Rome: A Visual and Virtual Empire (IDSEM-UG 1797)
Professor Sebastian Heath, <[email protected]>
Fall 2014, Monday & Wednesday 9:30-10:45AM,
Education Building, Multimedia 2 (On the 2nd Floor)
Office hours: Mon. 11:15 AM-1:00 PM & Wed. 12:00–1:00 PM. Room 604.
Course Description
In this course we will use modern digital and collaborative tools to study an ancient empire. Rome was at
the height of its power from the late first century BC through the 4th century AD, during which time it
was a multi-cultural and complex political system. In the 21st century, Rome’s visual and material record
is increasingly being studied with digital techniques. Over the course of the semester, students will gain
hands-on skills with a variety of digital resources and tools; skills that will be useful in the study of any
culture, including our own. We will look at the development of public entertainment as seen in
amphitheaters around the empire. Students will learn to map the spread of these great structures so as to
identify both imperial control and common identity as well as local initiative in the Roman Empire.
Pompeii, the city famously destroyed in 79 AD, provides rich opportunities to think about daily life in
ancient times. Modern technologies—including Google Street View and 3D reconstructions—are
facilitating new approaches to our understanding of how women and men—both rich and poor—
interacted, made a living, and died in this complex urban environment. Students will also make their own
3D models of imperial and private portraits in the Metropolitan and Brooklyn Museums.
Learning Objectives
1. Students will be exposed to the visual and material culture of the Roman Empire and learn how to
use this evidence to consider in-depth aspects of a pre-modern culture.
2. Students will closely investigate the daily life of various elements of Roman society.
3. Students will learn how digital tools and media are being integrated into current understanding of
the Roman Empire.
4. Students will learn to create digital resources such as maps, online 3d models, and richly linked
online narratives using freely available online tools.
5. Students will learn to collaborate online with their peers and to share digital work effectively in
class and online.
Academic Integrity
Please carefully read the following statement provided by the Gallatin administration: “As a Gallatin
student you belong to an interdisciplinary community of artists and scholars who value honest and open
intellectual inquiry. This relationship depends on mutual respect, responsibility, and integrity. Failure to
uphold these values will be subject to severe sanction, which may include dismissal from the University.
Examples of behaviors that compromise the academic integrity of the Gallatin School include plagiarism,
illicit collaboration, doubling or recycling coursework, and cheating. Please consult the Gallatin Bulletin
or Gallatin website for a full description of the academic integrity policy.”
See http://www.gallatin.nyu.edu/academics/policies/policy/integrity.html for further information. If any
parts of Gallatin’s policies related to academic integrity are unclear to you, come see me right away.
Please do note the incorporation of the principles of “mutual respect, responsibility, and integrity” into the
above policy.
Course Requirments
1. Class participation (20% of grade). Attendance in class is required and class participation is an
important part of your final grade. Students must come to class having closely examined –
meaning among other things having read the readings, watched videos, or carefully accessed
websites - all assigned materials. More than two unexcused absences will result in a full lettergrade reduction. Students will occasionally be asked to complete impromptu assignments in class
such as brief quizzes and other responses.
2. Response paper due 9/10 (5%).
3. Linked paragraphs due 9/17 (5%)
4. 3D Models and Discussion due 10/20 (15%).
5. Linked Map of Pompeii due 11/3 (10%)
6. Linked Amphitheater Map due 11/12 (10%)
7. Other assignments as indicated under “Weekly Readings” (15%)
8. Final Project Report (equivalent of a 10 page research paper) due 5:00 PM Monday,
December 15: 20% of grade. The details of the Report will be discussed in class but students
should expect to put in effort equivalent to writing a 15 page research paper. We will devote an
entire session to discussing the nature and requirements of the final project. For now, be on the
lookout for topics that interest you. I’ll make further suggestions, but you can, with my approval,
define your own.
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: It is a requirement and pedagogic necessity of this course that students
create accounts on websites such as Wikipedia, 123D Catch, Recap 360, Google Apps for Education,
Google Maps and Google Maps Engine Lite, p3d.in, and others as instructed during class. These sites and
others will be introduced over the course of the semester. Some of these sites have as an inherent function
the public sharing of data online. Students will not be able to complete required work without creating
accounts on these sites and becoming familiar with their capabilities.
Lateness and Absences
Unless clearly indicated otherwise, assignments are due before class. This is important as we will often
review work in class. Late assignments will be lowered by 10% or similar drop as appropriate in each
case. As noted in “Course Requirements,” more than two absences will result in a full letter grade
reduction for the course. If students intend to ask for accommodation of a medical or family emergency,
they must provide documentation and, if possible, be in touch with me before class is missed or an
assignment turned in late. Religious observances will also be accommodated with prior notice.
