Classics BA (Hons)

This module introduces the history and society of the ancient Greek world, from the liberation of Athens from tyranny in the late sixth century BC through to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. The module offers students a foundation of knowledge in the history of events, as well as exploring a range of aspects of Greek society and culture, including the Greek ‘way of war’, sexuality and religion. It also introduces a range of sources for the study of ancient history, especially the two great Greek history writers, Herodotus and Thucydides.

This module aims to introduce students to a broad range of texts and material evidence about the literature and culture of the 5th century BC. You will look at texts from a broad range of types, including some of the greatest Greek literature ever written, philosophy, history, and oratory, and set this into context using art, archaeology, inscriptions and other kinds of evidence.

This module provides an introduction to the history and archaeology of the Near East and Aegean from ca. 4,000 to 800 BC, specifically the ancient cultures of the Near East, Levant and Greece. The module includes artefact handling sessions.

ALGY109 is designed as an introductory, level one module aiming to provide students with an overview of Ancient Egyptian history from prehistory to AD 395 both in its chronological development and in its environmental and geographical setting, including the fundamentals of the chronology of Ancient Egypt (including the limitations of available evidence), and a good awareness of how major archaeological sites and other forms of primary evidence fit within this framework.

This module will introduce students to the development of early Chinese civilisations. We will investigate the transition from hunter-gatherers to the first sedentary village farming communities and the emergence of the earliest cities and states from these early village societies. We will thus also investigate some formative features of Chinese societies that persisted for millennia. The module will also place developments in China in a broader comparative context and allow discussion of the emergence of social and political hierarchies, complex economies and the appearance and nature of the state. The module will also introduce students to some of the conceptual tools and methodologies needed to investigate these issues in the archaeological record.

The module provides a contextualised introduction to Homer’s Odyssey (in English translation) as one of the pivotal texts of ancient Greek culture. Thus, the module addresses the idea of heroism as a social and ethical factor in the Homeric epic, the degree of historicity in the epic, the stylistic aspects of Homeric poetry, and its cultural impact.

This module explores contemporary issues and debates through considering global relationships in the past and how they have shaped the world in which we live. In light of the tremendous impact that modern imperialism and colonialism have had in shaping our world, the module focuses, in particular, on questions relating to race, empire and their legacies.

By exploring some of the ways in which historical investigation enriches urgent contemporary debates, the module aims to introduce students to a range of new ways of approaching the past, both in terms of subject matter and of approaches to history, and to broaden students’ historical understanding of both western and non-western
history (or what scholars refer to as the ‘Global North’ and ‘Global South’) and the myriad connections between them.
In addition, therefore, to preparing students for the range of subject matter, geographical areas, and approaches that they will be able to study in the second and third years of their History degree programme, this module also aims to make them better global citizens.

This module covers a period of crucial significance for European history, including interactions between Europe and other parts of the world in the premodern period. Much of it will be unfamiliar to many of you, but, we hope, will be all the more interesting for that reason. At its broadest, this module covers more than a millennium, from the rise of Christianity to the European arrival in and settlement of the Americas. We start with the origins of Christianity in the eastern Mediterranean, before moving on to the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Islam. In Europe, we chronicle the rise of post-Roman kingdoms, the settlements of Vikings in Europe and more distant locations, the launching and objectives of the crusades. In light of the expansion of the papacy, we assess the emergence of new forms of spirituality and heresy, political conflicts between nascent states, and the impact of the Reformation and Catholic Reformation on other parts of the world. Underlying these events are some continuous themes, such as the foundation of the Christian Church, the development and evolution of notions of holiness, and the effect of religious belief on methods of education, ideas of difference and deviance, and responses to natural disasters. Another theme that runs through the module is to assess how gender mores affected the experiences of and possibilities for individuals who lived in these periods. Course content also looks at the practice of, and ideology behind, political activity and war. We aim to give you an appreciation of world views and of methods of representation based on the mental horizons possible in the age before modern technology.

This module is an introduction to the basics of Latin morphology, syntax, and translation.

Intermediate basics of Latin morphology and syntax; translation of continuous text

This module offers continued progress in the Latin language, and the opportunity to read a selection from Pliny’s Letters, which give vivid insight into elite society and culture during the early empire.

