Presentation Guidelines

*Remember you cannot expect your classmates to be as disciplined as the Roman troops listening to the Emperor, so be sure to find ways to hold their attention!*

You will give two presentations on this trip. One with a partner (13% of your grade) and one solo (17% of your grade).

All Presentations

Topics chosen before departure (see below)
relevant peer-reviewed bibliographical materials selected with aid of instructor before departure
Create a supplemental blog post to this website with any and all visual aids, maps, plans, reconstructions. This post must have a featured image and be categorized appropriately.
- no less than 10 images total
- The blog post should also include some narrative text and notes summarizing the post important points of your oral presentation
- a bibliography in Chicago style where possible with links to source materials, you need at least two peer reviewed sources (these can be things sent by your professor) but may also include links to reference websites and resources and other sources of information
On site, summarize and explain what you’ve learned from the peer reviewed scholarship to your peers
Ensure you answer the set question!
Refer to supplemental blog post in your presentation so classmates can follow along
No more than 10 minutes total (= 5 minutes each for paired presentations)! Practice and time yourself to not go over.

Partnered Presentation Topics

You need to share the speaking time, about five minutes each. You can structure this as a conversation with each other or in the style of an interview podcast or just by taking turns.

How has the Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth) captured modern imaginations and what is the likely truth behind its origins? (Day 3)
Help your classmates imagine the twin temples dedicated to the goddesses Fortuna and Mater Matuta, who these goddesses were and why they mattered. (Day 3, Ace and Tina)
How did Michelangelo change how we see this space on the Capitoline? (Day 4)
What stood on top of the so-called “Tabularium”? (Day 4)
What inspired Egyptomania in Rome? (Day 5, Julia and Nico)
What was animal sacrifice really like? (Day 5, Isabel and ___Elena?___ )
What was the life of a Vestal really like? (Day 6, Jessica and Rachel)
What board games did the ancient Romans play? (Day 6, Jibriel and Moussa)
How did the Ara Pacis fit into Mussolini’s plan? (Day 7)
Compare and contrast conflicting reconstructions of what the Mausoleum of Augustus originally looked like? (Day 7)
How did ancient sundials work? What were some other means of telling time in ancient Rome? (Day 7)
Can and should we rehabilitate the memory of “Bad” emperors? (Day 8, Mazzy and Dante)
What do we know about ancient urban firefighting and prevention? (Day 8)
How did the meaning of the Colossus (i.e. the statue, not the amphitheater) change overtime? (Day 8)
Why did Mussolini erect these public maps? Which map is missing and why? (Day 8, Joseph and Kadija)

Solo Presentations Topics

Why does this museum have a Secret Cabinet? Explain why it was created and argue whether you think it is still a useful way of organizing the collection? (Day 9, Elena)
Why is the Weary Hercules so tired and why should we care about this statue!? (Day 9, Ace)
Who was Amedeo Maiuri and how has he shaped our experience today? (Day 10)
What foods and beverages were most likely consumed at the street counters? What do we know about street food culture in the ancient world? (Day 10)
How does Michelangelo continue to shape our experience of Diocletian’s baths? (Day 11, Mazzy)
Why put Euripides’ Medea on a sarcophagus? (Day 11)
What was the cult of Mithras and with whom was it popular? (Day 11, Dante)
Who used curse tablets and why? (Day 11, Julia)
What was the “right” way to praise a dead woman? (Day 11, Isabel)
Who was Cardinal Ludovico Ludovici and why is his art collection important still today? (Day 12)
How did the Romans imagine their defeated enemies and celebrate them in their Art? You may focus your presentation on pieces from the Ludovici collection, OR the decorative plan of the temple of Hadrian, OR the column of Marcus Aurelius. (up to three students may choose this topic) (Day 12, Moussa)
What were the logistics of horse racing? (Day 12, Jibriel)
Why was the worship of Isis specifically in the city of Rome both popular and controversial? (Day 12)
Why did Julius Caesar center the worship of Venus Genetrix? (Day 13)
How does the decorative program of Augustus’ forum relate to his initiatives? (Day 13)
What was the purpose of the Templum Pacis (intersects with Jewish history!)? (Day 13)
Why is there such an emphasis on logistics on the Column of Trajan? (Day 13)
What was the Septizodium and does it connect to Severus’ African heritage? (Day 14, Joseph)
How did Severus use spectacle to consolidate his rule, including but not exclusively, discuss his Ludi Saeculares? (Day 14)
Was Elagabalus “queer”? How does his ethnic and religious identity insect with modern discussions of his sexuality? (Day 14, Khadiya)
What Trajanic elements are on the Arch of Constantine? (Day 15)
What Hadrianic elements are on the Arch of Constantine? (Day 15)
What panels on the Arch of Constantine are authentically Constantinian? Or, at least close in date? (Day 15)

Further details of expectations will be provided nearer the start of the course.