Popular culture in Ancient Rome

Aims

The principal aims for this course are:

• for you to acquire a broad understanding of the problems ordinary Romans faced
   
• to read a wide variety of popular sources, both literary and visual
   
• to reflect on the methodological problems involved in accessing the lived experiences of the Roman non-elite

Content

Roman historians have traditionally concentrated on the elite. This course looks at the lives of ordinary Romans, be they men, women or slaves and aims to see how far we can approach Roman history “from below”. Can we begin to describe the cultural world of the “ordinary” Roman? What stories did they tell? What made them laugh? What did they fear? How different were their tastes, cultural preferences even language from those of the elite?

Most of the surviving texts in the canon of classical literature pay little more than passing attention to the non-elite, and hardly any were written by those who were not part of a relatively narrow group of the elite or well-connected. But there is nevertheless some material – and more than most people imagine – which may offer us a glimpse of the world and world-view of the ordinary Roman in the street. This includes fables, joke books, oracles, graffiti and visual representations of many kinds. All these will take centre stage in this course.

The course will start by considering what we mean by “ordinary Romans”. What levels of wealth or poverty do we mean? What living conditions do we imagine? How “multi-cultural” a group were they? It will go on to explore the character of their popular culture – from the world of the bar and the (communal) latrine to the impact of the gods or the strong arm of the law. But throughout we shall keep in mind the methodological issues at stake. These popular texts are no more transparent than any others; and some of them may not be as popular as they seem. 

We shall concentrate on the city of Rome and Italy, but some material will also be drawn from Roman Egypt, as well as Christian imperial culture. The disjunction between the rural context of many of the richest sources and the metropolis itself will be one major theme of discussion.

Presentation of the course

The course will be taught in classroom sessions, with plenty of images to enable you to familiarise yourself with the content.

Course sessions

1. The problems of daily life
   How did people make a living, how much did they earn, was it enough?
    
2. Popular religion 
   Who did they worship, what did they ask for, did it work?
    
3. Having fun
   Games, taverns and gambling.
    
4. Ordinary people in art
   What do the frescoes and mosaics of Pompeii tell us?
    
5. Popular Resistance
   Did people push back against their low position in society?

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course. 

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• to introduce you to the cultural world of the non-elite in late Republican and imperial Rome
   
• to explore a wide range of literary, documentary and visual sources relevant to the cultural 
  world of the non-elite in Roman society
   
• to encourage you to reflect on the particular methodological problems in accessing the culture or experience of those outside the Roman elite 

Required reading

There are no required readings for this course.

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.