historyrome.com Rome: History Resource Center Introduction PROFESSOR CALLIE WILLIAMSON (email: chwillia@historyrome.com) HOMEPAGE | INTRODUCTION | ROMAN HISTORY C388 | RESEARCH C388 | BIBLIOG: ROME | BIBLIOG: LAW | WRITER'S GUIDE | ELECTRONIC LIBRARY | MAPS PICTURES | STUDENT SURVIVAL | ARCHIVES: RESEARCH ANCIENT CIV H205) | RESEARCH ANCIENT HIST SEM (J200) | RESEARCH: LAW (J400)

 

Notice: A major reorganization and enhancement of this site begins on Nov 1, 1999

This site was launched in 1995 to enhance the teaching of my courses in Ancient History at Indiana University. Although it has since moved to a more identifiable domain name of its own historyrome.com, it remains primarily directed towards the teaching of ancient history at the university level. From e-mail responses it is obvious that teachers at other levels are finding the site useful. I encourage such use. Permission is granted for non-profit educational use of all of the work on this site.

Items in the Archives section of this site are related to courses offered in the past and are presented for student interest. Some of the related WWW links in archival items may no longer be current. These items will be updated and enhanced as they are offered again in the future.

I am grateful for suggestions and encouragement from thousands of students and a great number of faculty.

Thank you.

Welcome:

The American Philological Association Newsletter recently reported that awards of funding for Teaching with Technology by the NEH puts Classics and Ancient History in the forefront of efforts to exploit the educational potential of information technology. This website is designed to take advantage of the opportunity presented by these efforts to enhance the teaching of ancient history.

My goal is to provide a comprehensive internet site that will enhance traditional scholarship by introducing students to the expanding array of materials for the study of ancient history on the WWW. The focus is on content and substance and on developing an arena for learning within which imagination, independence and self-direction are rewarded. Many of these links also provide e-mail addresses to allow student contact with individuals doing state-of-the-art research on ancient history and archaeology throughout the world.

The Website is designed to be used in conjunction with classroom instruction in Roman History courses.

Timeliness of Resource Center:

Since the prime purpose of this Resource Center is to enhance class offerings, every effort is made to keep the materials up to date as the semester advances. New materials are added as they appear or as they are dictated by the pace and direction of each of my courses and by student suggestions. Students will find it helpful to regularly peruse the site for updates, information on new items, and/or tips on course assignments. The "Last updated" date at the bottom of each sub-site is provided to assist you in keeping up-to-date.

Stability Of WWW Links:

All WWW links throughout this resource center are automatically scanned on a continuing basis for availability of sites and changes in their content. Appropriate changes are made in our annotations as a particular site changes. It should be remembered however that while internet sites in our field have become far more reliable over the past six months than they were in earlier days, they can still occasionally disappear or change dramatically without warning. To be safe therefore it is best to download or print the appropriate sections of interesting sites as soon as possible.

Traditional Scholarship and the Web:

This center is intended to supplement rather than replace traditional scholarship. Although web sites in general are improving steadily in terms of representation and comprehensiveness, particularly over the past six months, it is rarely possible to write a comprehensive paper or an informed report on a topic in ancient history with information taken entirely from the web. But the web does provide an unparalleled opportunity for students to become aware of state-of-the-art work in the study of ancient societies and engage in intellectual interaction with individuals engaged in these efforts.

Design and Procedures:

This entire resource center and the annotations accompanying individual sites within it are designed to allow a student to progress from the known to the unknown. Thus it is designed to reward independence and self-direction. A student should be able to go as far as he or she desires in expanding on his or her knowledge and/or academic skills. For example, the site "Writer's Guide" opens with information for contacting the course writing tutor, progresses to my own pamphlet on writing papers, and then moves to provide links to on-line publications of value to students. For students interested in writing skills beyond that level we offer a variety of national and international links all the way up to the level of professional writing. Similarly each course syllabus begin with a rather traditional listing of assigned readings, supplemented with selected items from the WWW, before presenting a guide to research links on the particular topic. These research links, and those on our Electronic Library site, allow access to an ever expanding body of on-line books and internet sites. Many of these links also provide e-mail addresses to allow contact with individuals doing state-of-the-art research on ancient history and archaeology throughout the world

Suggestions/Comments:

My efforts to develop a proper balance between traditional course work and the WWW have been facilitated by a great number of student suggestions over the past two years. Such suggestions are greatly appreciated and a response will be made to each of them. (email: chwillia@historyrome.com).

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