Course Syllabus

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Summer 2025 CLA 6932: Ancient War Commemorations

Battle of the Ulai River

Contact Dr. Wolpert

  Andrew Wolpert, PhD

  Andrew Wolpert, PhD

Associate Professor of Classics

 wolpert @ufl.edu, 352-273-3702

 138 Dauer Hall

  12-2 on July 11 and  9-10 on July 15-17

or by appointment

Course Description

CLA 6932 (Ancient War Commemorations) explores how wars were remembered in the ancient world. Applying theories from memory studies, and drawing on particularly noteworthy examples of ancient war commemorations from Egypt and the Near East to Greece and Rome, we will consider what they reveal about the tensions and contradictions in the representations of past conflicts and how ancient war commemorations help us understand the political and social conflicts of the people who constructed them. 

Class Meetings

The class will meet in Dauer 342* except for the following times/days:

  • 9:00-12:00 on Monday, July 7: Classics Department Seminar Room Dauer 125
  • 1:00-3:00 pm on Monday, July 7: Room 211, Library West
  • 8:30-11:30 am on Tuesday, July 8: Evergreen Cemetery, 401 SE 21st Ave 
  • 8:30-11:30 am on Wednesday, July 9: Veterans Memorial Park, 7400 SW 41st Avenue
  • 2:00-3:00 pm on Friday, July 11: Smathers Library. We will meet in the foyer on the second floor. 

 *For the times of the other class meetings, please consult the daily schedule.

Required Text

All required readings will be provided in Canvas and/or Course Reserves, but it is recommended that students have their own copy of Augustus’ Res Gestae. To access required readings off campus, you will need to use VPN. There is no M&S Fee for this course.

NB: Because of the intensive nature of the course, students are encourage to begin the required readings before the start of the Summer Latin Institute.

Course Requirements*

  • Six out of Seven Notebook Entries (80 points, 8% each; 480 points, 48% total). The score on the lowest Notebook Entry will be dropped. 
  • Private Memorial Assignment (60 points, 6%)
  • Public Memorial Assignment (60 points, 6%)
  • Class Discussion Lead (100 points, 10%)
  • Presentation on an Ancient War Commemoration (30 points, 30%)

*Use of AI is permitted with proper documentation.

Daily Schedule

Monday, July 7

9:00-12:00: Introduction and Memory Studies

  • Assmann, J. 2008. “Communicative and Cultural Memory.” In A. Erll and A. Nünning, eds., Cultural Memory Studies: An International and Interdisciplinary Handbook. Berlin. 109-118.
  • Schwartz, B. 2016. “Rethinking the Concept of Collective Memory.” In A. Tota and T. Hagen, eds., Routledge International Handbook of Memory Studies. London. 9–19.

1-3: Library Workshop, Room 211, Library West

Tuesday July 8

8:30-11:30: Private Memorials in the Modern World

  • Evergreen Cemetery, 401 SE 21st Ave
  • Private Memorial Assignment due 5:00 pm.

1:00-3:00: Modern Wars in Public Memory

  • Savage, Kirk. 1994. “The Politics of Memory: Black Emancipation and the Civil War Monument,” In J. Gillis, ed., Commemorations: The Politics of National Identity. Princeton. 127–49.
  • Zerubavel, Y. 1994. “The Death of Memory and the Memory of Death: Masada and the Holocaust as Historical Metaphors." Representations 45: 72–100.
  • Notebook Entry 1 due 1:00 pm.

Wednesday, July 9     

8:30-11:30: Public Memorials in Gainesville

  • Veteran’s Memorial Park, 7400 SW 41st Place
  • Public Memorial Assignment due 5:00 pm.

1:00-3:00: Classical Approaches to Memory Studies:

  • Steinbock, B. 2013. Social Memory in Athenian Public Discourse: Uses and Meaning of the Past. Ann Arbor, MI. 7–30. 
  • Yates, D. C. 2019. States of Memory: The Polis, Panhellenism, and the Persian Wars. Oxford. 9–19.
  • Hölscher, T. 2013. “Images of War in Greece and Rome: Between Military Practice, Public Memory, and Cultural Symbolism.” Journal of Roman Studies 93: 1–17.
  • Notebook Entry 2 due 1:00 pm.

