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Ancient Sources (Material Evidence): Globalisation and the Roman Empire

Module description

In this module you will learn to use the idea of globalisation as a lens to view the ancient Roman world – taking in major historical events, military and imperial expansion, economic changes and connectivity, the cultural impacts on conquered peoples, and influences absorbed from neighbouring societies. You will explore these themes with a focus on understanding historical change through material culture and archaeology. The module is recommended for historians, archaeologists and HASS students with interests in the deep historical and anthropological dimensions of globalisation, materiality, imperialism, objectscapes and urbanism, although no prior knowledge of these subjects is required to enroll. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will introduce you to the archaeology and material culture of the wider Roman world, with a focus on the idea of globalisation. You will consider major historical themes in the study of the period - connectivity and ancient economies; mechanisms of imperial expansion; the changing nature of Roman frontier interactions; the role of cities as nodes for cultural innovation, transmission and transformation; the influence of pre-conquest and Hellenistic societies and networks on Roman developments; social inequalities and the identities of non-elites; the various types of strategies and engagements with globalizing visual culture on a local level (glocalization); and the relationship between text and material in understanding ancient culture and society. Of principal interest will be the consideration of the key similarities and differences between ancient and modern ‘globalisations’. Did Roman conquest and annexation usher in a new cosmopolitan world of global cities and friends, or were material changes really just a by-product of enslavement and economic domination?

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. understand complex themes connected to globalisation, imperialism, materiality and identity, and describe the fundamental differences between modern globalisation and comparable processes taking place in the ancient world.
• 2. describe and evaluate the changes which Rome brought to Afro-Eurasia and their impact on society at a variety of levels.
• 3. assimilate an understanding of how to use a range of classes of material evidence, including settlements, architecture, small finds, coinage, and pottery (in addition to the relevant historical sources) to address wider issues of historical and social interest.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. use, analyse and evaluate material evidence as a major source for understanding the ancient world.
• 5. develop basic academic and library skills.
• 6. develop a critical ability in assessing published literature.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Demonstrate independent and group study skills in research and presentation of findings.
• 8. Demonstrate an ability to select and organise relevant material.
• 9. Demonstrate an ability to present a strong argument in oral and written form.
• 10. discuss issues in a group of peers.
• 11. Manage your own time and meet deadlines.

Syllabus plan

Lectures topics may include:

• Roman material cultures
• Globalisation, Rome and world history
• Roman connectivity and time-space compression
• Hellenistic revolutions, stimulus and genealogy
• The rise of the Roman world system and market integration
• Mapping global practice – inscriptions vs diet
• Mapping global practice – consumption and objectscapes
• City (and country) in a connected Roman world
• Eastern Afro-Eurasian connectivities
• Indian Ocean connectivities
• Frontier communities and connectivities

Seminar topics may include:

• Time-space compression
• Globalisation and the Romanisation debate
• Understanding objects in motion
• Visual culture and glocalisation

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you

will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-

assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first

attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Belvedere, O and Bergemann, J (eds.). 2021. Imperium Romanum. Romanization between colonization and globalization. Palermo.
• Bromberg. J.A. 2021. Global Classics. London.
• Eckardt, H (ed.). 2010. Roman diasporas: archaeological approaches to mobility and diversity in the Roman empire. Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplement 78.
• Hodos, T, with Geurds, A, Lane, P, Lilley, I, Pitts, M, Shelach, G, Stark, M and Versluys, M. J (eds.). 2017. The Routledge Handbook of Archaeology and Globalization. London.
• Hoo, M. 2022. Eurasian localisms: towards a translocal approach to Hellenism and inbetweenness in central Eurasia, third to first centuries BCE. Oriens et Occidens, 41. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.
• Jennings, J. 2011. Globalizations and the ancient world. Cambridge.
• Pitts, M, and M.J Versluys (eds.). 2015. Globalisation and the Roman world. World history, connectivity and material culture. Cambridge.
• Van Oyen, A and Pitts, M (eds.). 2017. Materialising Roman Histories. Oxford.

Key words search

Globalisation, Rome, Roman, archaeology, material culture, connectivity, consumption