Electronic Devices and Social Media
Unless directly and clearly permitted as part of class discussion, the use of personal electronics and social
media is not permitted in class.
Changes to this Syllabus
Changes to the syllabus may occur and will be announced in class, with new versions of the syllabus
distributed if necessary.
Weekly Readings
Links to readings are available under the “Resources” section of the NYU Classes site for the course.
1. (W, 9/3) Introduction to Rome as Empire and on the Internet
○ Online: B. Frischer.“ROM-StoryOfRome” video <http://vimeo.com/70722904>.
○ Online: Open University. “The Roman World”
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5PK-dPNkU>
2. (M, 9/8) The Ara Pacis: Virtual Study of an Imperial Monument
○ Online: “Ara Pacis” <http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/ara-pacis.html>
○ Online: “Museo dell’Ara Pacis”
<http://tourvirtuale.arapacis.it/eng/index.html>
○ Online: R. Ngo, “Ara Pacis Illuminated”
<http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/ara-pacis-illuminated/>
○ Optional: “Ara Pacis Augustae” <http://cdm.reed.edu/ara-pacis/>
○ Reading: D. Kleiner. (2005). Semblance and Storytelling in Augustan Rome. In:
Karl Galinsky (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Augustus. pp. 197233. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521807964.010
○ Assignment: A few sentences about yourself, what you know about Rome or
the Ancient Mediterranean World and about any prior technology experience.
If you’re able, turn in this assignment via Google Docs.
3. (W, 9/10) Linking Augustus
○ Online: “Augustus of Primaporta”
<http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/roman-sculpture.html>
○ Reading: Res Gestae Divi Augusti.
<http://classics.mit.edu/Augustus/deeds.html>.
○ Reading: Suetonius, Life of Augustus, chs. 25-44.
<http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/
Augustus*.html>.
○ Assignment: Response to readings and online resources assigned to date (500
Words via Google Docs)
4. (M, 9/15) Reading and Transcribing a Roman Tax Document
○ Reading: Suetonius, Life of Vespasian.
<http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/
Vespasian*.html>
○ Online: “Tour of Ancient Rome”:
<https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/history/ancientmedieval/Ancient/v/a-tour-through-ancient-rome-in-320-c-e>
○ Reading: “Centuriation” in The Encyclopedia of Ancient History.
<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah20028/abs
tract>
5. (W, 9/17) Down the Tiber River to Ostia (or up the Tiber River to Rome)
Online: “Ostia Antica Chapter 1”
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XLChHJ6lSw>
○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZnaZutDHh8
○ Online: “A Roman Bakery Explained” <http://www.ostiaantica.org/regio1/3/3-1.htm>
○ Reading: D. Mattingly and G. Aldrete (2000). The feeding of imperial Rome:
The mechanics of the food supply system. In: J. Coultson and H. Dodge (eds.),
Ancient Rome: The Archaeology of the Eternal City, pp. 142-165.
○ Assignment: Enrich two thematically coherent paragraphs from one of the the
primary sources we’ve read with 10 links and provide a 300 word commentary.
Submit via Google Docs.
(M, 9/22) Mapping Roman Emperors
○ Before class: Research your Emperors and/or Empresses
○ Online: “Charting Culture” <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gIhRkCcD4U>
○ Online: “Maps Engine Lite Tutorial”
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6pWfoktUd8>
○ Online: "Maps Engine Lite and Pro Help"
<https://support.google.com/mapsenginelite/>
○ J. Madsen (2012). The Provincialisation of Rome. In: D. Hoyos (ed.), A
Companion to Roman Imperialism, pp. 305-318.
http://ezproxy.library.nyu.edu:3555/content/books/b9789004236462_023
(W, 9/24) Using and Identifying Coins
○ In-Class Mapping Exercise (aka Sort of a Map Quiz)
○ Reading: P. Brennan et al. (2007). Faces of Power: Portraiture on Roman Coins,
pp. 7-35.
○ Reading: “Coinage, Roman Empire” in The Encyclopedia of Ancient History
○ (Re)reading: Res Gestae Divi Augusti. Available at
http://classics.mit.edu/Augustus/deeds.html.
○ Assignment: Add up the total number of Sestertii that Augustus claimed to
have spent during his rule.
(M, 9/29) Roman Portraits: From Coins to 3D Models
○ Online: “Flavian Dynasty: A History through Coinage”
<http://flaviandynasty.wordpress.com>
○ Online: S. Heath, “Identify Imperial Portraits” (LINK TO COME)
○ Online: Metropolitan Museum. “Roman Portrait Sculpture: The Stylistic Cycle”
<http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ropo2/hd_ropo2.htm>
○ Assignment: Follow instructions on “Identify Imperial Portraits” to identify
listed coins.