This module opens the way for reading written documents, (eg inscriptions, grafitti, and papyrus letters) and literary texts, (eg poetry, tragedy, comedy, history and philosophy) from ancient Greece in their original language. Over the course of the module, students become familiar with standard terms for classifying and analysing the language’s fabric, and begin to understand how words in Ancient Greek change and interact with each other (‘morphology, ‘grammar’), forming phrases and complex sentences (‘syntax’). Students build this knowledge by working with a coursebook (JACT Reading Greek) and translating passages of increasing complexity. From the first, adapted passages from the coursebook are balanced with ‘real’ Greek. Prior langage learning is not a pre-requisite for this module, only a curiosity about and passion for the language and culture of ancient Greece.

This module extends skills and knowledge acquired through prior study (CLAH502 or equivalent) for reading literary texts and historical documents from ancient Greece in their original language. It introduces further elements of Greek grammar, morphology and syntax to aid analysis of compound sentence structures. Students continue to work with a coursebook (JACT Reading Greek), and complement this with regular translation of longer and more complex unseen passages from ancient texts, with the aid of a Greek-English lexicon.

During this module, students expand their competence and confidence in ancient Greek language by reading extended segments from a range of texts, for example, epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, historiography, lawcourt oratory, and philosophy, with the help of vocabulary (using the JACT Greek Anthology). There is an opportunity to revise and consolidate knowledge of grammar and syntax through dedicated grammar workshops, and training is provided in the use of resources for language learning, especially the Greek-English lexicon. This module builds on CLAH 501 to CLAH504 and A-level study of ancient Greek.

This module deals with the history and society of Rome and the Roman world from the foundation of Rome to the end of the second century AD, i.e. the periods of the ‘Roman Republic’ and the ‘Principate’ (named after the princeps, a title of the Roman emperor). The aims are to provide (1) an introductory survey of the political and military history of Rome and the Roman empire; (2) to build a sound
chronological, geographical and conceptual framework for understanding the ancient Roman world; (3) to introduce students to reading primary sources in translation and evaluating their historical significance; (4) to introduce students to a limited range of scholarly views on ancient Roman history; and (5) to teach fundamental research skills.

In this module you will explore the visual modes and media by which people have expressed themselves individually and societally in different periods of human history. We will start by exploring ideas of visual culture and art, as well as the historical context of the module. You will be introduced to some of the core theoretical issues that underpin the production and consumption of visual culture including questions of what an image is and its relationship to ideology and theories of representation.

We will explore contexts across the ancient Mediterranean from the Palaeolithic to Imperial Rome. We wlll explore a range of themes and you will learn about a wide variety of visual culture from monuments and statues to painted pottery and the visual culture of everyday life. You will learn how to ‘read’ these different media to reconstruct ancient culture and to appreciate the tastes, desires and ideas from the ancient Mediterranean. As you learn about the ancient world you will develop a range of valuable skills that will be of use in academic studies and employment.

ALGY116 is designed as a year one module which aims to provide students with an overview of Ancient Egyptian culture. In particular it has as its core aim the development of students’ understanding of the broader thematic aspects of Egyptian society, such as writing, religion, art and social structure. The emphasis will be on the use of primary data (written and material culture), and on awareness of how major archaeological sites fit within this framework.

This module introduces students to the archaeology of Classical Greece and the Roman Empire by comparing these two Mediterranean civilisations across common themes relating to the life experiences of people in the ancient world.

This module examines the poetry of Virgil in its literary and cultural contexts. We will consider how the Eclogues, Georgics, and Aeneid engage with and respond to earlier Greek and Roman literary traditions, and how the Augustan age and the works of other contemporary writers influenced and shaped his poetic craft.

This module is a continuation of the introduction to the basics of Latin morphology, syntax, and translation.

Intermediate basics of Latin morphology and syntax; translation of continuous text

This module offers continued progress in the Latin language, and the opportunity to read Virgil’s Eclogues, from the flowering of Latin literature. The set text is a quintessential work of bucolic poetry written during the period of political uncertainty preceding the principate of Augustus, and looks back to the Idylls of Theocritus, and forward to the later European tradition of pastoral.

This module continues the task of preparing students for reading written documents and literary texts from ancient Greece in their original language. Students, now familiar with standard terms for classifying and analysing the language’s fabric, continue to learn how words in Ancient Greek change and interact with each other(‘grammar’, ‘morphology), forming phrases and complex sentences (‘syntax’). Students build this knowledge by working with a coursebook (JACT Reading Greek) and translating passages of increasing complexity. Adapted passages from the coursebook are balanced with ‘real’ Greek.

