LNW 3380  "I, TIBERIUS": DESPOTISM AND DEGENERACY IN THE  EARLY EMPIRE (Selected Readings from the Annales of Tacitus)

Fall, 2002: MWF 2; CBD 312  (Sec. 5111) General Ed: H, I; 3 credits

Prerequisites for this Course: A 2000 level Latin course, advanced placement or equivalent high school study. May be repeated with a change of content up to a maximum of 6 credits. If you are unsure whether you can or should take this course, please consult the instructor.

The Course:The official description is as follows:
 LNW 3380 The Roman Historians.  Readings in Latin from one of the following Roman historians: Sallust, Caesar, Livy or Tacitus.

What We’ll Be Doing in this Version: The focus of the course will be the reign of the emperor Tiberius, as told by the great Roman historian, Tacitus.  As a young man Tiberius was a superbly gifted general and administrator. But his adoptive father Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, didn’t very much like him. Augustus designated several others to succeed himself, but ultimately each of these conveniently died, leaving Tiberius as the Emperor’s only choice. The wife of Augustus, Livia, was the mother of Tiberius through a previous marriage. She was exceedingly ambitious for her son to become Emperor.  Did she therefore stage-manage these deaths, and that of her husband as well?  Once Tiberius became Emperor, after an initial brilliant beginning, his character began to change. He became wary of subordinates, some of whom were plotting against him, and finally left Rome altogether to live out the rest of his reign in a pleasure palace on the island of Capri. Suspicious, secluded, and sexually depraved at the end— this is the picture that emerges from Tacitus. But how accurate is this portrayal?  Do the actual facts recorded in the historian belie the impressions he leaves behind?  In our Latin readings as well as background investigation we will try to ferret out the truth about Tiberius.  Viewing and discussion of the first nine episodes from the BBC series “I, Claudius” will supplement the course readings.

Instructor: Dr. Lewis A. Sussman, Professor of Classics. Office: 139 Dauer Hall. Office phone: 392-2075 ext. 268; e-mail: sussman@ufl.edu; fax 846-0297. Office hours to be announced, or by appointment. Sussman received his B.A. from Princeton and the Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His special field of scholarship is Roman literature, oratory, and rhetoric (about which he has written three books and some 20 articles), but he pursues wide ranging interests in the history and archaeology of Greek and Roman civilization through reading, travel, and the courses he teaches. He was the recipient of a State University System Teaching award several years ago.

Texts and Course Materials:

Required:
2 course packets, available at Custom Copy, 309 NW 13th Street (across the street from Krispy
Kreme)
M. Grant, Tacitus: The Annals of Imperial Rome. Penguin  0-14-044060-7

Optional:
Robert Graves (translator), Suetonius: The Twelve Caesars,  Penguin Classic ISBN 0-14-044072-0

Additional materials for this course can be accessed through the course web folder and will be announced in class as they are added: http://web.classics.ufl.edu/sussman/index.html

You must have a good Latin dictionary and a grammar.  Available in the Classics Library, 125 Dauer, are: full, unabridged Latin dictionaries (Oxford, Lewis & Short), a reference grammar, and the Oxford Classical Dictionary.  Several different grammars and the Lewis & Short are available on the web. Other materials may be placed on a special shelf there for your use.
 

Lewis & Short Dictionary: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/newlatin.html
Grammar & dictionary: http://www.nd.edu/~archives/latgramm.htm
Rhetorical figures: http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/rhetoric.html
 

Students with Disabilities: If you require accommodations because of a disability, please make an appointment during my office hours so that we may discuss your needs in accordance with the UF official policy: “Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students office. The Dean of Students office will provide documentation to the student who must then present this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation.”

Exams, Reports, Class Work, and Grading:

(1) Exams: There will be two 50 minute examinations:
Friday, October 11, and Friday, December 6. Averaged together, these will form your exam grade in the course; therefore there will not be a final exam during exam week. Policies and other matters concerning these exams will be discussed in detail during class.  In addition to these, there will be occasional unannounced short quizzes on translation and grammar in class; the grades on all these quizzes will make up part of your class work grade (see below).

(2) Oral presentations will be assigned to each student in the course of the semester. These will generally consist of responses to points raised on the I, Claudius study guide sheets in your packet. Oral work will be considered part of your class work grade.

(3) Class Work encompasses daily performance in class discussion and translation, presentations, and quizzes.

(4) Your final grade will be determined as follows: Exams I, II, = 30% each (= 60% total); class work = 40%.  Obviously class work is an important factor. Thorough preparation, diligent effort, participation in class discussion, and regular attendance will be amply rewarded.

Attendance:  Regular attendance is required!  After a total of three missed hours your final grade will be reduced by 1/3rd of a point for each missed hour.  This is a 2nd period class. Buy yourself a reliable alarm clock so that you reach class on time and ready to work!

Please note that the academic calendar is punctuated by numerous holidays this semester:
There will be no classes on:  Monday, Sept. 2 (Labor Day); Monday, November 11 (Veterans Day), Friday, November 15 (Homecoming); November 29 (Thanksgiving); and Friday, December 13 (to comply with the University of Florida Reading Days policy). Students unable to come to class because of religious observances should check with me ahead of time so that the missed work can be rescheduled, in accordance with UF policies.