(W, 10/1) Making 3D models, part 1: The Basics
○ Online: “Autodesk 123D Catch Web App” video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nRO4KyK4bk>
○ Online: S. Heath. “Closing Gaps with Low-Cost 3D”
<http://mediterraneanworld.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/closing-gaps-withlow-cost-3d/>
○
6.
7.
8.
9.
Assignment: Identify and discuss your imperial portrait (300 Words, including
links to at least 5 resources). Submit via Google Docs.
10. (M, 10/6) Making 3d Models, part 2: Downloading, Uploading and Linking
○ Online: Metropolitan Museum. “3D Scanning, Hacking, and Printing in Art
Museums, for the Masses” <http://www.metmuseum.org/about-themuseum/museum-departments/office-of-the-director/digital-mediadepartment/digital-underground/posts/2013/3d-printing>.
○ Assignment: Progress report and link to first model. Submit via Google Docs
11. (W, 10/8) Self-Directed Museum Visit (Metropolitan Museum or Brooklyn Museum)
○ Details of visit to be discussed in class, including list of time when Prof. Heath
will be in the galleries.
○ Assignment due by 10/10: Progress report (including link to museum database
for selected objects). Submit via Google Docs.
12. (W, 10/15) Discussing Your 3D Models and Illustrating Further Techniques
○ Assignment: Your 2 models must be ready by this class.
○ Online: A. Rabinowitz. “The Work of Archaeology in the Age of Digital
Surrogacy” <http://mediterraneanworld.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/the-workof-archaeology-in-the-age-of-digital-surrogacy/>.
13. (M, 10/20) Pompeii: Introduction and Finding Addresses
○ Online: “Pompeii: Life and Death in a Roman Town”
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjbtWCKAHVM>
○ Online: J. and B. Dunn. “Pompeii in Pictures” <http://pompeiiinpictures.com>.
○ Jones, R. and D. Robinson (2007). Intensification, Heterogeneity and Power in
the Development of Insula VI,1. In P. Foss and J. Dobbins (Eds.), World of
Pompeii (pp. 432-449).
○ Assignment due: Your two 3D models with links and discussion (600 Words via
Google Drive)
14. (W, 10/22) Mapping at Pompeii, Part 1
○ Reading: P. Allison (2007). Domestic Spaces and Activities. In: P. Foss and J.
Dobbins (Eds.), World of Pompeii (pp. 432-449).
○ F. Bernstein (2007). Pompeian Women. In: P. Foss and J. Dobbins (Eds.), World
of Pompeii (pp. 526-537).
○ Online: “Virtual Villa of the Mysteries”
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaIIzY4fM2Q>.
15. (M, 10/27) Pompeii: Mapping at Pompeii, Part 2
○ Robinson, D. (2005). Rethinking the social organization of trade and industry in
first century AD Pompeii. In A. MacMahon and J. Price (Eds.), Roman Working
Lives and Urban Living, pp. 88-105.
16. (W, 10/29) Pompeii: Money and Commerce at Pompeii and in the Empire
○ Duncan-Jones, R. (2003). Roman coin circulation and the cities of Vesuvius. In
E. Lo Cascio (Ed.), Credito e Moneta nel Mondo Romano (pp. 161-180).
○ Assignment due: Map assigned house, annotate with quotes from articles and
with links.
○
[NOTE: I am tentatively planning for Gallatin’s in-house theater company to come to one of
the amphitheater classes. That will mean adjustment to this syllabus with details to come.
S.]
17. (M, 11/3) Amphitheaters: Roman Amphitheaters Intro
○ Reading: R. Laurence et al. (2011). Assembling the city 4: amphitheatres. In:
The City in the Roman West, c.250 BC–c.AD 250. pp. 259-284. [Online].
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available from: Cambridge Books
Online <http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511975882.012>
○
Online: “Fact and Fiction of the Roman Coloseum” video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeMU0UuQJVA>
Assignment due: Richly Linked Thematic Map of Pompeii with 500 word
discussion. Submit via Google Maps and Google Docs.
18. (W, 11/5) Amphitheaters: Collecting Data and Mapping
○ Reading: G. Verhoeven and R. Docter, R. (2013). The amphitheatre of
Carnuntum – Towards a complete 3D model using airborne Structure from
Motion and dense image matching. In: Proceedings of the 10th International
Conference on Archaeological Prospection, pp. 438–440.
○ Reading: W. Neubauer et al. (2013). The discovery of a gladiatorial school at
Carnuntum. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on
Archaeological Prospection, pp. 423–426.
○ Online: “In Photos: Ancient Gladiator School Discovered, Recreated” <
http://www.livescience.com/43728-photos-ancient-gladiator-school.html>
○ Online: "Measure distance and area"
<https://support.google.com/mapsenginelite/answer/3438611>.
