- From www.futurelearn.com
Rome: a Virtual Tour of the Ancient City
- 5 Sequences
- Introductive Level
- Starts on October 8, 2017
- Ends on November 12, 2017
Course details
Syllabus
Week one: Ancient Rome location and infrastructure
- Geographical and historical overview
- Introduction to the digital model
- Roman building materials and techniques
- The importance of aqueducts and sewers
- Using coins to illustrate ancient architecture
Week two: Political architecture in Ancient Rome
- The Imperial Fora
- The function and development of the Forum
- Types of monumental architecture
- Using poetry as evidence to investigate the past
Week three: Religious architecture in Ancient Rome
- Overview of Roman religion
- The architecture of the Capitoline Hill
- Developments in Imperial temple architecture
- Worshipping the gods
Week four: Life and death in Ancient Rome
- Overview of Roman housing
- Food supply in the ancient city
- How the Romans liked to be remembered
- Using inscriptions as evidence to investigate the past
Week five: Bread and circuses (entertainment architecture) in Ancient Rome
- The importance of entertainment for Rome’s rulers
- The architecture and function of theatres and circuses
- Roman baths and bathing
- Using evidence to understand the Colosseum
Prerequisite
Instructors
Matthew Nicholls
Dr Matthew Nicholls is a Roman historian at the University of Reading, specialising in the 3D reconstruction of ancient spaces. He also directs the University's Open Online Course programme.
Editor
The University of Reading was founded in 1892 during a period of rapid development in the city of Reading, England. This is one of the Red Brick University.
Platform
FutureLearn is a massive open online course (MOOC) learning platform founded in December 2012.
It is a company launched and wholly owned by The Open University in Milton Keynes, England. It is the first UK-led massive open online course learning platform, and as of March 2015 included 54 UK and international University partners and unlike similar platforms includes four non-university partners: the British Museum, the British Council, the British Library and the National Film and Television School.