A Short History of the Ancient City

Module overview

Alexandria, Athens, Babylon, Cairo, Carthage, Jerusalem, Rome and Constantinople are just a few of the iconic cities of the ancient world and many still have a very strong presence in the modern world. This module will explore the impact of city life on the social, religious, political and cultural experience of the people who lived in these urban spaces in the ancient world. Covering a broad geographic and chronological spread, it will consider the distinctive nature of specific cities in particular times, while also exploring common themes that unite city dwellers, regardless of time and location.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

undertaking individual research with guidance
writing an analytical piece of work drawing on primary and secondary sources
reflecting on your learning across the module

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

exploring urban histories in an ancient history context
engaging with a range of primary sources e.g. archaeological sites, written material, visual sources
assessing scholarship on the ancient city

Knowledge and Understanding

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

The form of the ancient city
of life in the ancient city e.g. immigration, daily life
of how power operated in the ancient city e.g. religious, or financial power

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

One weekly lecture and one weekly seminar Individual tutorials on essays Optional field trip to a post-Roman city

Study time
Type	Hours
Independent Study	126
Lecture	12
Seminar	12
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

Journal Articles

M. I. Finley (1977). The Ancient City: from Fustel de Coulanges to Max Weber and beyond.. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 19(3), pp. 305-327.

Textbooks

P. Erdcamp (2013). The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Rome. Cambridge University Press.

C. Gates (2003). Ancient Cities: the Archaeology pf Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome. Routledge.

J. Rich (2002). The City in Late Antiquity. Routledge.

A. Zuiderhoek (2016). The Ancient City. Cambridge University Press.

Mary Beard (2010). Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town. Profile Books.

Assessment

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Learning journal

Assessment Type: Formative
Feedback: By email or individual consultations
Final Assessment: No
Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	60%
Learning journal	40%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Assignment	100%

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.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	60%
Learning journal	40%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External