Course unit details:
Climate and Environment in the Ancient World: Integrating written and geoarchaeological evidence
| Unit code | CAHE60052 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 15 |
| Unit level | FHEQ level 7 – master's degree or fourth year of an integrated master's degree |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
Environment and, now, climate are increasingly being recognized as key factors in the history of the Roman world. This has necessitated an integration of history, archaeology and science. Strong claims for the importance of climate in environment in Roman history have been made (e.g. Harper 2017) and also rejected (e.g. Haldon et al. 2018). There is a great need to both sides to be able to understand each other, and to critique each other’s claims. This course unit will help to prepare a new generation of integrative historians/archaeologists/scientists, workers and citizens by developing the tools and confidence to engage with other disciplines to understand the ancient world. The scope will cover the areas around the Mediterranean (including North Africa, Europe and the Middle East) from the Mycenaean period to 1000 CE.
Aims
- Integrate humanities and scientific knowledge to answer a question about the ancient world
- Learn to find, interpret and critique relevant research
- Learn to present material in a concise way
- Practise writing in a concise and clear way to a diverse audience from multiple disciplines
Teaching and learning methods
This course unit will have a strong student-led component, where students and their research topics will set the agenda for many classes. In one sense, it will be a flipped and iterative classroom: students will receive guidance and instruction in class to access information required outside of class, and then bring their questions and problems to class to gain the benefit of the expertise of teaching staff and of their peers.
Assessment methods
| Method | Weight |
|---|---|
| Written assignment (inc essay) | 100% |
Feedback methods
| Feedback Methods | Formative or Summative |
| Oral feedback | Formative. Oral feedback will be provided during seminars and field trip, as well as during dedicated office hours. This oral feedback will be related to written work submitted and oral contributions made during the course (including the Pecha Kucha presentation), as well as drafts of sections of the article should students request it. |
| Written feedback | Formative and Summative. Written feedback will be provided on the Pecha Kucha Presentations and the final summative article assignment. This feedback will include advice to prepare the article for submission to the particular academic journal |
| Peer feedback | In one seminar students will practice critiquing the arguments of others by reviewing one of their peer’s drafts of their final assessment. This will also provide useful feedback to that peer. |
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Project supervision | 3 |
| Seminars | 14 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Duncan Keenan-Jones | Unit coordinator |