{"id":595,"date":"2021-02-16T13:05:14","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T18:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/?page_id=595"},"modified":"2026-03-19T08:55:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:55:45","slug":"late-antiquity","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/late-antiquity\/","title":{"rendered":"Pagans, Christians, and barbarians: the world of Late Antiquity"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<section class=\"fullwidth-text-block\">\r\n\t<div class=\"container px-0 pt-5\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"row align-items-start\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"size-full aligncenter is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/files\/url-21.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"http:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/files\/url-21.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-596\" style=\"width:500px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/files\/url-21.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/files\/url-21-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/files\/url-21-200x133.jpeg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Time and location: Tuesday 1:55-2:45 and Thursday 1:55-3:50, in Flint 111<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Description<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Late Antiquity is a period in history that has attracted much attention recently. In part, that is because of an old, 19<sup>th<\/sup>-century preoccupation with demarcating the clear chronological boundaries between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. An older generation of historians used to believe that once the Western Roman Empire disappeared in 476, the medieval world began. By now, scholarly opinions have shifted towards the model of a \u201ctransformation of the Roman world,\u201d gradually leading to a new type of society, with different values and rules. Since that transformation took a long time, from ca. 300 to ca. 600, a new name was chosen to describe that period\u2014Late Antiquity\u2014to cover the history of the Old World \u201cbetween Marcus Aurelius to Muhammad,\u201d as Peter Brown put it half-a-century ago in the subtitle of his famous book (the title of which was the inspiration for the subtitle of this course). The course consists of a survey of all aspects of the transformation, from political developments in the Late Roman Empire to the economic and social changes, both inside and outside the empire that marked Late Antiquity. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role of religion, especially the rise of Christianity, and the fundamental innovations in art and architecture epitomized by the great church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Textbooks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Stephen Mitchell. <em>A History of the Later Roman Empire, AD 284-641<\/em>. 2<sup>nd<\/sup> edition. Malden: Wiley Blackwell, 2015 [hereafter <em>Mitchell, <\/em>available as e-book through the University of Florida library]<\/li>\n<li>Michael Maas. <em>Readings in Late Antiquity. A Sourcebook<\/em>. 2<sup>nd<\/sup> edition. Abingdon\/New York: Routledge, 2010 [hereafter <em>Maas<\/em>, available as e-book through the University of Florida library]<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Assignments and grading policies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There is no attendance policy, but you are responsible for attending all lectures and reading the required texts. Class participation\u00a0may be taken into account to determine the overall grade. The basis for evaluation of performance will be four quizzes and two exams (Midterm and Final). The unannounced quizzes are exclusively based on primary source readings from your\u00a0<em style=\"font-weight: inherit\">Maas <\/em>book and will consist only of multiple-choice questions (no essay). A careful study of these texts is necessary for a good performance at the quiz. The Midterm and Final exams will cover everything from lectures and readings. Both Midterm and Final will consist of two parts: an identification and\/or multiple-choice part, and a short essay, in which you will be asked to synthesize your knowledge of the topic, dropping in facts to show that you understand the concrete aspects of that topic. Only the Midterm will be cumulative. Make-up Midterm and Final exam will be given for very serious reasons, in which case you will have to produce some official proof. There is no make-up for quizzes. Extra-credit work will be accepted only for students with active participation in class discussions. The format of the extra-credit option shall be discussed with the instructor during regular office hours. The following point system will be used in determining the final grade:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Quizzes: 40 points<br>\nMidterm: 30 points<br>\nFinal exam: 30 points<br>\nTotal: 100 points<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The following scale will be used in determining your final grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table width=\"20%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong><em>Points<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong><em>Grade<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>97-100<\/td>\n<td>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>93-96<\/td>\n<td>A-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>88-92<\/td>\n<td>B+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>81-87<\/td>\n<td>B<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>75-80<\/td>\n<td>B-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>68-74<\/td>\n<td>C+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>61-67<\/td>\n<td>C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>55-60<\/td>\n<td>C-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>48-54<\/td>\n<td>D+<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>41-47<\/td>\n<td>D<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>35-40<\/td>\n<td>D-<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>under 30<\/td>\n<td>E<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Required Policies<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><u>Students Requiring Accommodation<\/u><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Students with disabilities who experience learning barriers and would like to request academic accommodations should connect with the disability Resource Center by visiting\u00a0<a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/disability.ufl.edu\/students\/get-started\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/disability.ufl.edu\/students\/get-started<\/a>. It is important for students to share their accommodation letter with their instructor and discuss their access needs, as early as possible in the semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u00a0<u>UF Evaluations Process<\/u><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at\u00a0<a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu\/students\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu\/students<\/a>. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via\u00a0<a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/ufl.bluera.com\/ufl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/ufl.bluera.com\/ufl<\/a>. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at\u00a0<a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu\/public-results\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu\/public-results<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u00a0<u>University Honesty Policy<\/u><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge which states, \u201cWe, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honor and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code. On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: \u201cOn my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.\u201d The Honor Code (<a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/policy.ufl.edu\/regulation\/4-040\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.dso.ufl.edu\/sccr\/process\/student-conduct-honor-code<\/a>) specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions. Furthermore, you are obligated to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to the appropriate personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Weekly Topics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/euh-3383-weekly-topics\/\">Click here to view the weekly topics for this course<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1133,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"featured_post":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-595","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1923,"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/595\/revisions\/1923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/fcurta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}