This module extends skills and knowledge developed in CLAH503 Ancient Greek IIA for reading literature and historical documents from ancient Greece in their original language. It introduces advanced elements of Greek grammar, morphology and syntax to aid analysis of complex sentences. Regular translation of more complex unseen passages from ancient Greek texts, with the help of a Greek-English lexicon, fosters independent translation and comprehension of un-adapted ancient texts. By the end of the module students have completed the JACT Reading Greek course and are ready to read ancient texts on their own.

During this module, students improve their competence and confidence in ancient Greek language by reading passages from a broad variety of texts written during the Archaic to Roman periods (using the Loeb Classical Reader). There is an opportunity to revise and consolidate knowledge of grammar and syntax through dedicated grammar workshops, and special training is provided in the skills and techniques of translation.

This module aims to prepare and empower students to participate successfully in professional work experience, such as a year in a placement or internship, or volunteering opportunity, and to develop, in a pro-active way, life-long skills, attitudes, and behaviours. Students will have the opportunity to engage in inter-disciplinary, team-based research, gain the knowledge, confidence, and self-awareness to source and successfully apply for professional work opportunities.

War was a regrettable yet ubiquitous fact of ancient civilisation. This module provides a diachronic and cross-cultural comparative study of warfare as practiced in Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe and the Near East, including Classical Greece and the East Mediterranean. The study addresses six cross-cultural themes: Technology and Sources, Tactics, Society, Infrastructure, Death and Commemoration, and Religion and Ethics. These themes are then applied to the examination of three case study cultures (Archaic and Classical Greece, Iron Age Europe and the Bronze Age Near East).

This module examines politics in the ancient world via narratives about the past (or ‘history’), and at the same time evaluates the role of history in politics. Moving from the Near East to Greece and then Rome, students learn about key political events (for example the battle of Marathon and the Jewish revolt), political phenomena (for example Persian kingship, Athenian imperialism, and Roman expansion), and influential persons (for example Pericles, Augustus and Boudica). In the process they become familiar with the different ways of telling history in antiquity: not only through written history (‘historiography’) but also poetic and theatrical performances, philosophical writings, biographical studies, public buildings and monuments and public ceremonies, such as the Roman funeral. While grappling with these different types of history, students develop understanding of the structures, strategies, debates and anxieties that characterized politics in the ancient world. And they recognize that in the ancient world, as today, to represent the past was to participate in politics.

From Homeric Greece to the Roman empire, relationships that revolve around the idea of mutual attraction between people (such as: happy or unrequited love, elegant flirting, jealousy, exemplary loyalty to one’s friends, cliquey networking…) formed a major part of social life and intellectual history.

The first half of this module addresses a range of Greek and Latin sources (for instance, Sappho, Plato, Ovid, Longus’ novel Daphnis and Chloe, visual art) that represent, or theorize about, erotic love between different sexes as well as between same-sex lovers.The second half of the module looks at non-erotic amicable commitments (“friendship”) through case studies in ancient society and philosophy; attention is paid to the anxiety about false friendship (flattery, parasitism).

The Trojan War is one of the ‘great stories’ of Western culture. The Iliad most famously replays a crucial episode: the anger of Achilles following insult from the Achaean (Greek) leader Agamemnon and its deadly consequences. But alongside other contemporary epic poems, events from the ten-year struggle between the Achaeans and Trojans have been rewritten, restaged, and represented in literature and art across antiquity and down the centuries into modern times. This module examines some of these various attempts to ‘rebuild Troy’, tracing the myth through a range of source material, including epic poetry, Greek sculpture and painted pottery, Athenian tragedy, Hellenistic inscriptions, Roman poetry, nineteenth-century European art and film. By putting each ‘reception’ of the myth into its social, political and historical contexts, the module traces the fluidity and malleability of Troy in the cultural imagination, and asks what Trojan stories reveal about the societies that tell them, ancient and modern.

This module explores the works of the Roman poet Ovid which span a wide range of genres and themes. We will focus on a core set text (or set texts) within its sociocultural contexts, wider literary traditions, and the rest of the Ovidian corpus.

This module considers the institutions of government in the Roman Empire, the differing social groups within the empire, and the financial, agricultural and economic life of the Roman world.

Intermediate basics of Latin morphology and syntax; translation of continuous text

This module offers continued progress in the Latin language, and the opportunity to read a selection from Pliny’s Letters, which give vivid insight into elite society and culture during the early empire.

Reading through a Latin text from Republican/Augustan period.

