Public opinion and politics in the late Roman republic /Cristina Rosillo-López
- Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press, (c)2017.
- 1 online resource.
Includes bibliographies and index.
Cover ; Half-title page; Title page; Copyright page; Dedication; Contents; List of Map; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Chapter 1 Public Opinion in Rome: Definition, Models and Constraints; 1.1 How Public Opinion Was Expressed and Understood in the Late Roman Republic; 1.2 Public Opinion and the Debate on the Political Nature of the Late Roman Republic; 1.3 Public Opinion and Informal Politics; 1.4 Theoretical Considerations and Models of Public Opinion; 1.5 Censorship and Public Opinion during the Late Roman Republic; 1.5.1 Legal Constraints: Censuring Writings and Speech 1.5.2 Censorship in Practice before 49 BCChapter 2 Sociability and Politics; 2.1 The Physical Background of Public Opinion: Walking and Promenading as a Political Tool; 2.2 Locations and Occasions of Sociability and Public Opinion in Rome; 2.2.1 The Forum and Its Surroundings; 2.2.2 Outside the Forum: Compita, Streets, and Neighbourhoods; 2.2.3 Houses; Chapter 3 Rumours, Gossip and Conversations in Roman Political Life; 3.1 Rumours and Politics in Rome; 3.2 Circulation of Rumours Outside Rome; 3.3 Rumours, Gossip and Social Discipline Chapter 4 Political Literature and Public Opinion (I): Defining Political Literature4.1 Authorship; 4.2 Audience and Literacy; 4.3 Distribution and Circulation; Chapter 5 Political Literature and Public Opinion (II): Genres of Political Literature; 5.1 Satura, Verse, Popular Verse; 5.2 Political Literature in Prose; 5.2.1 Pamphlets or Tracts; 5.2.2 Open Letters; 5.2.3 Memoirs and Historical Writings; 5.2.4 Graffiti and Placards; Chapter 6 Groups and Agents of Public Opinion; 6.1 Groups of Public Opinion; 6.2 Leaders and Movers of Public Opinion; 6.3 Disseminators of News and Public Opinion 6.4 Misreading Public Opinion: The Case of Caesar's MurderChapter 7 Rhetoric and Public Opinion: Theory and Practice; 7.1 How to Deal with the Audience according to Latin Rhetoricians; 7.2 The Orator before Public Opinion; 7.3 Public Opinion in Practice in the Courts of Justice; 7.3.1 The Speeches against Verres; 7.3.2 Pro Cluentio; 7.3.3 Pro Rabirio Postumo; Chapter 8 Conclusions; 8.1 Public Opinion and the Public Sphere in the Late Roman Republic; 8.2 Public Opinion in the Early Principate; Bibliography; Index of People; Subject Index
This book investigates the working mechanisms of public opinion in Late Republican Rome as a part of informal politics. It explores the political interaction (and sometimes opposition) between the elite and the people through various means, such as rumours, gossip, political literature, popular verses and graffiti. It also proposes the existence of a public sphere in Late Republican Rome and analyses public opinion in that time as a system of control. By applying the spatial turn to politics, it becomes possible to study sociability and informal meetings where public opinion circulated. What emerges is a wider concept of the political participation of the people, not just restricted to voting or participating in the assemblies.
9781316535158 9781108524452 9781108518499
Political culture--History.--Rome Communication in politics--History.--Rome