The Late Roman Empire

• highlight the trans-Mediterrenean integration

Goals for this week (October 6)

By the end of this week, what should students know, be able to do and understand?

• we will learn about the problems faced in the Late Antique Period (from the 3rd century) and the solutions proposed from Rome. These problems and solutions prepared for and are a key foundation of the transformation of Empire that we see as the beginning of the Middle Ages

• learn about the nature of the "Roman Empire" to highlight that Roman rule was a thin veneer of power atop a diverse, multi-cultural and multi-linguistic community.

• learn how to read a scholarly source efficiently and effectively.

Online Time

For the first 1.5 hrs of class, we will explore the nature of the Late Antique Roman Empire, focussing on its structural flaws and attempts to remedy them in the Third and Early Fourth centuries.

After a break we will return for a short discussion about the primary source reading, the Theodosian code (or the extract in Rosenwein's reader focussed on divorce law).

I have pre-recorded an introduction to reading a scholarly source. Please watch this video (posted in the week four channel on Teams (see top tab "Videos") before annotating.

Read/Watch

• selection from A Short History of the Middle Ages on Perusall

• an extract from the Theodosian Code in Reading the Middle Ages

• the article, "Towards a Global Middle Ages" by Holmes and Standen (due at the end of the week)

• (optional) for an introduction to Christianity, you can watch and reflect critically on this 2006 documentary, The Grand Invention- Christianity (available through the library), part of a larger series on Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Another documentary series Christianity: A brief History outlines the history of Christianity from its beginning to the present. Like all sources, keep a critical eye/ear when watching these.

Discuss

• when reading the Theodosian code, think about how the rules of divorce reinforce or challenge your ideas of Ancient Rome. And think about what the legal position of women seem to have from this short extract in comparison to men.

• in reading A short history of the Middle Ages, think about the structural problems of Third Century Rome. And compare this with your expectations for how Roman society should be at this time.

• In reading, "Towards a Global Middle Ages" think back to last week's lecture about the geographic framing of time periods. Holmes and Standen talk about the Middle Ages as a "age of experimentation". Does that seem realistic to you?

Do

Complete an End of Week Report on Friday.

Assess

Is there a graded assignment this week? If so, what is the assignment and when does it need to be submitted?

Going Further

If students want to do more to ensure success, what materials and resources (e.g. reading, video, audio simulations, games) do you recommend?

Help

If a student is struggling, how should they seek help?