Announcements

No Meetings April 2 and 9

28 March 2026

Enjoy your break. Email me with any questions about upcoming assignments.

Our next class meeting is on April 16. See you then!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 8!

20 March 2026

This week we’re experiencing Rome in the wake of Marius’s bloody coup and Sulla’s equally brutal restoration of the Republic. Some parts of Sulla’s reforms have staying power, but a lot of what Sulla accomplished was rolled back in the decades after his retirement and almost immediate death. What do you think about that? What was Sulla’s most lasting legacy, and why did his reforms start to get unstuck almost from the day he gave up power?

The later stages of the breakdown of the Republic are a breeding ground for fascinating figures. What did Cicero really stand for, do you think? Are there potential justifications for saying Pompey was, in fact, “great”? Was Clodius an iconoclast, an anarchist, an attention-seeker, or a cultural troll? Who else grabs your interest from this turbulent time?

And then: Caesar. Your take, please, on one of the most famous Romans in history. Was he the man Rome needed in 49, when he crossed the Rubicon—to this day a metaphor for there being no turning back? Was his vision for Rome about more than just his own leadership—and if so, what kind of Rome do you think he hoped to create? How was Caesar bad for Rome, even if he had good intentions? And, inevitably: why do you think he was killed?

One more thing to ponder: Sulla and Caesar, though political opposites, had two things in common. Both marched on Rome, and both took hold of the power of the dictatorship to reshape Rome according to their vision. Caesar supposedly said Sulla’s mistake was that he resigned, restoring the Republic to a new normal he had created. Do you agree? Was Sulla naïve to resign, or was Caesar the one who should have stepped down before he was pulled down?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Thursday!

Link to Schedule page

Welcome to Week 7!

14 March 2026

This week, after we discuss Roman expansion into the East, we start to experience the forces that will break up the Republic. It will take a long final century of turmoil and blood, though, before the Republic is swept aside for the principate.

With the Gracchus brothers, the tensions that have been building in the Republic start to break loose. They were a polarizing factor in their lifetimes, and they are just as polarizing now. From the primary sources, the readings, and the lectures, you get multiple perspectives on both brothers. Noble heroes or demagogues? Out to save Rome, or in it for the glory? Or both? What do you think truly drove Tiberius Gracchus, and how was his brother Gaius different or alike? Is their legacy their own doing, or did they happen to be the tribunes that pushed the conservatives over the edge?

And then we have the matched set of Marius and Sulla—who are, if anything, even more divisive today than the Gracchi. Marius, the singular arch-populist, and Sulla, the strange maverick among the optimates, are both remarkable figures. Both were great generals and compelling leaders… both honestly believed they were saving Rome… and both were ruthless murderers who took Rome by force and massacred all their enemies.

Sulla got the bad press because his side lost in the end, so step back and look at their stories objectively. What do you think of them as men, and what do you think of them as Romans? Do either or both earn your respect, and why? What do you think are Marius’s most lasting legacies, and what do you think are Sulla’s?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Thursday!

Link to Schedule page

Sign up for your second presentation

13 March 2026

If you have not done so already, go ahead and sign up now for your second presentation.

The sign-up page is on the course website (at markbwilson dot com), under Presentations. Look the list over and find one that seems like it might be interesting to spend a little time with when it comes up later in the semester. Each of the titles has a URL link to the reading, so you can get a preview. The dates we’ll be getting to each reading are there, too.

If you want to change a presentation you previously chose, send me an email with the reading you prefer to present on, and I'll swap them around.

Link to Sign up page

Reminder: The Proposal is due Monday, March 23

9 March 2026

Here are a few brief reminders about the proposal, which is due very soon on Monday, March 23.

I’m looking for: a problem that can be argued; your proposed thesis; and any other thoughts about what you might want to explore or how you think you might go about supporting your argument in the position paper itself. I’ll give feedback on topic viability, scope, and possible primary and secondary sources.

There is also a video on the course website (see the Essays page or the Videos page) that details exactly what I’m looking for. A sample is also posted on the proposal page. I’m happy to discuss possible ideas and approaches in office hours, after class, or by email.

Here’s what the syllabus has for the proposal assignment.

The assignment: The proposal is just a brief one-page preview of your position paper. It should include:

• The topic you think you’ll want to write about and the problem you’re interested in addressing. You should be able to delineate the problem by describing the opposing views people might take. To make sure you have two clear opposing opinions, you might want to express them in the form “Some say… . Others say….”
• Your preliminary thesis statement—in other words, what you think you might be arguing in your paper.
• Your thesis statement, both here and in the final paper, should be a statement of opinion that someone could disagree with. It can take the form of following up the description of the opposing opinions with your own: “I believe….”
• Remember that your thesis is provisional. You can change anything about your approach and interpretation after the proposal; in fact, uncovering information as you do your research makes refining or changing your initial assessments very likely.
• Your proposal is structured like the introduction to your final paper, and may serve as the basis for it.

The proposal is not graded, but whether you submitted a proposal on time will be factored into the final grade for the position paper. I will give you feedback on things like the feasibility of researching your topic, whether the scope is too big or too narrow for a paper like this, and some possible sources you might want to look at.

Link to Proposal page