Wonderful things: World history in 40 objects

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Appreciate the power and subtlety of objects as historical sources.
• Think critically and self-reflectively.
• Critically interpret narratives of world history.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Manage your time to meet assignment deadlines
• Engage better with self-directed learning
• Research and discover sources
• Improve your essay writing and know how to structure an argument

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Observe and describe materials and the range of ancient technologies.
• Collect, organise, classify and describe data within historical narratives.
• Develop your skills of historical understanding.
• Ask questions about the origins and development of human society.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Current methods of archaeological analysis and presentation of historical issues.
• The big issues in world human history as illustrated by the material record of the past.
• How to approach world history as a seamless enterprise that complements the perspective of shallow-history with that of deep-time.
• How materials have shaped the human past and acquired agency.

You will improve your skills in object identification and historical analysis. You will gain an understanding of deep-history and learn the seamless character of the past. You will appreciate the diversity of world civilisations and societies and see parallel lines of developments across the major continents. You will come to see the power of objects and the special agency they possess in controlling human lives and the destinies of civilisations.

Double-period (numbers refer to weeks):

The module is based on lectures and the timeline that provides the central spine is shown below. Each lecture will be given by a member of the Archaeology Department and will describe two objects in detail.

Introduction:

Making us human before 15,000 years ago

Taming nature 11,000 - 5,500 years ago

Laying foundations 5,500 - 3000 years ago

The first cities and states 4000 - 2000 years ago

Empires and faiths 2000-500 years ago

Threshold of the modern world 500 years ago

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include:

• Lectures
• Seminars

Learning activities include:

• Writing a blog
• On-line quiz
• Background reading
• Evaluating public domain web-resources

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Christian, D. (2004). Maps of time: an introduction to Big History. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Fagan, B. (Ed.) (2004). The seventy great inventions of the Ancient World. London: Thames and Hudson.

Gamble, C. (2013). Settling the Earth: the archaeology of deep human history. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

de Waal, E. (2010). The hare with amber eyes: a hidden inheritance. New York: Random House.

Schalansky, J. (2010). Atlas of remote islands. London: Penguin Books.

Shryock, A. & D.L. Smail (Eds.) (2011). Deep history: the architecture of past and present. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Renfrew, C. (2003). Figuring it out: What are we? Where do we come from? The parallel visions of artists and archaeologists. London: Thames and Hudson.

Scarre, C. (Ed.) (2005). The human past. London: Thames and Hudson.

MacGregor, N. (2010). The history of the world in 100 objects. London: British Museum Press.

McNeill, J.R. & W.H. McNeill (2003). The human web: a bird's-eye view of world history. New York: W.W. Norton.

Gamble, C.S (2008). Archaeology: The basics. London: Routledge.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External