BA History and German / Course details

The Pharaonic civilisation flourished in the Nile Valley for well over three-thousand years leaving behind significant archaeological, textual and iconographic evidence. This course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt from the Neolithic and the formation of the Egyptian state at the end of the Predynastic through to the arrival of Alexander the Great and the incorporation of Egypt into the Hellenistic World. Alongside the historical overview, students will also study aspects of Pharaonic culture such as royal iconography, mortuary and sacred landscapes as well as modern reception of the Egyptian civilisation in a series of seminars built around specific textual sources or scholarly articles providing a starting point for discussion and debate. The unit will be taught and assessed in English.

• to introduce students to the historical development of the Pharaonic civilisation.
• to encourage the development of a critical approach to textual source material.
• to encourage the development of a critical approach to archaeological data.
• to develop the ability to formulate and debate different scholarly viewpoints.
• to discuss the development of the field of Egyptology and pre-modern exploration of Ancient Egyptian culture.

• to understand the range and quality of textual, archaeological and iconographic sources used in the study of ancient Egypt.
• to demonstrate knowledge of the ways in which other cultures in the eastern Mediterranean influenced and interacted with the Pharaonic state.
• to understand how the development of a centralised state in Ancient Egypt compares and contrasts to state formation in other ancient societies.

• to be able to construct an academic argument in written and oral form.
• to conduct independent research.
• to demonstrate an awareness of the usefulness and limitations of various types of historical source material.

• to handle ancient artefacts in a controlled museum setting.
• to engage critically and respectfully in written and oral debate.
• to effectively and independently manage time.

• to discuss problems and questions in a group setting.
• to conduct independent research.
• to construct and present a clear, reasoned argument in written form.

Museum Artefact Study - 35%

• Davies, W. V. (ed.) 1991. Egypt and Africa: Nubia from Prehistory to Islam. British Museum Press: London.
• Dodson, A. and D. Hilton. 2004. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson: London
• Grajetzki, W. 2006. The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: History, Archaeology and Society. Duckworth: London.
• Hornung, E. 1999. History of Ancient Egypt: An Introduction. Cornell University Press: Ithaca.
• Kemp, B. J. 1989. Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilisation. Routledge: London
• Shaw, I (ed). 2003. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press: Oxford.
• Trigger, B. G. 1983. Ancient Egypt: A Social History. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.