Roman Mobilities: Movement of persons, animals, objects, and ideas in the ancient Roman world

The virtual module will take place every Friday on the Microsoft Teams platform, which is used in most of the universities of our network and allows us to invite guest participants and speakers. From the pedagogical point of view, the online part of the programme will serve as a theoretical introduction to each of the topics we intend to address. These lectures will take place every Friday for 3,30 hours between February and March 2023 (seven weeks altogether), and will be structured as monographic sessions, each led by two of the lecturers who are part of the team. Every week, two instructors will act as co-ordinators of the course, introducing the presenters, and helping to facilitate the students’ discussions. This will assure that the course follows a fluid and coherent progression. Every online lecture will be devoted to a specific topic that relates to the notion of Roman "mobility" and will include a theoretical introduction to the critical methodologies selected by the instructor. Instructors will upload their materials and readings in advance to the Moodle site, so they can be read in advance. A further session will be devoted to the creation of working groups for the in-person in Rome. These groups must integrate individuals from different universities and academic backgrounds and will be led by one of the ten instructors, who will be acting as counsellors. The groups will, then, identify a topic for closer study, and develop a small outreach project to be displayed in a poster at the end of the programme in Rome. At the end of the final session, students will engage in a broader conclusive discussion in order to summarise and highlight the most important aspects discussed throughout. As part of the assessment, each student will have to collect a portfolio, including a personal reflection of the course (ca. 3000 words). February 3: Course introduction, followed by lectures. Luis Unceta Gómez (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid): “Mobility in Latin”; Sabine Luciani (Aix-Marseille Université): “Rome’s relationship to Greece through the case of Philosophy”. February 10: Lectures. Matthew Fox (University of Glasgow): “Appropriation of Greek educational standards at Rome in the 1st century”. Zoa Alonso Fernández (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid): “The moving body and Roman dance. A study on performativity”. February 17: Lectures. Katell Berthelot (Aix-Marseille Université): “Jewish mobilities in the Roman Empire”. Florica Mihuț (University of Bucharest): “Exile, social mobility, and the exclusion from the citizen body in ancient Rome”. February 24: Lectures. Alexandra Lițu (University of Bucharest): “Mobility versus inertia in the realm of religion and religious practice on the edges of the Empire”. Giorgio Ferri (Sapienza Università di Roma): “Ritual movements in Roman Religion”. March 3: Lectures. Valentin Bottez (University of Bucharest): “The promotion of imperial cult as a catalyst of cultural relations”; Pedro Duarte (Aix-Marseille Université): “Rome's discovery of Western Europe”. March 10: Closing remarks. Interactive class for the creation of working groups. March 17: Students’ conclusive discussion to summarise and highlight the most important aspects discussed throughout. Total online hours: 25. After the conclusion of the online sessions, which will be recorded every week, students will present an individual portfolio, based on their engagement with the topics (ca. 3000 words), including a personal reflection of the course. The portfolios will be distributed among the ten instructors for final assessment. Explore ancient Roman culture and knowledge from the point of view of mobility and movement through space and time, together with issues of cultural identity, geographic circulation, and social mobility.

Application Deadline

Virtual Part starting date 2023-02-03

Virtual Part closing date 2023-03-17

Total student workload 125

Specific field of studies Classics, Archaeology, Literature, Philology, Art History, Anthropology, History, History of religions, History of Philosophy, Linguistics

Pre-requisite for selection CV Motivation Letter

Academic pre-requisites for applicants This CIVIS course is open to Master's & PhD students from the CIVIS member universities interested in the following field of studies: Classics, Archaeology, Literature, Philology, Art History, Anthropology, History of religions, Philosophy, Linguistics, History. Senior undergraduate students (final BA students) are also elegible. A B2 level of English is required. Elementary Latin is desirable.

Physical Part starting date 2023-03-27

Physical Part Description The in-person module will take place in Rome, between March 27 and 31, 2023. Only people receiving their funds will be able to use them for this purpose. Students who cannot come to Sapienza or have to withdraw this part will have the possibility to earn their credits by completing an online parallel task. As part of this week, students will take part in a full-immersive workshop every day, coordinated by the same instructors of the online seminar, but focused on specific case studies that relate to their topics. These experiences will be called ‘teaching on the move’ and will take place through different sites and venues around or outside the city Rome, of particular relevance to the programme’s aims and methodologies. These spots include: - The Forum Romanum. - The archaeological excavations on the Palatine hill. - The site of Ostia Antica, Rome's ancient harbour (including lunch and transportation). - The Roman National Museum - Palazzo Massimo and Terme di Diocleziano. - The Via Appia. In addition, students will have three allotted hours every day to work in preparation for their final group project, which will be presented in a posters’ session on Friday, March 31 (this final session will be also reproduced as a virtual gallery of the programme’s results). Each of these working groups will be mentored by one of the instructors every day.

Physical Part closing date 2023-03-31

Language level required B2

Field of studies related to the course Social Science and Humanities Art Design and Media

Course location Rome, Italy

Course language English Italian