***This course includes a mandatory day-visit to Pompeii on a Friday (see schedule)***

As the best preserved among the Roman cities, Pompeii represents a window into the daily lives of common people, may they be slaves, prostitutes, small time entrepreneurs, or local politicians.
Studying the ordinary people of the ancient world is a challenging enterprise due to the limited evidence they left behind, often making them “invisible.” Thanks to the unique manner in which Pompeii was buried and indirectly protected by the eruption of 79 CE, scholars have analyzed it to obtain a fine-grained understanding of its society and ask questions about life in an ordinary urban setting.
This course will use an interdisciplinary approach (archaeology, epigraphy, literature, architecture, art, and legal codes) for an in-depth study of five aspects of Pompeii: its history, its economy, its society, its administration, and its preservation.
The trajectory of this course begins with the history of Pompeii and of its discovery, it moves to the town's politics and administration, it continues with the economy of the city, and it concludes with a study of its local society.

This course is designed for students who have already taken at least one course on the history of Ancient Rome: it requires knowledge of the phases of Roman history, the institutions of the Roman Republic, and a general understanding of Roman culture.

***This course includes a mandatory day-visit to Pompeii on a Friday (see schedule)***

With a successful conclusion of this course, the students will be able to:

●       trace the evolution of Pompeii from its origins to the eruption

●       illustrate how the eruption of 79 CE allowed the unique preservation of Pompeii

●       relate the different phases of the excavation of Pompeii until today

●       describe the administrative organization of Pompeii and the duties of the local officers

●       illustrate and discuss the evidence for the low and middle sections of Pompeian society

●       illustrate the development of the retail business in Pompeii

●       describe how the local administration and the economy of Pompeii were correlated

●       discuss the distribution of retail and production activities

●       describe and discuss the management of wheeled and pedestrian traffic in Pompeii

●       contrast Pompeii with the administration and economy of other Roman cities

●       evaluate the different methods used in the excavation and preservation of Pompeii

Attendance will be taken at every class (except during the add-and-drop period.)

Up to five (5) absences are allowed in this course without consequences. More than 5 absences regardless of the reason (that is, missing more than 20% of the course) will have you fail the course.

No justification for any regular absence is allowed in this course: five absences are enough to cover any regular event.

Only extended medical emergencies and extraordinary situations are justified absences. No other reason counts as a justified absence: lack of registration, finger-print appointments, sickness, trips, etc. are not justified. In case of these extraordinary circumstances and if you are going beyond the number of allowed absences, you can fill the “Excused Absences Request Form” in the webpage of the Registrar Office (click here)

As from the university catalog:
Attendance Policy
Specific requirements for attendance in any given course, except as described below, are the prerogative of the instructor and will be stated in the course syllabus distributed by the instructor at the beginning of the term. 

The Dean’s Office may grant exemptions from specific attendance policies in the case of a chronic medical condition or other serious problem. Students seeking such an exemption must ask a Dean as soon as they are aware of a situation impeding their required attendance. Students who cannot meet the attendance requirements for a particular class may be advised to withdraw from it.

Absences from major examinations require a Dean’s Office excuse, insofar as the student may seek to take a make-up exam. The Dean’s Office will only excuse such absences when they are caused by serious impediments, such as a student’s own illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which the student is attending the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students seeking such an excuse must notify their instructor, or the Dean’s Office, as soon as possible, and no later than the beginning of the exam. 

Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday must notify their instructors by the end of the Add/Drop period (during the first week of classes). Students missing a class for this reason also must make prior arrangements with their instructor to make up any work

Exams - Absences and Makeups
Instructors may, at their discretion, give makeups on quizzes or other less important graded work to students absent without an official excuse. However, because make-up exams require new exams to be prepared, written and proctored at times outside the regular class period, major examinations (midterms, finals) may only be re-administered with approval from the Dean’s Office. 

A student absent from a class meeting in which a major examination has been scheduled, who wishes to make-up that exam, must ask the Dean’s Office for an official excuse. Such absence will be excused only if the student: 

1. has notified the Dean’s Office or his or her instructor of his or her inability to attend before the beginning of the class meeting in which the examination was scheduled; 
2. subsequently presents to the Dean’s Office with documented evidence of a serious difficulty preventing attendance. 

A serious difficulty entitling a student to make-up a missed exam includes a student’s own illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which the student is attending the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Missed exams owing to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel plans or difficulties, student misunderstandings, alarm clock failure, or personal convenience, will not be excused.”