Tacitus (ca. 56-ca. 120), considered by many the greatest of the ancient Roman historians, is one of our best sources for the history of the early Roman Empire, and his Germania is without a doubt the most important source for the ancient Germans. In this course we will read the Germania with particular emphasis on Tacitus' prose style, the genre of Roman ethnography, and how the work critiqued the Roman Empire. We will pair the Germania with selections from a variety of Renaissance authors to see how Tacitus' text both contributed to the formation of (a) German identity and led to widely divergent views of the ancient Germans, as uncultured barbarians or as a noble and praiseworthy people.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM; AS LCD; AS LS; FA HUM
