Unit details

CLAN3009 Religion, Society and the Divine in the Roman World: From Augustus to Augustine

Credit

6 points

Offering
(see Timetable)

Availability	Location	Mode
Semester 1	UWA (Perth)	Face to face

Details for undergraduate courses

• Level 3 option in the Classics and Ancient History major sequence
• Level 3 elective

Content

The Roman Imperial period saw radical changes in the ways in which men and women conceived their relationship to the divine. These changes all took place within the framework of the Roman Empire. From the first to the fifth century, there were profound transformations in thinking about God or the Gods in philosophical discourses; the relationship between men and gods; the role of ritual and religion in everyday life, as well as in ethics, history, and their sense of community. This unit examines the evidence for these changes in the literature and material culture from the Roman World, from the religious revival of Augustus, through the ‘age of anxiety' of the second and third centuries, to the triumph of Christianity. Topics that will be covered over the course of this unit will include, the establishment of the Roman imperial cult, the transformation of the Jewish Community following the destruction of the Second Temple, religious syncretism in the provinces, ‘eastern' cults at Rome, and the evolution of Christianity and the attempt to create Christian orthodoxy.

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) describe and identify the key features of the religions and cults of the Roman Empire in the period under discussion
; (2) interpret the connections between religion and politics in the Roman Empire
; (3) evaluate different types of evidence (literary, documentary, and archaeological) that contribute to our understanding of the religious history of the period
; (4) comprehend and critically evaluate modern scholarship relevant to the area of study; (5) research using print and electronic resources; and (6) demonstrate reasoning and analytical skills.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) tutorial participation; (2) gobbet tests; and (3) research assignment. Further information is available in the unit outline.

For units commencing in May 2022 or later the availability of the supplementary assessment is subject to confirmation.

Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Except where supplementary assessment is not available in a unit, it will be offered to students in all units who:

• Are in good academic standing overall;
• Have passed over half the units taken in the teaching period concerned, except where they are only enrolled in two or less units in the period;
• Have submitted all assessment items in the unit;
• Have achieved a mark between 45 and 49 for the unit overall, or the same mark in any failed component item in the unit; and
• No finding of academic misconduct has been made against them in the unit concerned.

Additionally student may apply for supplementary assessment in any unit which is the final unit required for graduation in there course and where they have achieved a mark between 45 and 49 for the unit overall, or the same mark in any failed component item in the unit.

Unit Coordinator(s)

Dr Kirk Essary

Unit rules

Prerequisites:

any Level 2 Unit(s) from CLAN or HIST

Co-requisites:

Nil

Incompatibility:

Nil

Contact hours

lectures: 1 hour per week across 10 weeks; tutorials: 2 hours per week across 10 weeks.