate the expertise that you have gained in the topic for your final paper. Undergraduate students will be expected to present (with PowerPoint or Prezi) for 15 minutes; one peer (assigned in advance) will be expected to lead a 5-minute discussion/response to that paper. After the presentation and response, we will have 5 minutes open for questions and other responses. Graduate students will be expected to present for 25 minutes in the same format.
Final Paper (25%). The final paper will focus on a topic in late Roman archaeology from anywhere in the Mediterranean. Undergraduate papers will be 2500-3000 words (approximately 10-12 pages); graduate papers should be 4000-5000 pages (approximately 15-20 pages).
If you decide to pursue the SEEDD + Omeka final project option:
You will choose 3-5 objects – anything from fortification walls to aqueducts, sculptural programs on fountains to palace mosaics – to illustrate the thesis/question of your final project. The criteria that you use to select your objects are your prerogative, but they must come together to substantiate a coherent argument or theme. The elements of the final project/exhibit will include:
- Appendix of objects adhering to SEEDD schema
- Project website/exhibit (1000-2000 words) on the class Omeka
- Introduction to your thesis question/theme
- Synthetic discussion of how your objects illustrate, complicate, and substantiate your thesis question/theme
- Conclusion stating how your analysis of these objects has furthered and/or comprehensively described scholarship on your thesis/theme
- Map(s) of the locations and described spatial relationships of said objects (in cooperation with SC)
- Bibliography of 3-4 major sources for each object
- 1-2 paragraph reflection statement describing how the process of creating the appendix and using it as the foundation for your project website helped you approach and develop your thesis/theme.
Grade Breakdown (Final Paper + Presentation option):
Participation 20%
Map Quizzes 15%
#1 – 5%
#2 – 10%
Midterm Take-Home Exam 20%
Final Project Proposal 10%
Final Presentation 10%
Final Paper 25%
Total 100%
Grad Breakdown (Final Project + Exhibit option):
Participation 20%
Map Quizzes 15%
#1 – 5%
#2 – 10%
Midterm Take-Home Exam 20%
Final Project Proposal 10%
Final Exhibit 20%
Appendices & Forms 15%
Total 100%
SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Week One: Introduction to the course
Wednesday 1/6: Introduction to the course
Readings
Week Two: Into Late Antiquity
Monday 1/11: The Roman Empire: Decline and Fall
Readings
Readings
Week Three: Cities (Methods)
Monday 1/18: No Class (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
Wednesday 1/20: The Late Antique City
Readings
Week Four: The Urban Landscape
Monday 1/25: Urban Ceremonial
Readings
Readings
Week Five: The Christian Landscape
Monday 2/1: From Temples to Churches
Readings
Readings
Week Six: Outside the City (Methods)
Monday 2/8: Topographical Survey
Readings
Wednesday 2/10: Intensive Surface Survey
Readings
Week Seven: Death and Burial
Monday 2/15: Imperial Mausolea
Readings
Readings
Week Eight: Economy and Production
Monday 2/22: Coins, Bones and Ceramics
Readings
Readings
Week Nine: Omeka Exhibits and Digital Trends in Museum Informatics
Monday 2/29: Introduction to Omeka at Strozier Library
Preparation
Preparation
**Midterm take-home exam due in class on Friday 3/4**
**Spring Break March 7-9**
Week Ten: Living and Dining
Monday 3/14: Palaces and Villas
Readings:
Readings:
Week Eleven: Moving through the Late Roman World
Monday 3/21: Travel and Pilgrimage
Readings
Wednesday 3/23: Borders and Barriers
Readings
Week Twelve: After Antiquity
Monday 3/28: Revisiting the Roman City
Readings:
Readings:
-no response paper required
Weeks Thirteen through Fifteen (April 4-20): Final Presentations and Omeka Final Project Labs
** Final Papers/Projects due Friday, April 29 by 12pm. **
Wednesday 1/6: Introduction to the course
Readings
- Mitchell, Chs. 3-4 (recommended for historical background)
Week Two: Into Late Antiquity
Monday 1/11: The Roman Empire: Decline and Fall
Readings
- Ward-Perkins, Fall of Rome Part I
- Mitchell, Ch. 1 (recommended)
- Companion, Ch. 5 (optional)
Readings
- Mitchell, Ch. 2 (skim)
- Companion, Ch. 2
- Companion, Ch. 3
- Companion, Ch. 11
Week Three: Cities (Methods)
