Unit details
CLAN3009 Religion, Society and the Divine in the Roman World: From Augustus to Augustine
- Credit
- 6 points
- Offering
| Availability | Location | Mode |
|---|
| Not available in 2020 | UWA (Perth) | Face to face |
- Details for undergraduate courses
- Level 3 option in the Classics and Ancient History major sequence
- The area of knowledge for this unit is Society and Culture
- Category B broadening unit for students
- 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.
Supplementary assessment is not available in this unit except in the case of a bachelor's pass degree student who has obtained a mark of 45 to 49 overall and is currently enrolled in this unit, and it is the only remaining unit that the student must pass in order to complete their course.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Dr Christopher Mallan
- Unit rules
- Prerequisites:
- Any level 2 CLAN unit
- Contact hours
- lectures: 1 hour per week across 10 weeks; seminar classes: 2 hours per week across 10 weeks.
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Books and other material wherever listed may be subject to change. Book lists relating to 'Preliminary reading', 'Recommended reading' and 'Textbooks' are, in most cases, available at the University Co-operative Bookshop (from early January) and appropriate administrative offices for students to consult. Where texts are listed in the unit description above, an asterisk (*) indicates that the book is available in paperback.