Grades

Your final grade consists of 2 papers (40% total), your food presentation (15%), the final exam (25%) and attendance and participation (20%).

Readings

While there are several downloadable articles to read, the majority of our readings this semester will come from just four books: a book of history, a book of art and architecture, a cookbook, and a novel.

     • Robert Hughes, Rome: A Cultural, Visual and Personal History

     • Brigitte Hintzen-Bohlen, Rome: Art and Architecture (evidently, this is not available)

     • Marco Bussagli, Rome: The Golden Centuries

     • Katie Parla and Kristina Gill, Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors and Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City

     • Amara Lakhous, Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio

None is particularly expensive (each is $15-$20), and we will use all of them extensively.

Viewings

This course has a good deal of visual material (I primarily teach and do research on film and television, so this is not surprising), but the moving image presents certain difficulties—in particular, students like to watch films and television, but on their own time. Fortunately, most are available available for streaming.

     * HBO's Rome is available through Amazon prime membership; if you are a Prime member, it is free. If

        you are not, you must purchase at least one month of HBO Now (available on almost all  devices) for

        $14.99 (generally, you can get a free trial, however)

     * The Borgias is available on Netflix (nota bene: the show Borgia is also available through Netflix,

       but is a different show that we are not discussing this semester)

     * Happily, Open City, Bicycle Thieves (also called Bicycle Thief), and La grande bellezza are also available

       through the Illinois library subscription to Kanopy, a streaming service for our students. Three Coins in

       the Fountain is available to rent through Amazon or the iTunes store (and possibly elsewhere) for $3.99.

     * Jeeg Robot is available through Netflix as They Call Me Jeeg. Its actual title is complicated,

       and I'll explain it in class.

Some years ago, a student complained that it was somehow "not fair" that they should have to rent or buy access to a film. I think even a minute of reflection shows that this is a very strange idea; students regularly pay hundreds of dollars each semester for textbooks, and hundreds more for  lab fees, online services, art supplies, and everything else that they need for their education. If you would prefer to purchase these films in a phytsical copy rather than rent or stream them, I couldn't be happier, but most students will probably prefer online streaming and rentals in my experience.

Papers

Two papers, each 4-5 pages in length. The first paper covers art, architecture, and history, and generally covers ancient Rome through Rome in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. For this first paper, you will select and read about at least two works of Roman art or architecture, one ancient, one from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance or the Baroque period. Your paper will interpret the works as Roman art, making use of what you've learned about the city, its culture and its history. The second paper will cover modern Rome in literature, film and television; here you should choose at least two works that we read or watched and again, one of them American, one Italian, and situate them in the context of what we've learned about Rome over the semester.

Cooking?

Sort of. We'll be reading a cookbook as we talk about Rome and Roman cuisine, but it's not simply recipes; Parla and Gill are both attentive to the history and changing traditions of the city, as well as the importance of food, and the way the cuisine reflects the long, complex past of Rome. I'll go into this in much more depth in class, but I do want you to look through the book, read about the ingredients (what you can and can't get in the US, let alone here in Urbana-Champaign), and the techniques—and then try your hand at making something. Document (photos, videos, etc.) your attempt (without setting yourself on fire or dropping your iPhone in boiling water), and then briefly present it to me and the class. Many classic Roman dishes (like the famous carciofi alla giudea, or really any pasta) will taste terrible if made the day before and then microwaved before class, so you don't have to bring in the results, but you may if it's something that turned out well and keeps until the next day. Here it doesn't matter whether you're a total klutz in the kitchen—the importance is what you learned about Roman food. These will likely be group presentations, given the size of the class.

Final Exam

The final exam is comprehensive (that is, covers everything that we've read and seen over the semester. I will not test you on historical minutiae (what year was the Sack of Rome?) or things that are impossible to know or remember (on what page does Hughes say that Rome "was swarming with artists"?). I do want to make sure that you've done a substantial amount of the assigned readings and viewings, and that you've learned something meaningful over the semester.

WORK

EXPLORING ROME