CX102-30 Introduction to Greek and Roman History
Introductory description
This module introduces students to the study of ancient history at university level. No prior knowledge is assumed. The module covers the Greek world from the 6th-4th centuries BC and the Roman Republic before 49 BC.
Module aims
The module will equip students with the skills to conduct independent historical research, and to evaluate primary and secondary material of different kinds. The module introduces different types of history (narrative, biography, online, oral) and various modern methodologies. It will enable students to combine different types of historical sources (textual, archaeological, epigraphic, numismatic) to arrive at their own understandings of the past.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Term 1: The Greek World (MS)
Week 1: Introduction and welcome to IGRH (CR and MS – a joint intro, focusing on what is
History, what forms it takes, who is and isn’t represented, methodologies for writing history etc)
Week 2: The 6th century BC
Week 3: The 6th century BC through archaeological sources
Week 4: How to write a Chapter/Article review + Seminar 1: Methodologies for doing History
Week 5: The 5th century BCE via Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon
Week 6: Combined IGRH/RCS/GCS museum trip (no lecture) + Seminar 2: Dealing with
inscriptions and coins
Week 7: The 5th century BC through inscriptions and coins
Week 8: The 4th century BC as the forgotten century + Article/Chapter Review Hand in
Week 9: The 4th century through literary sources
Week 10: Trends of historiography in scholarship on ancient Greece + future directions
Assessment:
25% Article/Chapter Review – Review of a key text (journal article or book chapter) from a short
choice selection.
Term 2: The Roman Republic (CR)
Week 1: Material vs Myth: Writing the history of Rome
Week 2: Rome under the Kings
Week 3: Who’s who in the Roman world? An introduction to prosopography (prep for assessment)+ gobbet writing (2 hr lecture) + 2 hour seminar Week 4: The Republic: Society and Government Week 5: Rome and the Hellenistic World: Roman Expansion and its causes Week 6: Roman Republican coinage (1 hr lecture) +2 hour seminar Week 7: The effects of war: the Gracchi and changing Roman culture Week 8: Marius, Sulla and the Social War Week 9: When does the Republic fall and the Empire begin? Pompey and Caesar. Week 10: Topic set by student vote in Week 1 of Term 2 2x 2 hour seminars focused on Wikipedia editing. Contributing to the work of the Women’s Classical Committee to ensure equal representation of female historians/historical individuals on Wikipedia as well as BME individuals and other underrepresented groups. Preferably these should within the Teaching Grid in the Library with Chromebooks supplied. Assessment: 1x 25% Prosopography Exercise (including source dossier, gobbet and assessment of an individual’s life) Term 3 Week 1: Exam essay practice (an essay set to be written within exam conditions, i.e. 45 mins) + exam prep (what to focus on/particular questions) (CR) Week 2: Exam revision (MS) Week 3: Exam revision (MS) + practice essay returns (CR) Assessment: 1 x 50% exam (2 gobbets + 2 essays)
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- - To gain a knowledge of Greek history from the 6th-4th centuries BC and the Roman Republic before 49 BC.
- - To develop an understanding of the different forms history can take, and the factors that affect the creation of history.
- - To cultivate independent research skills.
- - To foster the ability to critically engage with primary and secondary sources in both text and online form.
- - To develop critical thinking skills and analytical skills.
Indicative reading list
See Talis Aspire
View reading list on Talis Aspire
Subject specific skills
- to gain a knowledge of Greek history from the 6th-4th centuries BC and the Roman Republic before 49 BC.
- to develop an understanding of the different forms history can take, and the factors that affect the creation of history
- to cultivate independent research skills
- to foster the ability to critically engage with primary and secondary sources in both text and online form
- to develop critical thinking skills and analytical skills
Transferable skills
- Critical thinking
- problem solving
- active lifelong learning
- communication
- information literacy
- ICT literacy
- professionalism
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 21 sessions of 2 hours (14%) |
| Seminars | 6 sessions of 1 hour (2%) |
| External visits | 1 session of 1 hour (0%) |
| Private study | 251 hours (84%) |
| Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
Reading and independent research required for the module, in preparation for seminars, assessed coursework and exams.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Students can register for this module without taking any assessment.
Assessment group A
| Weighting | Study time | |
|---|---|---|
| Research Assessed Essay (Term 3) | 50% | |
| Book Chapter/ Article review exercise (Term 1) | 25% | |
|
You are expected to produce a 2000-2250 word review of an academic article/ book chapter (Term 1) |
||
| Prosopographical exercise (Term 2) | 25% | |
|
In this assignment you will build upon the prosopography skills developed in the seminars to conduct original research on one individual from the Roman Republic (Term 2). |
||
Feedback on assessment
Feedback on the coursework will be provided by written feedback published on Tabula as well as \r\na one-to-one personal feedback session offered to the students. There will be a `feed forward¿ \r\nsession in Term 3 ¿ students will be given the opportunity to write and essay under exam \r\nconditions in Week 1, and feedback will be provided in Week 3. Exam feedback will be available \r\nto students via their personal tutors, as per departmental policy.
Post-requisite modules
If you pass this module, you can take:
- CX275-15 Stories of Objects (carry-credit and Monash)
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 1 of UCXA-VV16 Undergraduate Ancient History and Classical Archaeology
- Year 1 of UCXA-VV18 Undergraduate Ancient History and Classical Archaeology with Study in Europe
This module is Core optional for:
- Year 1 of UCXA-VV17 Undergraduate Ancient History and Classical Archaeology (Part-Time)
- Year 1 of UCXA-Q82P Undergraduate Classical Civilisation
This module is Optional for:
- Year 1 of UCXA-Q820 Undergraduate Classical Civilisation
This module is Option list B for:
- Year 1 of UITA-RQ38 Undergraduate Italian and Classics