Thursday, July 10

10:00-12:00: War Commemorations of Ancient Egypt

  • De Blois, Lukas, and van der Spek, R. J. 2008. An Introduction to the Ancient World. 2nd Edition. London, 14-16, 20, 25-27.
  • Brand, 2023. Ramesses II, Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh. Columbus, GA. Chapter 5: Battle of Kadesh.
  • Gaballa, G. A. 1976. Narrative in Egyptian Art. Mainz. 94–129.
  • Notebook Entry 3 due 9:00 am.

1:00-3:00: Neo-Assyrian War Commemorations

  • Van De Mieroop, M. 2007. A History of the Ancient Near East. 2nd Edition. 229-44, 246-258.
  • Ataç, M. 2016. “The Historical Memory of the Late Bronze Age in the Neo-Assyrian Palace Reliefs.” In D. Nadali, ed., Envisioning the Past through Memories: How Memory Shaped Ancient Near Eastern Societies. London. 69–83.
  • Bagg, A. 2016. “Where is the Public? A New Look at the Brutality Scenes in Neo-Assyrian Royal Inscriptions and Art.” In Battini, ed., Making Pictures of War: Realia et Imaginaria in the Iconology of the Ancient Near East. Oxford. 57–82.
  • Optional:
    • Ataç, M. 2006. “Visual Formula and Meaning in Neo-Assyrian Relief Sculpture.” Art Bulletin 88: 69–101.
    • I. Winter. 1981. "Royal Rhetoric and the Development of Historical Narrative in Neo-Assyrian Reliefs." Studies in Visual Communication 7: 2–38.
  • Notebook Entry 4 due 1:00 pm.

Friday, July 11

9:00-11:00: The Demosion Sema of Athens

  • Arrington, Nathan T. 2015. Ashes, Images, and Memories: The Presence of the War Dead in Fifth-Century Athens. Oxford. 55–121, 205-37.
  • Thucydides 2.34–46 (in English)
  • Notebook Entry 5 due 9:00 am.

12-2pm: Library Research

  • Megan Daly will be available from 12-1 pm to answer questions as you conduct your research on your final presentations. You can also sign up for individual meetings with Dr. Wolpert from 12-2 to discuss questions that you have about the assignment.

2:00-3:00: Rare Book Collection

  • Judaica Suite, Smathers Library

4:00-6:00: Satchel’s Pizza

  • Meet at Lightnin’ Salvage in the back area of Satchel’s Pizza, 1800 NE 23rd Ave

Monday, July 14        

10:00-12:00: Private Roman Memorials

  • Laudatio Turiae Inscription (in Latin)
  • Pepe, C. 2018. "Fragments of Epideictic Oratory: The Exemplary Case of the Laudatio Funebris for Women." In C. Gray, R. M. A Richard, C. Edwards, eds., Reading Republican Oratory: Reconstructions, Contexts, Receptions. Oxford. 281–96.
  • Hemelrijk, E. 2004. “Masculinity and Femininity in the ‘Laudatio Turiae.’” Classical Quarterly 54: 185–97.

1:00-3:00: Roman War Memorials and the Commemoration of Roman Soldiers

  • Hope, V. M. 2003. “Trophies and Tombstones: Commemorating the Roman Soldier.” World Archaeology 35: 79–97.
  • Cooley, A. 2012. “Commemorating the War Dead of the Roman World.” In P. Low, G. Oliver, and P. J. Rhodes, eds., Cultures of Commemoration: War Memorials, Ancient and Modern. Oxford. 61–82.
  • Hölscher, T. 2006. “The Transformation of Victory into Power: From Event to Structure.” In S. Dillon and K. E. Welch, eds., Representations of War in Ancient Rome. Cambridge. 27–48.
  • Notebook Entry 6 due 1:00 pm.