This module consolidates knowledge of grammar and syntax from CLAH424 and seeks at an advanced level to enhance comprehension, competence and confidence in reading Latin at an advanced level. Students will strengthen and extend their knowledge of the shape and structure of Latin by fluent reading ancient texts and enable students to exploit their understanding through independent use of lexicons, grammar books, and commentaries.
Students will conduct independent research using Latin texts, involving not only the translation of passages from Latin, but also the study of a book of post-Augustan epic poetry. The module will introduce Latin textual criticism, allowing students to engage with the processes which contribute to the editing of Latin texts.

This module extends skills and knowledge acquired through prior study (CLAH502 or equivalent) for reading literary texts and historical documents from ancient Greece in their original language. It introduces further elements of Greek grammar, morphology and syntax to aid analysis of compound sentence structures. Students continue to work with a coursebook (JACT Reading Greek), and complement this with regular translation of longer and more complex unseen passages from ancient texts, with the aid of a Greek-English lexicon.

During this module, students expand their competence and confidence in ancient Greek language by reading extended segments from a range of texts, for example, epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, historiography, lawcourt oratory, and philosophy, with the help of vocabulary (using the JACT Greek Anthology). There is an opportunity to revise and consolidate knowledge of grammar and syntax through dedicated grammar workshops, and training is provided in the use of resources for language learning, especially the Greek-English lexicon. This module builds on CLAH 501 to CLAH504 and A-level study of ancient Greek.

ALGY253 aims to introduce students to Coptic; the last phase of the Ancient Egyptian language and the only one to be recorded in an alphabetic script showing vowels.

Students taking Coptic will develop a fuller understanding of the ancient Egyptian language and how it developed over time. As well as students of Egyptology, students of Classics will also find this module of interest, not least in the way the script utilises the Greek alphabet and vocabulary.

Overall, Coptic is a unique phase of the ancient Egyptian language, and this module is designed to promote the acquisition of key skills for the understanding of the language, texts and culture in Late Antique Egypt.

How did the world begin? Who controls our universe – one god or many? What is the purpose of our being here in the world? Are the gods good? Are humans good? Why does evil exist? What happens after we die?

This module explores the fundamental ideas found in Egyptian religious belief, and studies their impact on Egyptian social structure. With an eye to broader anthropological theory, this module provides an in-depth look at textual, archaeological, and artefactual evidence to build up a rich portrait of the Egyptian intellectual universe – and sketches out their answers to the questions quoted above.

We cover gods, mythology, temples, rituals and priesthood, private expressions of religion, magic, concepts of death the soul and the afterlife, Egyptian religion and the influence of Greece and Rome, and the religion of the Amarna Period.

Teaching is lecture based, with tutorials covering specific questions.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MODULE ASSUMES STUDENTS HAVE ALREADY STUDIED AT LEAST ONE EGYPTOLOGY MODULE IN YEAR 1 (either ALGY 109 or ALGY 116).

This module is about the history of public entertainment in the Roman Empire c. 300-600 CE. Students will explore the fascinating textual and material evidence for arena games (gladiatorial combat and wild beast hunts), charioteer racing, the theatre, and civic festivals in late antiquity.

They will analyse the social and political functions of these events in a dizzyingly hierarchical society under an autocratic regime. Such games and festivals may have been intended to support the power of emperors, senators and civic grandees, but these crowd scenes all too easily resulted in expressions of political subversion and social unrest, from derisive chants to rioting and violence.

Students will explore the experiences of the spectators and professional performers, ranging from charioteers and faction leaders to actors and sex workers. Finally, they will consider how Christian churchmen sought to discourage attendance at such sinful—even pagan—spectacles, and replace them with (theoretically!) more wholesome Christian holy days—and whether they were successful in stopping all this fun.

This module introduces students to Herodotus’ Histories, the first piece of historiographical prose to survive from Greek antiquity, and to some of the other evidence (especially Persian and Egyptian) that is needed for a proper contextualisation of Herodotus’ historical and literary enterprise. It examines a series of key themes in the study of Herodotus: for example, his representation of foreign peoples, or of Persian or Athenian imperialism, the role of religion in the Histories, and the causes of the Persian wars.

This module offers students an interdisciplinary and thematic examination of the city of Rome, involving archaeological, epigraphic, and historical evidence. The module will be taught on the main Liverpool campus and with a five-day research and learning experience in Rome.
Students will learn about Rome’s history by carrying out research on the city as a whole – the topography, development and function of the city – and they will undertake detailed research on selected sites and monuments as well as the evidence for infrastructure, sewers and sanitation, houses, religion and commemoration in and around Rome. The module will provide students with the opportunity to acquire a good understanding of the material and visual basis of the city of Rome and they will be able to contextualise this evidence within the historical and socio-cultural processes of ancient Rome. Throughout antiquity and historical periods, Rome has been a cosmopolitan city that has attracted visitors from across the world. Today, Rome is not only the capital of the Italian state but it is a major international city filled with tourists attracted to the city’s heritage sites and museums and populated with an array of foreign institutes, such as the British School at Rome (BSR), the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI) and the École française de Rome.
The module encourages students to learn about and reflect on the history of collections in Rome, as well as the heritage and international cultural institutions. They will have the opportunity on campus and when in Rome to learn about national and international scholarship in the city and engage with non-English bibliography.