Monday 1/18: No Class (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
Wednesday 1/20: The Late Antique City
Readings
- Dey, Chs. 1-2
- section 2.2 optional
- Companion, Ch. 10
- Mitchell, Ch. 9 (recommended)
- Cleary (2013) “Reshaping Cities” (recommended)
Week Four: The Urban Landscape
Monday 1/25: Urban Ceremonial
Readings
- Dey, Ch. 3
Readings
- Jacobs and Richard (2012) “Reconciling Function and Decoration in Late Antique Fountains”
- Crow (2012) “Ruling the Waters: Managing the Water Supply of Constantinople, AD 330-1204”
Week Five: The Christian Landscape
Monday 2/1: From Temples to Churches
Readings
- Mitchell, Ch. 7
- Chaniotis (2008) “Conversion of the Temple of Aphrodite”
- Bowes (2008) “An Empire of Family and Friends” (recommended)
Readings
- Patrich (2004) “Monastic Landscapes”
- Dell’Acqua (2011) “Craft Production in Early Western Monasticism”
- Companion, Ch. 39 (recommended)
Week Six: Outside the City (Methods)
Monday 2/8: Topographical Survey
Readings
- Wulf-Rheidt (2011) “Akören: Two Late Antique Villages in Cilicia”
- Varınlıoğlu (2011) “Trades, Crafts, and Agricultural Production in Town and Countryside in Southeastern Isauria”
- Hill (1996) “Introduction” and “Characteristics of Cilician and Isaurian Basilicas” (skim)
- Ratté and De Staebler (2011) “Survey Evidence for Late Antique Settlement in the Region aroundAphrodisias” (recommended)
Wednesday 2/10: Intensive Surface Survey
Readings
- Pettegrew (2010) “Regional Survey and the Boom-or-Bust Countryside”
- Leidwanger (2013) “Amphorae and Underwater Survey”
- Cleary (2013) “Rural settlement and the economy in the late Roman West”
Week Seven: Death and Burial
Monday 2/15: Imperial Mausolea
Readings
- Johnson (2009) “Introduction”
- “The Emperor in Death”
- “Mausolea of the Tetrarchs”
- “Sepulcra Divorum”
- “Conclusion”
Readings
- Johnson (2009) “Mausolea of the Christian Emperors”
- Yasin (2009) “Commemorative Communities”
- Companion, Ch. 15
Week Eight: Economy and Production
Monday 2/22: Coins, Bones and Ceramics
Readings
- Mitchell, Ch. 10
- Reece (2003) “Coins and the Late Roman Economy”
- Vaccaro and MacKinnon (2014) “Pottery and Animal Consumption”
- Costa (2013) “The Late Antique Economy: Ceramics and Trade” (useful bibliographic essay for reference; do not need to read)
Readings
- Leone (2003) “Topographies of Production in North African Cities”
- Hárshegyi and Ottományi (2013) “Imported and Local Pottery in Late Roman Pannonia”
- Costin (2007) "Thinking About Production" (recommended)
- **Midterm take-home exam distributed**
Week Nine: Omeka Exhibits and Digital Trends in Museum Informatics
Monday 2/29: Introduction to Omeka at Strozier Library
Preparation
- Find 1-2 objects within a museum collection that fits within the parameters of the SEEDD schema. Come ready to sign up for Omeka and create a record for those objects.
Preparation
- Look carefully through the ‘Online Exhibits’ folder on Blackboard. Critically consider the possibilities that online exhibits afford, and think about styles of presentation that you might like to incorporate in your final project. Be ready to workshop your ideas in class.
**Midterm take-home exam due in class on Friday 3/4**
**Spring Break March 7-9**
Week Ten: Living and Dining
Monday 3/14: Palaces and Villas
Readings:
- Ćurčić (1993) “Late Antique Palaces”
- Özgenel (2006) "Public Use and Privacy in Late Antique Houses"
Readings:
- Dunbabin (2003) “Banqueting in Late Antiquity”
- Vroom (2007) “Archaeology of Late Antique Dining Habits”
Week Eleven: Moving through the Late Roman World
Monday 3/21: Travel and Pilgrimage
Readings
- Companion, Ch. 8
- Vikan (2010) “Early Byzantine Pilgrimage Art”
- Coleman and Elsner (1994) "Art, Architecture, and Ritual Movement at Sinai"
Wednesday 3/23: Borders and Barriers
Readings
- Mitchell, Ch. 12
- Brather (2005) “Acculturation and Ethnogenesis along the Frontier: Rome and the Ancient Germans in an Archaeological Perspective”
Week Twelve: After Antiquity
Monday 3/28: Revisiting the Roman City
Readings:
- Dey, Chs. 4-5 (selections)
- Mitchell, Ch. 13
Readings:
- Ward-Perkins, Fall of Rome Part II
-no response paper required
Weeks Thirteen through Fifteen (April 4-20): Final Presentations and Omeka Final Project Labs
** Final Papers/Projects due Friday, April 29 by 12pm. **
