City of Rome lecture series continues at British School at Rome.

28 May. The British School at Rome presents Roman identity in the city of Rome, a lecture by Olivia Elder (University of Cambridge) on Tuesday 28 May from 18.00-19.30.

The lecture asks what it meant to be or become ‘Roman’ in ancient Rome, pursuing two different ways to answer this question.

Elder says: "I first take a wider view, considering the diverse groups that moved to and made up the ancient city, the impact they had on the cityscape, and the consequences of this for the nature of Romanness there.

I then narrow my focus to evaluate the semantic category ‘Roman’ in ancient literature and inscriptions, asking how, and how far, ancient definitions of ‘Roman’ map onto modern categories of Romanness and Roman identity. This analysis reveals competing definitions of ‘Roman’ – ethnic, cultural, legal, geographical.

These complex ancient debates about the meaning of the category ‘Roman’ make us rethink the place of different groups and of different attributes (language, citizenship, origin) in modes of Romanness within the ancient city."

For details see BSR website.