“The Age of Trajan”: Introducing Undergraduates to Roman Civilization

Linda M. Gigante (University of Louisville)

As a participant in the 2006 NEH summer seminar in Rome on the Column of Trajan, I had the opportunity to interact with fellow academicians from diverse disciplines. Numbering among us were art historians, philologists, and historians of both the ancient and modern worlds. Given our varied backgrounds, each of us came to the Column from a different point of view. As we discussed issues, like the power of images to promote political messages and the importance of public commemoration in fostering a people’s identity, we came to the conclusion that the standard interpretation of the Column as a war memorial needed revision and that appreciating the Column required a more nuanced approach than it has traditionally been given.

As the culmination of the seminar, each participant presented a research project on a topic related to the Column, and several of us addressed the issue of pedagogy. As a faculty member who teaches courses in both Roman art and culture at a large public university, I prepared a syllabus for a humanities course on the age of Trajan. The goal of this course was to introduce undergraduates to Roman civilization through a study of the history, literature, and art and architecture of the period. Energized by the helpful suggestions I received from my seminar colleagues, I offered the course as a Humanities elective in the 2007 spring semester.

Twenty-four students were enrolled in this course, many with very little knowledge of Roman history or culture. The most daunting challenge for me was to remain mindful of the students’ limitations and, at the same time, to offer them a course which would be both informative and stimulating.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss my experience with teaching this course, which was organized thematically and whose centerpiece was the Column of Trajan. I describe the assignments in primary sources (in translation), which included selections from Pliny’s letters and Panegyricus, Tacitus’ Agricola and Germania, and Suetonius’ Life of Domitian. I explain the group presentations in which the students discussed themes in the Panegyricus and the creative writing assignments in which they assumed the identity of Romans, like a veteran from the Dacian campaigns who visits Trajan’s Forum for the first time.

By way of conclusion, I offer a critical evaluation of this course, in the hope of generating comments and suggestions for improvement from my co-panelists and the audience. Since members of CAMWS face the often daunting challenge of bringing the ancient world ‘to life’ for students who may question its relevance, this paper is intended to generate a conversation about engaging and stimulating ways to introduce undergraduates to the world of ancient Rome.