Course syllabus

 

ANCHIST 749 A/B: Themes and Issues in Ancient Culture

SEMESTER 1 and 2,  2018

30 points (A/B combined)

 

Section One: Warfare and Greek Society in the Early Greek World

Section One Lecturer

Professor Matthew Trundle

Office Location: Room 812 in ARTS 1 (Humanities)

Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday (or by appointment)

Email: m.trundle@auckland.ac.nz

Telephone: (09) 9237427

Section Two:  Power and Justice in the Early Greek World

Section Two Lecturer

Dr Dougal Blyth

Office Location: Room 820 in ARTS 1 (Humanities)

Office Hours: Tuesday 2 pm, Thursday 11 am, 2 pm (or by appointment)

Email: dougal.blyth@auckland.ac.nz

Telephone: (09) 9237421 (but e-mail is better)

Course delivery format:

2 hour seminar weekly (nine weeks in each semester)

(Timetable and room details can be viewed on Student Services Online)

Summary of Course Description:              

This Honours seminar course explores the Greek world of the Archaic and very early Classical period.  It divides into two nine week sections over the academic year. The first section (749A, Semester 1, Wks 1-9), led by Matthew Trundle, explores Warfare and Greek Society in the Archaic Age covering a period from about 800 – 431 BCE. The second section (749B, Semester 2, Wks 1-9), taught by Dougal Blyth, on Power and Justice during the same period, is a study of archaic Greek moral, judicial and political ideas and practices from the evidence of early poetry (including, in particular, Homer, Hesiod, Solon and Aeschylus) and other historical sources.

Students are required to present one seminar in one section of the course and write one essay for each section in this course. The seminar will provide the basis for one of the essays and the grade for this will be worth more accordingly than the other essay. Specific topics and materials will come from negotiation with the lecturer. Students are also required to come to each seminar prepared through prior readings to discuss the topic with the lecturer and their fellow students.

Course outcomes:

Students will learn to interpret ancient evidence including literary texts and evaluate modern scholarship and its analysis. They will conduct independent research for the essay using primary evidence and secondary sources. They will learn presentation skills through seminar delivery. They will learn to analyze and reflect upon ancient texts and general questions in preparing for the two course tests, and through direct engagement with the ancient sources and literary works.  They will also learn how to overcome biased and partisan source material, and how to use literary evidence appropriately and critically, for a clearer understanding of the past, and develop an appreciation of the way that interconnected ideas and concepts influence and affect one another, how historical processes effect society and learn how to explain these ideas and processes coherently in an academic manner.

Assessment Summary:

One seminar plus one 3000-word essay in either section one or two (30%);

One 2000 word essay on a topic from the other section (20%);

Two 1.5 hour tests, in the final undergrad. teaching week (Wk 12) of each semester (25% each).

Weekly Topics:

See under Modules, for each Section of the course.

Prescribed Texts:

See under Modules, for each Section of the course .

 Recommended Texts:

See under Modules, for each Section of the course.

Workload and deadlines for submission of coursework:           

The University of Auckland's expectation is that at graduate level students spend at least 10 hours per week on a course, including time in class and personal study. Students should manage their academic workload and other commitments accordingly. Deadlines for coursework are set by course convenors and will be advertised in course material. You should submit your work on time. In extreme circumstances, such as illness, you may seek an extension but you may be required to provide supporting information before the assignment is due. Late assignments without a pre-approved extension may be penalised by loss of marks – check course information for details.