19. (M,11/10) “Roman” Entertainments in the Eastern Empire
○ Online: “The Gladiator Graveyard” video
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMpf_XYXEJk>
○ Reading: C. Mann (2009). Gladiators in the Greek East: A case study in
Romanization. The International Journal of the History of Sport 26(2), 272297.
20. (W, 11/12) Amphitheaters and Christianity
○ Zs. Magyar (2009). Imperial Cult and Christianity. Acta Archaeologica
Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 60, pp. 385-395.
○ Online: Letter of the Church of Vienna
<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/177-lyonsmartyrs.asp>
○ Assignment due: Richly linked Amphitheater Map and Discussion.
21. (M, 11/17) Amphitheater “Wikipedia Hackfest”
○ Before class: Research your amphitheater and be ready to edit Wikipedia.
○ Online: “Wikipedia/Training”
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Training>
○ Online: “Wikipedia:Portal” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Portal>.
○ Online: “Wikipedia:Categorization”
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Categorization>
○
22. (W, 11/19) Designing your final projects
○ R. Mostern and Traveling the Silk Road on a Virtual Globe: Pedagogy,
Technology and Evaluation for Spatial History. Digital Humanities Quarterly
7(2), <http://digitalhumanities.org:8080/dhq/vol/7/2/000116/000116.html>.
○ Assignment: Reaction with links to the “Wikipedia Hackfest” (300 Words).
Submit via Google Docs.
23. (M, 11/24) Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli in 3D
○ Assignment: Final project proposal due.
○ Reading: W. Macdonald and J. Pinto (1995). Hadrian’s Villa and its Legacy.
Read pages: 1-12 and 38-46.
○ Online: “Virtual World tour of Hadrian's Villa - Full Version”
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbUfuZHwGu8>.
○ Online: “Hadrian’s Villa: A Virtual Tour”
<http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/hadrians-villa-a-virtual-tour.html>.
○ Online: “The Digital Hadrian’s Villa Project”
<http://vwhl.clas.virginia.edu/villa/>.
24. (W, 11/26) Vindolanda Tablets
○ Online: “Letters from the Roman Front”
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVlS7oklw64>.
○ “Vindolanda Tablets” in Encyclopedia of Ancient History.
○ Letters from Vindolanda available via NYU Classes site.
25. (M, 12/1) Stanford Orbis / New Testament
○ Reading: Duling, D. C. (2013). Paul's Aegean Network: The Strength of Strong
Ties. Biblical Theology Bulletin, 43(3), 135-154
○ Online: “Orbis” <http://orbis.stanford.edu>. (Follow links under “Home”)
○ Online: “Acts of the Apostles, chs. 19-28”
<https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+19>.
26. (W, 12/3) Forma Urbis Romae
○ Reading: J. Trimble (2007). Visibility and viewing on the Severan Marble Plan.
In: S. Swain et al. (eds), Severan Culture, pp. 383-384.
○ Online: “Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project”,
<http://formaurbis.stanford.edu/database.html>.
○ Online: “Fragments of the City” <http://graphics.stanford.edu/papers/formawilliams/>. (Follow link to draft of paper)
○ Assignment: Map three legs of a journey in “Acts of the Apostles” integrating
Orbis Data. Submit via Google Maps.
27. (M, 12/8) Crisis and Burial in 3D
○ Reading: P. Blanchard et al. (2007). A mass grave from the catacomb of Saints
Peter and Marcellinus in Rome, second-third century AD. Antiquity, 81, pp.
989-998.
○ Online: “The Mass Grave Mystery of the Roman X Tomb” <
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_p45MNPZ0o>.
Online: “Tour the Priscilla Catacombs on Google Maps”
<http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godandthemachine/2014/01/tour-thepriscilla-catacombs-on-google-maps/>.
○ Online: “Catacombs of Priscilla”
<http://www.catacombepriscilla.com/visita_catacomba_en.html>.
28. (W, 12/10) Transforming Rome, Creating Constantinople
○ Reading: L. Spera (2003). The Christianization of space along the Via Appia:
Changing landscape in the suburbs of Rome. American Journal of Archaeology
107(1), 23-43.
○ Reading: B. Ward-Perkins (2013). Old and new Rome compared: The rise of
Constantinople. In L. Grig and G. Kelly (Eds.), Two Romes: Rome and
Constantinople in Late Antiquity (pp. 53-78).
○
REMINDER: YOUR FINAL PROJECTS ARE DUE MONDAY, DECEMBER 15 by 5:00 PM. SUBMIT
THEM VIA THE APPROPRIATE GOOGLE APP OR BY OTHER MEANS AS ARRANGED WITH
PROFESSOR HEATH.