Academic Honesty: Students are responsible for reading carefully and abiding by the University's honesty policy regarding cheating and use of copyrighted materials.  These policies will be vigorously enforced. Please see the 2000-2001 Student Guide, Standard of Ethical Conduct (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/stg/).

Course Goals:
- improve your ability to read, understand, and appreciate Latin prose
- familiarize yourselves with the life, career, and works of Tacitus, and especially his style, and his contribution to the genre of history
- gain background knowledge of the context of early Roman empire, and particularly the reign of Tiberius
- inderstand Tacitus’ portrayal of Tiberius and how it accords with the facts
- appreciate the literary and stylistic qualities of the Annales
- understand the characters and motivations of the leading figures in this work
- see how the television adaptation of Tacitus (and Suetonius) in I, Claudius accords with the facts as we know them concerning the reign of Tiberius

Procedures:  We will read intensively, and with great attention to the points mentioned under “Course Goals,” selected parts of the Latin text of.the Annales, books 1-6 and its entirety in English translation. There will also be background reading in secondary works, audio-visual presentations, formal lectures on various subjects, structured discussion, and other activities designed to enhance your understanding of Tacitus.

Some Internet Resources:  The I Claudius web site will be an important tool for this course. It contains summaries of the episodes plus links providing genealogical tables, historical background, and much more. Often an assignment will refer you to this site. It will be up to you to navigate it and locate the desired information.
http://www.historyinfilm.com/claudius/index.htm
Another I, Claudius site: http://www.anselm.edu/internet/classics/I,CLAUDIUS/
For information, including a short biography, on the author of the novel I Claudius see:
http://www.robertgraves.org/

Downloadable text of Tacitus: http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/tac.html

Very valuable for your daily translation is a good text & translation, with links to each Latin word, plus grammatical explanations and dictionary links is:
http://www.geocities.com/ckieffe/annalesmain.html

For background and research:
Classics collection: http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/cm/classics/ (this has a vast number of interesting and useful links in a variety of different areas in classical studies).
To get started on your own, for materials on Roman civilization you may try the Vroma site at: http://www.vroma.org and especially http://vroma.org/~bmcmanus/romanlinks.html

http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/romanpages.html
This site is good for links to information on the following topics:  Augustus and Tiberius: the beginnings of the Roman Empire; Caligula; Civilization and Culture Topics: (e.g., Roman Names, the Roman Arm, Roman Clothing, the Roman House, Leisure and Entertainment, Theater, Roman Baths and Bathing, Chariot Racing, Gladiatorial Games).

The discipline of classics is the most highly computerized of all the humanities, as you will see when you surf the linked sites. Some other helpful sites:

http://iam.classics.unc.edu/  Interactive Ancient Mediterranean project

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~vandersp/Courses/stemmata/stemmata.html
Genealogy tables for the imperial families of Rome

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: This is an incredibly rich site, with useful information and ancient texts in both Latin and English: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook.html

Suetonius life of Tiberius in English translation:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/suet-tiberius-rolfe.html
Other Suetonius lives: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbookfull.html#Rome

The Res Gestae of Augustus: http://classics.mit.edu/Augustus/deeds.html

The UF Classics department Web page has internet links to a wide variety of sites dealing with the Roman world, its history, civilization, and archaeology:  http://www.classics.ufl.edu

Assignments:  Because of the nature of this type of course and the variability of each student’s Latin background, reading assignments in Latin will be given from week to week. You are responsible for making sure that you have the correct assignment each week, and that it has been thoroughly prepared before the Monday class meets.  Generally, the Latin text for the day’s translation will be projected on an overhead screen. I will require that all books, papers, and notes be removed from your desks (except for some blank paper on which to make notes).  Therefore  reading or consulting a previously prepared translation will not be allowed. Dependence on such aids is a crutch; you will never, never become proficient at reading Latin by relying upon these.  It will be a good idea, to help you prepare for each class and to review for the exams, to make a vocabulary notebook or flashcard collection of words that you must frequently look up. Since some supplementary readings of this course will be from works on reserve in the Classics Library or on the web, you must take special care to make sure that you have access to these prior to the class meeting, and with sufficient lead time so that you can do the assignment properly.

Classroom Demeanor:Students are expected to respect the rights of their fellow students to a proper learning environment. Talking out of turn, receiving calls on ringing cell phones, eating, drinking, and other activities incompatible with classroom activity will not be tolerated. Students are expected to arrive promptly at class and not to disturb the session if for any reason they must be late.

Academic Honesty:  Students are responsible for reading and abiding scrupulously by the University’s honesty policy regarding cheating, plagiarism, and the use of copyrighted materials.  These policies will be rigorously enforced in this course: For the policies see the code of student conduct at http://www.dso.ufl.edu/stg/

Bibliography:A full bibliography suitable to this level of work will be found in your packet.

Instructor Bio:Lewis Sussman, Professor of Classics,  received his B.A. from Princeton and the Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina. His field of scholarship is Roman oratory and rhetoric (about which he has written three books), but he pursues wide ranging interests in the history and archaeology of Greek and Roman civilization through reading, travel, and the courses he teaches. He was the recipient of a State University System TIP (Teaching) award several years ago. Students with questions about the course may contact him by e-mail (sussman@classics.ufl.edu).
 

Bibliography
Index of  Handouts