This module is about politics, about policies, political institutions, and the political culture of Rome in the Late Republic. It does not only trace the deterioration of political consensus amongst the senate aristocracy and the rise of powerful individuals like Marius, Sulla, Pompey, or Caesar put also aims to explore the wider cultural context within which politics unfolds.

‘Empire’ is not a word that often follows ‘Athenian democracy’. We usually associate democratic origins with equality and fifth century BC Athens with exceptional cultural creativity. So how did ‘empire’ come to be associated with democracy? This module explores the relationship between the evolution of democratic structures and the extraordinary rise of drama, monuments, and art on the one hand; and the emergence of a territorial ‘empire’ across the Aegean Sea on the other. There are lessons, too, for our own understanding of how culture is connected to politics and resources.

This module looks at specific themes in Roman archaeology in their British context. The study of the monuments of Roman Britain is arguably the oldest facet of archaeological research in Britain. With a history than spans over 500 years, Britain as a Roman province possesses an unrivalled data base of archaeological research and its interpretation. In addition to this, recent work on the province has placed it in the vanguard of the on-going debate of the use of archaeological theory to practical applications.

The module addresses both the intrinsic and explicitly theorised moral frameworks of Greco-Roman antiquity, by looking at select sources ranging from the Homeric epic to Hellenistic and Roman philosophy. The issues examined during the module include: reciprocity as ethical model (revenge, justice, solidarity), the goods of the self vs the "external" goods, happiness and morality, valuing other people as part of one’s own moral well-being.

Intermediate basics of Latin morphology and syntax; translation of continuous text

This module offers continued progress in the Latin language, and the opportunity to read Virgil’s Eclogues, from the flowering of Latin literature. The set text is a quintessential work of bucolic poetry written during the period of political uncertainty preceding the principate of Augustus, and looks back to the Idylls of Theocritus, and forward to the later European tradition of pastoral.

Reading a book of post-Augustan Latin literature to improve students’ knowledge of Latin language and literature.

Reading a book of post-Augustan Latin literature, in order to improve students’ knowledge of Latin language and literature.

This module extends skills and knowledge developed in CLAH503 Ancient Greek IIA for reading literature and historical documents from ancient Greece in their original language. It introduces advanced elements of Greek grammar, morphology and syntax to aid analysis of complex sentences. Regular translation of more complex unseen passages from ancient Greek texts, with the help of a Greek-English lexicon, fosters independent translation and comprehension of un-adapted ancient texts. By the end of the module students have completed the JACT Reading Greek course and are ready to read ancient texts on their own.

During this module, students improve their competence and confidence in ancient Greek language by reading passages from a broad variety of texts written during the Archaic to Roman periods (using the Loeb Classical Reader). There is an opportunity to revise and consolidate knowledge of grammar and syntax through dedicated grammar workshops, and special training is provided in the skills and techniques of translation.

This module provides an introduction to the Akkadian language and literature

Death and ritual treatment of the dead are a constant for our species. This module is for anyone interested in approaches to understanding how past societies dealt with death and the dead. It provides an introduction to methods and approaches to understanding past mortuary practices from a range of periods and areas. The course will examine different approaches to death and mortuary practice, and the role of the deceased in the lives of the living. Key themes to be discussed include: treatment of the dead, mortuary architecture, food and animals, skull cults, secondary burial, cremations and inhumations, and the use of grave goods.

ALGY244 is designed to explore themes of how the ancient Egyptians viewed the world around them. In particular, it will look at the ways in which they conceptualised the presence and operation of the divine within the natural environment, and how they modified the latter by building structures that allowed contact between their world and the supernatural domain. The module will especially emphasise the ways in which the Egyptians integrated notions of ‘sacred landscape’ into their everyday lives, and will focus on the non-mortuary evidence.

This module explores the funerary environment of private tombs in Pharaonic Egypt through the comparative study of the three main groups of evidence: Architecture / archaeological material, iconography and texts.