Tuesday, July 15

10:00-12:00: Res Gestae Divi Augusti

  • Cooley, A., ed. 2008. Res Gestae Divi Augusti: Text, Translation, and Commentary. Cambridge. 30–43, 48–55.
  • Anc. 1-6, 21, 24-30, 34–35 (in Latin).

1:00-3:00: Library Research

  • Megan Daly will be available from 2-3 pm to answer questions as you conduct your research on your final presentations. You can also sign up for individual meetings with Dr. Wolpert from 1-3 to discuss questions that you have about the assignment.

Wednesday, July 16   

10:00-12:00: Forum of Augustus

  • Galinsky, K. 1998. Augustan Culture: An Interpretive Introduction. Princeton. 197-213.
  • Kellum, B. 1997. “Concealing/Revealing: Gender and the Play of Meaning in the Monuments of Augustan Rome.” In T. Habinek and A. Schiesaro, eds., The Roman Cultural Revolution. Cambridge. 158–81.
  • Vergil, Aeneid752-893 (in Latin).
  • Notebook Entry 7 due 1:00 pm.

1:00-3:00: Synthesis

  • Sturken, M. 1997. “The Wall and the Screen Memory: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial.” In Tangled Memories: The Vietnam War, The Aids Epidemic, and the Politics of Remembering. Cambridge. 44–84.
  • Délano, A, and Nienass, B. 2016. “Making Absence Present: The September 11 Memorial.” In A. Tota and T. Hagen, eds. Routledge International Handbook of Memory Studies. London. 398–413.
  • Open discussion on the readings for the course and work in small groups on presentations.

Thursday, July 17       

10:00-12:00, 1:00-3:00: Presentations on Ancient War Commemorations

Grade Scale

A = 100–93% B = 86-83% C = 76-73% D = 66-63%
A- = 92–90% B- = 82–80% C- = 72-70% D- = 62-60%
B+ = 89-87% C+ = 79-77% D+ = 69-67% E < 60%

Grades are rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g., 89.4% = 89% and 89.5% = 90%).

For more information on UF grades and grading policies, please consult the Undergraduate Catalog.

 Course Policies

Academic Honesty

University of Florida students are bound by the Honor Pledge. On all work submitted for credit by a student, the following pledge is required or implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.” The Student Honor Code and Conduct Code (Regulation 4.040) specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions. See the UF Conduct Website for more information. If you have any questions or concerns, please consult the instructor.

Attendance

Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies: https://catalog.ufl.edu/UGRD/academic-regulations/attendance-policies

Canvas indicates the deadline for each assignment, the "grace period" during which an assignment may be submitted after the deadline, and the deduction for submitting an assignment during the "grace period." Students may not submit an assignment after the grace period without an acceptable reason, such as an illness or serious family emergencies, in accordance with university policies on absences.

Course Accessibility

Students with disabilities who experience learning barriers and would like to request academic accommodations should connect with the Disability Resource Center by visiting https://disability.ufl.edu/students/get-started. 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.

Course Evaluations

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 https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students. 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 https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/.

In-Class Recordings

Students are allowed to record video or audio of class lectures. However, the purposes for which these recordings may be used are strictly controlled. The only allowable purposes are (1) for personal educational use, (2) in connection with a complaint to the university, or (3) as evidence in, or in preparation for, a criminal or civil proceeding. All other purposes are prohibited. Specifically, students may not publish recorded lectures without the written consent of the instructor.

A “class lecture” is an educational presentation intended to inform or teach enrolled students about a particular subject, including any instructor-led discussions that form part of the presentation, and delivered by any instructor hired or appointed by the University, or by a guest instructor, as part of a University of Florida course. A class lecture does not include lab sessions, student presentations, clinical presentations such as patient history, academic exercises involving solely student participation, assessments (quizzes, tests, exams), field trips, private conversations between students in the class or between a student and the faculty or lecturer during a class session.

 

Resources and Services

Students experiencing either health or personal problems that interfere with their general well-being are encouraged to seek assistance through the university’s health care and counseling centers. Resources are also available on campus for students who wish to explore their career options.

You can also check out Whole Gator for the many other university resources, services, and support that are available to you.

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due