Introduction to the Ancient World

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Analyse diverse forms of interaction between different societies
• Express familiarity with and interpret critically a variety of primary sources from the Ancient World
• Assess potential contributing factors to change within the Ancient World (social, political, cultural and religious)
• Compare the characteristics of key periods within the Ancient World
• Understand the significance of the Ancient World for subsequent periods of history
• Identify and evaluate different historical interpretations of the Ancient World

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Communicate a coherent and convincing argument in both oral and written formats
• Participate actively in group discussions and debate
• Organise and structure material to write and present confidently
• Critically analyse a diverse range of source material
• Use a range of perspectives in problem-solving

Knowledge and Understanding

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

• The latest research on the history of diverse contexts and societies in the Ancient World
• The relationships between the Graeco-Roman world and other contemporary societies (e.g. Jews, Christians, Egyptians, Persians, Arabs, Celts, etc)
• The relationship between textual and material evidence
• Key characteristics of Bronze Aegean, Greek, Roman and Byzantine societies
• Debates on the factors that affected political, social and ideological developments in the Ancient World
• The chronology, history and societies of the Ancient World from Dark Age Greece to the emergence of Islam

An indicative list of the topics covered in the module includes:

1. Minoan/Mycenaean to Dark Age Greece

2. Classical Greece

3. Hellenistic world

4. Greece and its Neighbours

5. Republican Rome

6. Roman Empire

7. Rome and its Neighbours

8. Constantine and the fall of Rome

9. Byzantium and the rise of Islam

10. The reception of the Ancient World (including a visit to the British Museum)

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include:

• One-hour lectures. The lectures will provide you with general knowledge and understanding about chronology, events, societies and key concepts. The lectures will also provide an introduction and context for interpreting the set texts, which will be discussed and debated in detail in the accompanying seminars.
• One-hour seminars. Seminars will focus on detailed reading and analysis of primary sources, along with major questions of debate in scholarship. Discussion in seminars will help you to develop your ideas on a topic, to analyse a range of source material and to articulate a critical argument. Such discussions will also allow you to reflect on the historiography and on broader attitudes towards the period in question.
• Opportunity for individual consultations with seminar tutors and feedback on assignments Learning activities include:
• Preparatory reading before each seminar
• Participation in group and seminar discussion
• Independent reading of the sources provided and of related secondary works
• Preparing and delivering presentations in seminars
• Independent research of additional information and source materials

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Walbank, F.W (1992). The Hellenistic World. London: Fontana.

Rohrbacher, D (2002). The historians of late antiquity. London: Routledge.

Price, S. and P. Thonemann (2011). The Birth of Classical Europe: A History from Troy to Augustine. New York: Penguin.

Kraus, C.S. and A.J. Woodman (1997). Latin Historians. Cambridge: CUP.

Shipley, G (2000). The Greek World after Alexander 323-30 BC. London: Routledge.

Crawford, M (1992). The Roman Republic. London: Fontana.

Marincola, J (1997). Authority and Tradition in Ancient Historiography. Cambridge: CUP.

Kleiner, D (1992). Roman Sculpture. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Wells, C (1992). The Roman Empire. London: Fontana.

Hornblower, S (2002). The Greek World 479-323 BC. London: Methuen.

Cameron, A (1993). The Mediterranean world in late antiquity, AD 395-600. London: Routledge.

Cornell, T.J (1995). The Beginnings of Rome. London: Routledge.

Brown, P (1993). The making of late antiquity. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Mitchell, M.M and F.M. Young (eds) (2006). The Cambridge History of Christianity, vol. 1: Origins to Constantine. Cambridge: CUP.

Erskine, A., (ed) (2003). A Companion to the Hellenistic World. Oxford: Blackwell.

Champion, C.B., (ed.) (2004). Roman Imperialism: Readings and Sources. Oxford: Blackwell.

Elsner, J (1996). Art and Text in Roman Culture. Cambridge: CUP.

Goodman, M (1997). The Roman World 44 BC - AD 180. London: Routledge.

Gill, C (1995). Greek Thought. Greece and Rome New Surveys in the Classics. Oxford: OUP.

Beard, M., J. North and S. Price (1998). Religions of Rome. Vol. 1, A history. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cameron, A (1993). The Later Roman Empire. London: Fontana.

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