Roman Architecture

This course is an introduction to the great buildings and engineering marvels of Rome and its empire, with an emphasis on urban planning and individual monuments and their decoration, including mural painting. While architectural developments in Rome, Pompeii, and Central Italy are highlighted, the course also provides a survey of sites and structures in what are now North Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, and North Africa.  Some of the learning materials have been adapted from the Roman Architecture course recorded for Open Yale Courses; others are new. The lectures  are illustrated with over 1,500 images, many from my personal collection.

Recommended Background
There is no required background and everyone is welcome to take this course.

Week 1 

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, February 2

• Introduction to Roman Architecture
• It Takes a City: The Founding of Rome and the Beginnings of Urbanism in Italy

Week 2

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, February 9

• Technology and Revolution in Roman Architecture
• Civic Life Interrupted; Nightmare and Destiny on August 24, A.D. 79
• Writing Assignment 1: Does New Technology Lead to Innovation or Innovation to New Technology? (250 words, due by 11:30 PM EST on Monday, February 16)

Week 3

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, February 16

• Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Houses and Villas at Pompeii
• Habitats at Herculaneum and Early Roman Interior Decoration
• Writing Assignment 1: Peer-Review Grading (You must submit your grading by 11:30 PM EST on Monday, February 23)

Week 4

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, February 23

• Gilding the Lily: Painting Palaces and Villas in the First Century A.D.
• Exploring Special Subjects on Pompeian Walls

Week 5

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, March 2

• From Brick to Marble: Augustus Assembles Rome
• Accessing Afterlife: Tombs of Roman Aristocrats, Freedmen, and Slaves
• Writing Assignment 2: How Do the Romans Use Architecture for Self Promotion? (250 words due by 11:30 pm EST on Monday, March 9)

Week 6

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, March 9

• Notorious Nero and His Amazing Architectural Legacy
• The Creation of an Icon: The Colosseum and Contemporary Architecture in Rome
• Writing Assignment 2: Peer-Review Grading  (You must submit your grading by 11:30 PM EST on Monday, March 16)

Week 7

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, March 16

• The Prince and the Palace: Human Made Divine on the Palatine Hill
• The Mother of All Forums: Civic Architecture in Rome under Trajan
• Mastery Quiz 1 (due by 11:30 PM EST on Monday, March 23)

Week 8

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, March 23

• Rome and a Villa: Hadrian’s Pantheon and Tivoli Retreat
• The Roman Way of Life and Death at Ostia, the Port of Rome
• Term Project: Design Your Own Roman City Project (500 words and city design drawings due by 11:30 PM EST on Monday, April 6)

Week 9

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, March 30

• Bigger is Better: The Baths of Caracalla and Other Second- and Third-Century Buildings in Rome
• Hometown Boy: Honoring an Emperor’s Roots in Roman North Africa
• Continue to work on Term Project

Week 10

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, April 6

• Baroque Extravaganzas: Rock Tombs, Fountains, and Sanctuaries in Jordan, Lebanon, and Libya
• Roman Wine in Greek Bottles: The Rebirth of Athens
• Design Your Own Roman City Project: Complete the 500-word writing assignment and the by-hand or computer-generated city 

Week 11

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, April 13

• Making Mini Romes on the Western Frontier
• Rome Redux: The Tetrarchic Renaissance
• Design Your Own Roman City Project Writing Assignment: Peer-Review Writing Assignment (You must submit your grading by 11:30 pm EST on Monday, April 20)

Week 12

Material available at 6 AM EST, Monday, April 20

• Rome of Constantine and a New Rome
• Mastery Quiz 2 (due by 11:30 PM EST on Monday, April 27)