Rise & Fall of Roman Republic
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic This course is an introduction to the literature, politics, culture and history of the Roman Republic (c.509-31BCE) - a period which saw Rome grow from a small city on the Tiber to the supreme power in the Mediterranean, and also saw the development of Latin literature. Our readings cover a broad variety of literary genres and authors: comedy (Plautus and Terence), lyric (Catullus), epic (Ennius), political speeches and letters (Cicero), history (Caesar, Sallust, Polybius), and didactic philosophy (Lucretius). As we read we will be careful to investigate how these texts present different and often conflicting ideas of what it means to be Roman, as well as how different ideologies of Rome compete throughout each work.
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Republic This course is an introduction to the literature, politics, culture and history of the Roman Republic (c.509-31BCE) - a period which saw Rome grow from a small city on the Tiber to the supreme power in the Mediterranean, and also saw the development of Latin literature. Our readings cover a broad variety of literary genres and authors: comedy (Plautus and Terence), lyric (Catullus), epic (Ennius), political speeches and letters (Cicero), history (Caesar, Sallust, Polybius), and didactic philosophy (Lucretius). As we read we will be careful to investig …Read more
I enjoyed this class. The professor was relaxed and the coursework was manageable. As long as you stayed up to date on readings (even skimming) and knew the study guide it was easy to succeed in the class.
This course is an interesting look into the concept of a Republic via the successes, trials, and shortcomings on the Roman Republic. Professor Star is enthusiastic about the material, and is a thoughtful professor. My one complaint is that the course assumes a lot of prior classics knowledge / desire to pursue the classics studies further. Just taking it as a distribution / curiosity, it is definitely still interesting, but sometimes feels difficult to stay engaged in discussion, which I think contributes to a sort-of stagnant classroom.
This course is an interesting look into the concept of a Republic via the successes, trials, and shortcomings on the Roman Republic. Professor Star is enthusiastic about the material, and is a thoughtful professor. My one complaint is that the course assumes a lot of prior classics knowledge / desire to pursue the classics studies fu …Read more
The course was very fun. The professor is very passionate about the work he does. The only homework assignments we had for the class were readings. However, the readings could be a lot at certain times. The class can be boring, but it was fun to learn about Rome.
Professor Star is a great teacher and person. Class has a lot of reading but he addresses a lot of the material in his lecture. Courseload include readings for class, two essays, a project, and two exams. Would certainly take again.
Christopher star is so chill and such a great prof. He is super kind and accommodating. Also has great knowledge of the content and his classes are quite engaging. Definitely take this class if you are interested in roman history/literature
There's reading for every class, but you can easily get away without doing it. The midterm was super easy. You only need to do one short presentation, and two very short papers and most students got an A or A-.