Roman Imperialism and Local Identities

Revell examines questions of Roman ethnic identity and explores Roman imperialism as a lived experience based around the paradox of similarity and difference. Her case studies of public architecture provide an understanding of how urbanism, the emperor and religion were part of the daily encounters of these communities. Revell applies the ideas of agency and practice in her examination of the structures that held the empire together and how they were implicated within repeated daily activities. Rather than offering a homogenized 'ideal type' description of Roman cultural identity, she uses these structures as a way to understand how encounters differed between communities, thus producing a more nuanced interpretation of what it was to be Roman. Bringing an innovative approach to the problem of Romanization, Revell breaks from traditional models, cutting across a number of entrenched debates such as arguments about the imposition of Roman culture or resistance to Roman rule.