LAT30030 Tacitus Agricola: Empire and Resistance

Academic Year 2024/2025

This module focuses on Tacitus' 'Agricola', to be studied in the original Latin. The text is a biography of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, governor of Britain in the late 1st century AD. The module is taught in small classes, which are devoted to reading the text and discussing points of interest. Students will be expected to prepare a section of the text for each class, and to be able to translate and discuss it.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should be able to:- translate the text with confidence and accuracy- make effective use of a commentary- write a short literary-historical commentary on selected passages- analyse the genre and key themes of the Agricola- evaluate Tacitus as a writer, political thinker and historian

Indicative Module Content:

– Genre, Tacitean style, and the theme of Liberty
– Exploration and Ethnography of Britain
– Did Agricola plan to invade Ireland in AD 82?
– The Mons Graupius campaign of AD 84 and Roman Imperialism
– Tacitus, Agricola, and Domitian;
– Historiography and immortality

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

60
Autonomous Student Learning

30
Small Group

17
Total

107
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The text will be prepared in advance through students' own translation work and will be read together in class with focus on (a) translating the Latin into accurate and idiomatic English and (b) the content, structure, historical background and context of each passage. Approximately 2 pages of Latin text should be read in each class.

The mode of delivery is face-to-face on campus. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

Students should have studied Latin for at least one year.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Exam (In-person): Translation and commentary test on passages of the Agricola studied in class. Week 7 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

35

 No
Exam (In-person): Translation and commentary test on passages of the Agricola studied in class. Week 12 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

35

 No
Assignment(Including Essay): 2,000 word essay in which students are expected to refer to the Latin text of Tacitus Agricola. Week 12 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

30

 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Sudents will receive individual written feedback on class tests (translation and gobbet passages) and essay within 20 working days of submission. Students are welcome to arrange a meeting with the module coordinator to discuss their grade and feedback.

Week 2: Genre, Style, and the theme of Liberty; Ch. 1-3 (Preface)
Syme, R. 1957. ‘How Tacitus Came to History’, Greece & Rome, 4: 160-167
Bews, J. P. 1987. ‘Language and Style in Tacitus’ “Agricola”’, Greece & Rome, 34: 201-211
Percival, J. 1980. ‘Tacitus and the Principate’, Greece & Rome, 27: 119-133
Liebeschuetz, W. 1966. ‘The Theme of Liberty in the Agricola of Tacitus’, The Classical Quarterly, 16: 126-139
Sailor, D. 2004. ‘Becoming Tacitus: Significance and Inconsequentiality in the Prologue of Agricola.’ Classical Antiquity, 23: 139-177

Week 3: Ethnography of Britain; Ch. 10-12
Burn, A. R. 1949. ‘Mare Pigrum et Grave’, The Classical Review, 63: 94
Clarke, K. 2001. ‘An Island Nation: Re-Reading Tacitus’ “Agricola”’, The Journal of Roman Studies, 91: 94-112
Lavan, M. 2011. ‘Slavishness in Britain and Rome in Tacitus’ Agricola.’ Classical Quarterly, 61: 294-305

Week 4: Agricola’s invasion of Ireland? Ch. 24,( AD 82)
Haverfield, F. 1899. ‘Did Agricola Invade Ireland?’ The Classical Review, 13: 302-303
Gudeman, A. and Haverfield, F. 1900. ‘Agricola's Invasion of Ireland Once More’, The Classical Review, 14: 51-53 and 96
Reed, N. 1971. ‘The Fifth Year of Agricola's Campaigns’, Britannia, 2: 143-148
Mann, J. C. 1985. ‘Two “Topoi” in the “Agricola”’, Britannia, 16: 21-24

Week 5: Mons Graupius (AD 84) and Roman Imperialism; Ch. 29-38
Ash, R. 2007. ‘Tacitus and the battle of Mons Graupius’, in: J. Marincola, ed., A companion to Greek and Roman historiography, London: Blackwell, 434-440
Laruccia, S. D. 1980. ‘The Wasteland of Peace: a Tacitean Evaluation of Pax Romana’, in: Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History II, ed. Carl Deroux, pp. 407-11
St Joseph, J. K. 1978. ‘The Camp at Durno, Aberdeenshire, and the Site of Mons Graupius’, Britannia, 9: 271-287
Gilliver, Catherine M. 1996. ‘Mons Graupius and the Role of Auxiliaries in Battle’, Greece & Rome, 43: 54-67
Rainbird, J. S.1969. ‘Tactics at Mons Graupius’, The Classical Review, 19: 11-12

Week 7: Tacitus, Agricola, and Domitian; Ch. 39-42 (The Recall and Last Years of Agricola)
Dorey, T. A. 1960. ‘Agricola and Domitian’, Greece & Rome, 7: 66-71
Tanner, R. G. 1969. ‘Tacitus and the Principate’, Greece & Rome, 16: 95-99
Fritz, Kurt von. 1957. ‘Tacitus, Agricola, Domitian, and the Problem of the Principate’, Classical Philology, 52: 73-97
Benario, H. W. 1964. ‘Tacitus and the Principate.’ The Classical Journal, 60: 97-106

Week 11: Comparing the Epilogue and Prologue
Name Role
Dr Helen Dixon Lecturer / Co-Lecturer