This module covers Later British/Irish Prehistory from the Neolithic to the end of the Bronze Age. Moving on from a brief introduction to European Prehistory in Year 1 (ALGY106 and ALGY131), we now focus on the key issues currently under debate in Prehistoric studies in Britain: Neolithic sedentism and mobility, how we think about Stonehenge, the new science of migration, settlement and land use, ritual traditions, climate change, and the nature of prehistoric society. This module considers how we have often constructed an uncritical understanding of the past, particularly its power structures, in our own image. As archaeologists of the post-colonial era, we instead investigate how a critical archaeology is working to discover the real ‘difference’ of the past. The aim is to gain a developed understanding of prehistoric social practice and a critical understanding of prehistoric studies.

The module CLAH222 provides an opportunity for students to undertake a placement in a setting which matches their academic and possible career interests to develop materials and / or undertake tasks within a practical or vocational context, to apply academic knowledge from their degree and to develop personal and employability skills within a working environment.
Following an application process for work placements, this 15 credit module runs in semester two with a minimum of 24 hours of placement, plus supporting workshops and independent study. There is an element of flexibility in how the placement is scheduled based on the needs of the organisation and taking into consideration individual timetables. This could be half a day for six weeks or two half days for three weeks, for example.
Application for the module is via a competitive process, which usually takes the following form: students express interest in the module and preferred sectors of employment; details of the available placements are circulated towards the end of Year One; students submit 2 applications and Curriculum Vitae (CVs) for the employers to consider; the employers invite students to interview and they select the successful candidate(s).
The Careers and Employability Service supports students during the application and interview process. Once a student has been successful in the application process, a learning agreement will need to be drafted, Health and Safety pro-forma completed and, where applicable, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and other checks made on behalf of the student.

There is a good case for saying that the sixth and seventh centuries CE were more significant for the development of humankind than any similar period, at least in the western hemisphere and before the invention of nuclear weapons. In the west of Europe and the Mediterranean, the Roman empire finally collapsed even as Christianity was taking decisive hold over hearts, minds and lands; in the east, Roman power endured (rebranded by historians as ‘Byzantium’) even as the followers of the new faith of Islam decimated its territory. Moreover, these epochal changes were accompanied by the collapse of the civilization of antiquity: warfare was endemic, agriculture retarded, famine frequent, and a virulent, bubonic pandemic appeared in the mid-sixth century and recurred continually
over the next 200 years. But while the population suffered grievously, these changes also helped embed fundamental changes in their societies – the reconfiguration of the west and the establishment of the Islamic caliphate in the east – with whose consequences we are still living.

A 10,000-word dissertation on an original Archaeological or Egyptological research topic which is able to demonstrate that the student can: Identify a research question, design and conduct a work plan to explore this question, assemble and analyse academic literature (bibliography) and primary evidence (original sources, datasets), and present a coherent set of data and theoretical arguments in order to analyse and interpret the question in hand.

This module studies the history, politics, and culture of Rome and its empire under the Julio-Claudian emperors. Along with rigorous study of literary, documentary, and archaeological evidence and modern bibliography, students will focus on the Annals of Cornelius Tacitus, our most important source.

Greek culture was spread to the furthest limits of the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions by a series of so-called ‘colonies’, including such important modern cities as Marseilles and Istanbul. The motivations and methods behind this huge archaeological phenomenon remain unclear, but in the hands of the scholars writing in an age of neo-classical revivalism, the analogy to their own British Empire was clear and self-evident. This module combines History, Ancient History and Archaeology in its examination this crucial moment in world history and its subsequent use and abuse by imperialist scholars. No prior knowledge is required and the module includes a team presentation that aims to develop transferrable employment skills.

This module examines Egypt and the Near East during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1200 BCE) as part of the world’s earliest well-documented international system. Students are introduced to the key events and political actors of this period, as well as the critical analysis of relevant primary sources. Key issues in International Relations theory are introduced through their application to the Late Bronze Age.

This module considers the history and culture of Egypt in the Graeco-Roman Period (323BC-AD600). Its focus is the longue durée, how Egyptian culture responded to control by outside powers, how these approached the particular and peculiar culture they found. Looking at the papyrological evidence preserved in a range of languages (Demotic, Greek, Latin, and Coptic), it offers a bottom-view of a multi-cultural society.

This module aims to examine the age of the Emperor Justinian, a fascinating period which is particularly well attested through a number of different sources. It will shed light on features such as the life of a Late Classical court, diplomatic relations between great powers, religious conflict and change, and trace the processes that changed the ancient world of late antiquity in the 6th century AD, which is a period of transition and change, in which the beginning of the Medieval Mediterranean took shape.

