The course examines the dynamic and culturally vibrant period linked to the reign of Rome's first emperor, Augustus. It examines how the change from a Republic to a Principate was articulated in a developing, negotiated relationship between Princeps, Senate, and Populus, and the manner in which this played out in coopted urban and visual landscapes. The course will approach the city of Rome as a ‘total site’ investigation in which the relationship between images, spaces, and viewers occupies a central role. The course will pose questions not only to the patronage of built spaces and works, but equally to the reception and performativity of these, and to the role of decoration in creating an engaged viewing experience.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

The course focuses on a close reading of the period 44 BC-AD 14, corresponding to the political career of Octavian/Augustus. This will be framed by considerations of the character of late Republican art in Rome that forms its immediate context. The course will adopt a broadly chronological format within which particular issues and concerns are explored.

Central is the examination of the articulation and implications of a new political format. This will be explored through investigation of the visual and spatial character of individual public works and urban spaces, as well as of the changing urban topography of the city of Rome as a whole. To this end, the chronological format of the course will facilitate an exploration of the period as one of evolution and experimentation, and of the urban ‘space’ as a setting of evolving exchanges between princeps, elite, and populace.

The aim is to explore both the political engagement with civic space, and the reception and performative implications for the citizen body as viewers and user of this. The new political system in Rome created the context for new visual approaches, but the development was a dynamic engagement across social groups and over time.

The course will foster a firm understanding of developments and traditions in the history of the late Republic and early Principate. The aim is to develop an awareness of cultural characteristics and an ability to analyze trends and changes in context.

The course will provide students with an in-depth knowledge of key monuments and artworks of the period in question. The aim is to develop a contextualized appreciation of a multifaceted, cosmopolitan visual culture.

The course will familiarize students with the rhetoric of spaces and styles, and the inherent agency of objects, and furnish them with the methodologies to interpret these. The aim is for an awareness of spaces as dynamic stages of social interaction and an understanding of the impact of patronage and viewing.

The course will develop powers of expression: Organization of material, contextual and nuanced discussion, focused presentation of data, public speaking and presentation abilities, participation in debates

The course will develop critical thinking and interpretation: Reasoned consideration and evaluation of evidence and methods, interpretation of arguments presented, reflection on context and impact

You are expected to attend all scheduled classes. Absences and late arrival will be noted and may affect your final grade.

 You are expected to have dealt with food, drink and bathroom needs before class. During class, please do not leave the classroom except for emergencies

 Use of electronic media (computers, phones, etc.) are not permitted in the class and must be stored in your bag during class time.

Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Students should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed.

Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam: a major exam (midterm or final) cannot be made up without the permission of the Dean’s Office. Permission will be granted only when the absence is caused by a serious impediment or grave situation. Absences due to conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, etc. will not be excused.

Borg, B. (ed.) (2015) A Companion to Roman Art. Wiley-Blackwell.
Davies, P.J.E. (2018) Constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing civic memory in late Republican Rome. In K. Sandberg and C. Smith (eds), Omnium Annalium Monumenta: Historical Writing and Historical Evidence in Republican Rome: 477-512. Brill.

de Angelis, F. (2021) Decoration and attention in the Forum of Augustus: The agency of ancient imagery between ritual and routine. In A. Haug and M.T. Lauritsen (eds), Principles of Decoration in the Roman World, Decorative Principles in Late Republican and Early Imperial Italy: 15-32. De Gruyter.

Favro, D. (1996) The Urban Image of Augustan Rome. CUP

Fejfer, J. (2008) Roman Portraits in Context. De Gruyter

Fejfer, J. (2015) Statues of Roman women and cultural transmission: Understanding the so-called Ceres statues as a Roman portrait carrier. In J. Fejfer, M. Moltesen and A. Rathje (eds), Tradition. Transmission of Culture in the Ancient World: 85-116. University of Copenhagen.

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Fuchs, W. (2021) New evidence for the design and urban integration of the Forum of Caesar, Forum of Augustus, Curia Julia, and Chalcidicum. Journal of Roman Archaeology 34.2: 511-51.

Galinsky, K. (1996) Augustan Culture, an Interpretative Introduction. PUP

Galinsky, K. (ed.) (2005) The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus. CUP

Haselberger, L. [and Thein, A.] (2007) Urbem adornare. Rome’s Urban Metamorphosis under Augustus. JRA

Heslin, P. (2019) The Julian calendar and the solar meridian of Augustus: Making Rome run on time. In M.P. Loar, S.C. Murray and S. Rebeggiani (eds), The Cultural History of Augustan Rome. Texts, Monuments and Topography: 45-79. Cambridge University Press. PA6042 .C85 2019

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Phillips, D.A. (2014) Reading the landscape of Augustan Rome: Aeneid 1.421-429 and the building program of Augustus. In A.M. Kemezis (ed.), Urbans Dreams and Realities in Antiquity. Remains and Representations of the Ancient City: 229-45. Brill.

Popkin, M.L. (2015) Decorum and the Meanings of Materials in Triumphal Architecture of Republican Rome. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 74.3: 289-311

Rose, C.B. (2008) Forging identity in the Roman republic: Trojan ancestry and veristic portraiture. In S. Bell and I.L. Hansen (eds), Role Models in the Roman World: Identity and Assimilation: 97-132. University of Michigan Press.

Russell, A. (2016) The Politics of Public Space in Republican Rome. Cambridge University Press.  

Russell, A. (2019) Inventing the Imperial Senate. In Josiah Osgood, Kit Morrell and Kathryn Welch (eds), The Alternative Augustan Age: 325-341. Oxford University Press. eBook

Russell, A. (2019b) The Augustan senate and the reconfiguration of time on the Fasti Capitolini. In I: Gildenhard, U. Gotter, W. Havener and L. Hodgson (eds), Augustus and the Destruction of History: 157-86. Cambridge Classical Journal. eBook

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