[
Wesleyan Home Page
] [
WesMaps Home Page
] [
WesMaps Archive
]
[
Course Search
] [
Course Search by CID
]
| |
Nero--artist or monster (or both)? This course will focus on the personality and politics of the emperor and the reaction he evoked in contemporary and subsequent accounts of his reign, concentrating especially on the powerful picture of Nero and the Neronian regime painted by the Roman historian Tacitus in his ANNALS, with supplementary evidence from Suetonius' LIFE OF NERO. Topics discussed will include: Tacitus as a historian, dissimulation and theatricality in Neronian Rome; "the world turned upside down"--reversal of values in the period; the survival strategies of the Roman ruling classes and how to die well. In connection with the last subject we will read a few of Seneca's MORAL EPISTLES giving a Stoic perspective on contemporary insecurities and the threat to identity and spiritual integrity they presented.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA CLAS Grading Mode: Student Option
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-19-2004
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459