Introduction to the Ancient World

Learning Outcomes

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 relationship between textual and material evidence
• 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
• Key characteristics of Bronze Aegean, Greek, Roman and Byzantine societies
• The relationships between the Graeco-Roman world and other contemporary societies (e.g. Jews, Christians, Egyptians, Persians, Arabs, Celts, etc)

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

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

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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