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| Unit name |
Law and Order in Greek and Roman Society
|
| Unit code |
CLAS37006 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
H/6
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
|
| Unit director |
Professor. Fowler |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department |
Department of Classics & Ancient History |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Arts |
Description including Unit Aims
What is justice, and how can citizens be protected from injustice? Can disputes be resolved without violence, and when must violence be used to maintain order? Who makes law, who can advise on law, and what arguments persuade judges and juries? What counts as crime and why, and who takes action to prevent it, investigate it or punish it? What is the purpose of punishment, what kind of punishment fits the crime, and when does mercy or forgiveness replace vengeance and the need for order? This unit considers the rule of law, and the interpretation of human and divine justice, in Greek and Roman society from Homer to late antiquity.
Aims:
- To develop understanding of ancient ethical and political debates on law and justice and their relationship to the history of thought and society.
- To develop student skills in the interpretation of Greek and Roman sources, studied in translation.
Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit students will:
- Be familiar with a range of texts exemplifying Greek and Roman approaches to justice and to the making and enforcement of law.
- Be familiar with current debates about law, order and justice in classical culture.
- Have developed and refined their skills in constructing coherent, relevant and persuasive arguments on different aspects of the topic.
- Have developed and enhanced their skills in oral and written communication, in discussion with each other and with the lecturer, and in an essay and a written exam.
Teaching Information
Seminars.
Assessment Information
- 1 essay of 3,000 words (50%)
- 1 90 minute examination containing two passages for comment and one essay (50%)
Reading and References
- Danielle Allen, The World of Prometheus: the politics of punishing in democratic Athens (2000)
- David Cohen, Law, Violence and Community in Classical Athens (1995)
- Jill Harries, Law and Empire in Late Antiquity (1999)
- Jill Harries, Law and Crime in the Roman World (2007)
- Wilfried Nippel, Public Order in Ancient Rome (1995)
- Andrew Riggsby, Crime and Community in Ciceronian Rome (1999)