No aspect of ancient religions has evoked greater interest than that of mystery cults. Students of Greek and Roman religious ideas and practices have scrutinized textual and archaeological materials in an attempt to fathom the secrets of these cults. This module surveys the evidence for some of the most renowned mystery cults of Greece and Rome including the Eleusinian and Dionysiac Mysteries, the mysteries of Samothrace and Mithras. The module adopts a historical framework for analysing ancient religious practices in order to understand how these traditions changed and/ or got re-interpreted over time. The material covered in the course (some of it less well-known) will include ancient literary texts, inscriptions, and artefacts.

This module offers continued progress in the Latin language, and the opportunity to read a selection from Pliny’s Letters, which give vivid insight into elite society and culture during the early empire.

Reading through a Latin text from Republican/Augustan period.

This module consolidates knowledge of grammar and syntax from CLAH424 and seeks at an advanced level to enhance comprehension, competence and confidence in reading Latin at an advanced level. Students will strengthen and extend their knowledge of the shape and structure of Latin by fluent reading ancient texts and enable students to exploit their understanding through independent use of lexicons, grammar books, and commentaries.
Students will conduct independent research using Latin texts, involving not only the translation of passages from Latin, but also the study of a book of post-Augustan epic poetry. The module will introduce Latin textual criticism, allowing students to engage with the processes which contribute to the editing of Latin texts.

During this module, students expand their competence and confidence in ancient Greek language by reading extended segments from a range of texts, for example, epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, historiography, lawcourt oratory, and philosophy, with the help of vocabulary (using the JACT Greek Anthology). There is an opportunity to revise and consolidate knowledge of grammar and syntax through dedicated grammar workshops, and training is provided in the use of resources for language learning, especially the Greek-English lexicon. This module builds on CLAH 501 to CLAH504 and A-level study of ancient Greek.

The popular image of the landscape of ancient Egypt is one filled with impressive stones monuments such as royal pyramids, colossal statues, and massive stone temples.
The amount of effort put into creating temples in which the gods lived and tombs in which the dead lived for eternity is one of the most remarkable features of ancient Egyptian culture. But what about the places where ordinary Egyptians lived? Because of their geography (in the flood plain of the Nile rather than on the desert) and the materials used to build them (mud-brick rather than stone) the houses, palaces, towns and cities of ancient Egypt are much less easy to find and to study. However, good sources of evidence do exist which can help us understand the built environment inhabited by the Egyptians, from the villages which housed the workers on the royal tomb projects to the ‘lost’ cities of ancient Egypt which were some of the largest in the ancient world, but which are only now beginning to be properly understood by modern archaeologists.

Charlemagne’s coronation as ‘Roman Emperor’ on 25 December 800 established a new political norm in Europe that would last for over a thousand years. One of his flattering courtiers described him as ‘Father of Europe’; in his reign, for the first time ‘Europe’ was identified with lands under Christian rulership. Even today, a prize in his name rewards those who have done the most ‘in the service of European unification’ since Charlemagne (not counting Napoleon and Hitler). Myths about him abound. But what was the reality? Was he an autocrat? What were his ideals and goals, and how far, in the context of early medieval reality, was it possible for him to meet them?    

This module will introduce students to the broader context of professional practice in the fields of heritage and archaeology in our contemporary society. Specifically, this module seeks to enhance students’ skills in identifying points of contention or interest between different sections of the community in relation to a series of key themes. The module will also enable students to think clearly through the potential ramifications of following particular courses of action related to the management of heritage assets – including archaeological remains, standing buildings and monuments, and landscapes both human and natural. These themes include the ownership of heritage assets, access to heritage assets, the presentation of heritage assets, issues of sustainability and the development of assets and, lastly, claims to authority over such assets by archaeological and heritage professionals. Teaching methods and assessment will concentrate on helping students to identifying potential conflicts of interest in the study and management of heritage, exploring the political and ethical nature of these conflicts of interest and presenting a specific case for action or resolution. The module will require students to become familiar with the detail of a series of current case studies.

The study of the frontiers of the Roman empire represents one of the oldest branches of European archaeology. Their study has traditionally complimented explanations of Roman history and therefore the foreign policies of the various imperial dynasties. The discipline of Roman Frontiers Studies has, however, tended to be subservient to an interpretative framework derived from historical sources. Today the archaeology of the subject is now sufficiently self-confident to stand independent scrutiny. In turn more recent scholarship on the subject of the frontiers of the empire have focused on them as zones and regions rather than simply as linear barriers. This fresh outlook has, in turn, occasioned a greater awareness of the evidence of life, military and non-military, in frontier situations.

