BA Classics

This course unit surveys the last centuries of the Roman Empire as a united political entity ranging from Britain to the Euphrates. We will consider the political, social, cultural, intellectual and religious factors contributing to the Empire’s fragmentation, focusing on the period from the reign of Septimius Severus (AD 193-211) to Heraclius (AD 611-641).

This course unit aims to provide an awareness of the main political, social, intellectual and cultural developments of the last centuries of the Roman Empire, along with introduction to a significant selection of the primary sources on which our understanding of these events depends, and a number of key debates among modern scholars.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• show detailed knowledge of the period;
• examine and synthesise the evidence for late antiquity;
• conduct sustained individual inquiry into different aspects of the course;
• construct a cogent and persuasive idea of late antiquity.

By the end of this course students will have and be able to show:

• Awareness of the main political, social, cultural, and religious developments of the period from AD 193– 641;
• Understanding of the main developments through which the unified Roman Empire fragmented into rival kingdoms;
• Critical engagement with key theories and scholarly controversies regarding the fall of the Roman Empire;
• Familiarity with a range of types of ancient source material, and a developed critical awareness of the value and limitations of different kinds of ancient evidence.

•  Ability in close and critical reading of primary sources and secondary scholarship.
• Ability to formulate and refine sophisticated interpretative questions;
• Ability to write a clear and logical interpretative argument

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• construct an argument in written and oral form;
• pose questions about complex issues;
• assimilate and summarise large quantities of evidence;
• locate and retrieve relevant information from primary sources;
• conduct bibliographic searches;
• present results in a professional manner with appropriate reference to sources and modern published scholarship;
• use e-resources and gain knowledge of research methods and resources;
• manage time and resources;
• engage in critical discussion.
• evaluate sources and arguments for bias

• Written feedback on summative assessment (see above); all summative coursework feedback is designed to contribute formatively towards improvement in subsequent assignments. Students are encouraged to seek formative feedback ahead of the coursework assignment of the unit by discussing work plans and approaches during seminars (where appropriate) and in consultation hours. They are also invited to submit a practice essay for formative assessment.
   
• Additional one-to-one feedback (during the consultation hour or by making an appointment).
   

The course books for this unit are:

• Stephen Mitchell, A History of the Later Roman Empire, AD 284-641 (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007)
• Michael Maas (ed), Readings in Late Antiquity: A Source-Book (London: Routledge, 2000)

 Other, indicative reading:

• Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity: From Marcus Aurelius to Muhammad (London: Thames & Hudson, 1971)
• David S. Potter, The Roman Empire at Bay: AD 180-395 ( London: Routledge, 2004)