Dec 13, 2024  
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2024-25 
    
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2024-25
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HIST 3293 - World of Late Antiquity: Culture and Society in the Late Roman Empire


Beginning in the third century, the mighty Roman Empire began its slow but inevitable decline and fall, brought to a decisive end by the barbarian invasions of the late fourth and fifth century, epitomized by the sack of Rome by Goths in 410 and Vandals in 455, and terminated with the deposition of the last western emperor in 476. That is one vision of the period sometimes called Late Antiquity. The other vision sees the transformation of classical culture, closely related to the emergence of Christianity, and diverse political and social changes that would live on long after the imperial political order disappeared in the west. This course will take account of both these visions, with a strong preference for continuity over decline. Readings and lectures will explore important aspects of political, intellectual, religious, and social change. Discussions and written assignments will depend on the interpretation of primary sources, including a wide variety of literary and material evidence. The course is a bridge between the courses on the Roman Empire and Barbarian West, but students are not expected to have taken either course.

Credit Hours: 3
General Education Code (students who entered prior to Fall 2021-22): 2CP
Repeat/Retake Information: May be retaken two times excluding withdrawals, but only last course taken counts.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 3.0 lecture
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Learning Outcomes:
  • Students are able to apply knowledge to unfamiliar scenarios.
  • Students are able to recognize and weigh multiple perspectives regarding cultural phenomena, including ethnicity and religion.
  • Students demonstrate knowledge of various characteristics of another society whose similarities to their own may be misleading.
  • Students know and understand rival arguments for either decline or continuity in late Roman culture and governance.



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