This module looks at dramatic texts from the ancient world (Greek and Latin). It aims to get you thinking about how these texts were performed, and how they are – or might be – performed now. Consequently, it will ask you to review a performance; to perform something yourself; and to use the tools of modern scholarship to write an essay about ancient tragedy and/or comedy. These texts are some of the most seminal of the ancient world: Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Antigone, Aeschylus’ Oresteia, and Euripides’ Medea are some of the richest texts the ancient world has handed down to us; Aristophanes and Menander provide the basis for modern political comedy and domestic drama (including modern sitcom).

The module addresses the methods and practices of literary criticism in Greco-Roman antiquity. From the embedded ideas about poetry in the Homeric epic to the scholia and pedagogical treatises, the module explores Greek and Roman reflection on literature, as well as examines the validity of such reflection.

The module introduces the students to the history, society, and religion of ‘Syria’ from the conquest of Alexander the Great to the fourth century AD. It explores the issue of individual and shared identities and their formation in the Levant under Ptolemaic, Seleucid, and Roman rule (‘Hellenisation’).

The Greek and Latin-speaking Mediterranean cultures of Classical antiquity were among the first societies that consumed prodigal amounts of natural commodities and manufactured items. ‘Luxury’ is a word of Latin origin and many concepts about luxuries and about the values we associate with exceptional quality are derived from these historical communities. This module explores how these societies thought about luxuries and commodities; how we can evaluate such consumption, from different kinds of material and literary evidence; and how far their ideas about luxuries resemble and differ from our own.

How does our knowledge of the past help us understand the present and shape the future? This module aims at answering this crucial question by bringing together your interdisciplinary perspectives and the staff specialisations.
We will discuss some of the major societal questions that we face globally today, and reflect upon the relevance of knowledge about the past from comparative perspectives for wider debates about the present and future of humanity. The module will prepare you for life after graduation by providing you with transferable skills (including digital fluency, communication skills, critical thinking, teamwork, and increased cultural understanding) that are highly valued by employers across sectors. This module is taught through a series of workshops (mixed format presentations by staff, class discussion, group and individual work).

This module offers continued progress in the Latin language, and the opportunity to read Virgil’s Eclogues, from the flowering of Latin literature. The set text is a quintessential work of bucolic poetry written during the period of political uncertainty preceding the principate of Augustus, and looks back to the Idylls of Theocritus, and forward to the later European tradition of pastoral.

Reading a book of post-Augustan Latin literature to improve students’ knowledge of Latin language and literature.

Reading a book of post-Augustan Latin literature, in order to improve students’ knowledge of Latin language and literature.

During this module, students improve their competence and confidence in ancient Greek language by reading passages from a broad variety of texts written during the Archaic to Roman periods (using the Loeb Classical Reader). There is an opportunity to revise and consolidate knowledge of grammar and syntax through dedicated grammar workshops, and special training is provided in the skills and techniques of translation.

This module examines the archaeology of the southern Levant in the Iron Age as the context within which the Hebrew Bible took shape.  Lectures, readings and seminars address current issues of debate within the field, as well as emerging methodologies and recent evidence.

The module covers the Iron Age in Europe from 800 BC-AD 70. We will focus on Celts in the texts, prehistoric houses/settlement and agriculture, ritual deposition, mortuary traditions (e.g. chariot burials, bog bodies), and social change. With a focus on Britain, we will also look at the continental material (Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain), on the development of the field, and the themes of settlement, traditions of artefact deposition, land use, burial traditions, and understanding society.

Students have the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills acquired through the detailed examination and criticism of specific sources. Specific themes for the module include but are not limited to:

Use of primary evidence: documents, literature, and also archaeology, pictures;
Deir el Medina as a model village community, farming communities;
Social structures: kings, hierarchies, meritocracy and hereditary official classes, class structures, patronage and individuality, slavery;
Women, family and kinship;
childhood and old age;
Markets, money, wealth and inheritance;
Education, in practice and as acculturation of the scribal class in function and morality;
Law, conflict resolution, interpersonal problems.

This module investigates the nature of the society of third millennium southern Mesopotamia, the first urban society.

This is the first substantive module in the UK to examine the rhetoric of British political parties at Undergraduate level. It roots its theories and methods in the classical schools of rhetorical analysis, alongside developing a more contemporary understanding of discourse analysis. This module will enable students to think critically about the political message, how it is constructed, and delivered to a range of audiences.