Roman Religion in its Cultural Context

FAIN: FS-50104-06

American Academy in Rome (New York, NY 10021-4905)
Karl Galinsky (Project Director: March 2006 to September 2008)

A six-week summer seminar for fifteen college and university teachers on the development of Roman religion, making use of sites and resources in Rome and its environs.

The seminar will concern itself with a multifaceted overview of Roman religion from the beginnings of Rome to the late Roman empire in the west. One of the central aims is to acquaint the participants with the difference between Roman religion and our (Judaeo-Christian) conceptions of religion and religious experience. Roman religion was an inseparable part of the fabric of the Roman state. While it falls short of our expectations of spirituality, its manifestations, and the evidence for them, it includes a wide range of aspects of Roman civilization. Because religion is a constituent aspect of most civilizations, the seminar will be of interest not only to classicists and scholars of religion, but also to scholars of cultural studies, literature, art, architecture, history, political science, philosophy, and anthropology. Participants will have the unique opportunity to explore the centrality of Roman religion in situ through a combination of study sessions and field trips.