Roman Biography

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subjects examines Latin biography, focusing on a single 'life' by one of the principal Roman biographers. Roman biography was a prime medium for moral didacticism, allowing authors to emphasise faults or virtues in their subjects which had supposedly universal application. At the same time, the lurid details of some of the recorded lives made biography an entertaining and even titillating genre. Closely aligned to the influential Roman exemplum tradition, the writing of biography appealed to Roman aristocrats from Cornelius Nepos in the late Republic to Tacitus and Suetonius in the Imperial period, and offered them a way of recasting the past while commenting on the present. As it was almost exclusively the lives of Roman men which were recorded, biography was also a means of asserting different models of masculinity just as it allowed scope for different models of heroism and villainy. Students who complete this subject should be familiar with the techniques of Roman biography and be able to identify its predominant themes.

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Commerce
• Bachelor of Environments
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science
• Bachelor of Engineering

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

• be skilled in critical thinking and analysis;

• possess effective written communication skills;

• have an understanding of social, ethical and cultural context.

This is an Intermediate Level Latin subject.