Ancient Sources in Context

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Understand the interplay between historical sources and interpretations of them
• Express familiarity with and interpret critically a variety of primary sources from the ancient world
• Understand how major interpretations of ancient sources develop and change
• Identify and evaluate different historical interpretations of the ancient world
• Evaluate critically the methodological approaches used by scholars working on the ancient world

Knowledge and Understanding

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

• Different academic approaches to analysis of primary sources from the ancient world
• The latest research on the specific primary sources under consideration including application of digital technologies to dissemination and study
• Historical problems and questions raised by different types of primary sources from diverse contexts within the ancient world
• Key literary, visual and material sources that provide evidence for Greek, Roman and Byzantine history

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Organise and structure material to write and present confidently
• Use a range of perspectives in problem-solving
• Critically analyse a diverse range of source material

This module does not focus on one period or region within the ancient world, but emphasises and encourages exploration of the range and types of evidence available to ancient historians, how we can use them to learn about particular historical contexts, and responses to and representations of the ancient world within them. Each lecture and seminar will be dedicated to a specific source or type of source. These will vary each year depending on staff availability, but would be selected from topics such as:

• Herodotus, 484-425 BCE, The Histories
• Thucydides, 460-395 BCE, History of the Peloponnesian War
• Xenophon, 430-354 BCE, Hellenica
• Plato, 428 – 347 BCE
• Aristotle, 384 – 322 BCE
• Polybius, 200-118 BCE, The Histories
• Livy, 64 BCE – 17 CE, History of Rome
• The Dead Sea Scrolls
• Josephus, 37-100 CE, Antiquities
• The Bible
• Plutarch, 46-120 CE, Parallel Lives and

Lives of Roman Emperors

• Tacitus, 56-117 CE, Annals and Histories
• Suetonius, 69-122 CE, Lives of the Caesars
• Appian, 95-165 CE, Roman History
• Eusebius, 260-340 CE, Ecclesiastical History
• Ammianus Marcellinus, 325-392 CE, History
• Procopius, 500-560 CE, The Wars of Justinian, and Secret History
• Buildings and Monuments
• Inscriptions
• Coins
• Art/Images
• Archaeological sites
• Legal codes

Teaching methods include:

• One-hour lectures. The lectures will have two main aims: to introduce you to some of the most important and influential sources that define and help to understand the ancient world; and to develop your analytical skills in approaching such sources. The lectures will also provide an introduction and method 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, accompanied by discussion of the implications of these documents and how they connect with the principal historiography and wider perceptions of the context in question. 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

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

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.