Course Description
Course Name
Pompeii: The Roman Town and its Modern Reception
Session: VLNF3423
Hours & Credits
20 UK Credits
Prerequisites & Language Level
Taught In English
- There is no language prerequisite for courses at this language level.
Overview
Assessment: essay (2500 words) [50%], unseen paper (90 min.) [50%]
Pompeii, a Roman town destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, has played a major part in the way we relate to the ancient world. From its rediscovery in the eighteenth century, Pompeii has prompted archaeologists, artists, writers and tourists to recover and re-imagine Roman life. This module will look a both scholarly and popular responses to Pompeii from the eighteenth century to the present day with a special focus on modern receptions. The module will examine how evidence from Pompeii contributes to current academic understandings of Roman art, architecture and social life and question how and why the town and its inhabitants are imaginatively reconstructed in post-classical receptions.
Pompeii, a Roman town destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, has played a major part in the way we relate to the ancient world. From its rediscovery in the eighteenth century, Pompeii has prompted archaeologists, artists, writers and tourists to recover and re-imagine Roman life. This module will look a both scholarly and popular responses to Pompeii from the eighteenth century to the present day with a special focus on modern receptions. The module will examine how evidence from Pompeii contributes to current academic understandings of Roman art, architecture and social life and question how and why the town and its inhabitants are imaginatively reconstructed in post-classical receptions.
*Course content subject to change