Rome’s Darkest Hour: The War with Hannibal

Philip Waddell
Fall 2024
Thursday |  
2 PM - 4 PM
October 3, 10, 17, 23, 31, November 7, 14, 21, December 5, and 12, 2024
Course Format: Hybrid
Location: Main Campus
Tuition: $295.00

Dive into a pivotal moment in history and examine what the Romans themselves considered their darkest hour: the war with Hannibal Barca. This course offers an in-depth exploration based on close readings from ancient sources in translation to provide a comprehensive understanding of the causes, key battles, and the aftermath of this nearly two-decade-long struggle. We will begin well before the conflict arose tracing the various causes of the war, and we will end after the war itself was completed and consider how this war reshaped the history of the ancient Mediterranean. Explore the rich cultures of Rome and Carthage, and meet the remarkable figures who shaped this far-reaching conflict that threatened Rome’s very survival. Join us for a journey back in time, witnessing the resilience of Rome against the brink of collapse.


Please Note: the original class schedule has been updated due to scheduling conflicts. There will be no class on Thursday, October 24. Instead, the class session for that week has been rescheduled to Wednesday, October 23 from 2 – 4 PM. All classes will remain hybrid and available online, on campus, and on demand via the class recording, which will be posted online for students within 48 hours of the live class.


 

Required Reading

Livy: Hannibal’s War, transl. J.C. Yardley (Oxford World’s Classics, 2009) ISBN: 978-0199555970

Recommended Reading
  • Polybius: The Rise of the Roman Empire, transl. Ian Scott-Kilvert (Penguin, 1980) ISBN: 978-0140443622
  • Plutarch: The Makers of Rome, transl. Ian Scott-Kilvert (Penguin, 1965) ISBN: 978-0140441581

Meet Your Instructor

Associate Professor

PHILIP WADDELL is an Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Arizona. He received his Ph.D. in Classical Studies from the University of Missouri and specializes in Latin and Greek historiography, Classical History, and Ancient Rhetoric. His work in ancient historiography concerns the construction of narrative within historical texts, and he recently published the monograph Tacitean Visual Narrative. Currently, he is working on a commentary on book 21 of Livy’s Roman History.

Location

POETRY CENTER
Dorothy Rubel Room
1508 E Helen
Tucson, AZ 85721
United States

Located on the SE corner of Helen Street and Vine Avenue, one block north of Speedway and three blocks west of Campbell Ave.

Street map image of Poetry Center

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