Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Lecture | 20 x 1 Hour Lectures |
| Seminar | 5 x 2 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Essay 1 - 1 x 2,500 word essay | 25% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay 2 - 1 x 2,500 word essay | 25% |
| Semester Exam | 3 Hours (1 x 3 hour exam) | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 1 - 1 x 2,500 word supplementary (resit) essay | 25% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay 2 - 1 x 2,500 word supplementary (resit) essay | 25% |
| Supplementary Exam | 3 Hours 1 x 3 hour supplementary (resit) examination | 50% |
Brief description
Following the political, military and religious crises of the 3rd c., the Roman empire was teetering on the brink of extinction. It survived through political division, administrative reform, the adoption of Christianity, and the integration of non-Roman groups from beyond its frontiers. These developments resulted in an incredible period of religious and cultural change and integration. This module will chart the transition from Rome to the Middle Ages in western and eastern Europe, North Africa and the Near East across the period now know as Late Antiquity. While focusing principally on the West and East Roman empires, students will also examine developments within western European and North African Germanic successor kingdoms, the East Roman empire, and the Sasanian Persian empire in the Near East. They will draw upon contemporary textual sources, visual and material evidence to explore key issues such as the rise of Roman Christendom, the great barbarian migrations, the fall of the West Roman empire and the survival and prosperity of the East Roman empire.
Aims
To introduce students to topics which they may want to explore in more detail in future modules, dissertations and MA courses.
To provide students with a good understanding of the history of Late Antiquity from the late 4th to mid 7th c.
To develop students' familiarity with the relevant primary evidence and historiographical debates.
Content
1. The origins of Late Antiquity in modern historiography.
2. Tetrarchic emperors and Constantine the Great, A.D. 284-337.
3. The empire divides: the successors of Constantine and the last pagan emperor, A.D. 337-378.
4. Theodosius the Great and imperial civil wars, A.D. 379-95.
5. Barbarian invasions and the fall of the West Roman empire, A.D. 376-476.
6. Attila the Hun and the survival of the East, A.D. 408-518.
7. The Age of Justinian, A.D. 518-602.
8. Avaro-Slav invasions, the Lombard migration and Persian wars, A.D. 565-602.
9. Heraclius' Holy War and the Rise of Islam, A.D. 610-41.
10. Emperor, court and Late Roman political ideology.
11. Prefects, governors and imperial centralisation.
12. The decline of the Classical city.
13. War and warfare in Late Antiquity.
14. The rise of Roman Christendom.
15. Monasticism, holy men and religious syncretism.
16. Sasanian Persia: the other superpower of Late Antiquity.
17. From raiders to kings: barbarian migrations and early medieval state formation.
18. Conclusion.
SEMINARS
1. Ammianus, Procopius and late antique military history.
2. Romans and barbarians in textual and material sources.
3. Late Roman political ideology: Political treatises, legislative decrees and imperial panegyrics.
4. The Late Roman economy: textual evidence, settlements patterns and artefacts.
5. Bishops, holy men and philosophers: ecclesiastical histories, church council records and hagiographies.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | N/A |
| Communication | Seminar discussions and essay writing will enable students to develop oral and written skills. Only essay writing will be assessed. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Through essay feedback sessions and discussion of ideas presented during seminars. |
| Information Technology | Through the retrieval of primary and secondary works from online resources and AberLearn Blackboard and through the writing, formatting and printing of essays. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | By developing source analysis and inter-disciplinary, oral and written skills, the course will prepare students for further postgraduate research and potential careers in academia or history-related fields. |
| Problem solving | By using primary and secondary works to reach conclusions regarding the relationships between political, social and economic developments in different parts of the late antique world. |
| Research skills | Through acquiring the ability to identity and combine appropriate primary textual and material and visual evidence to back up arguments in written work. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Inter-disciplinary analysis of written, material and textual evidence. |
| Team work | Through seminar activities. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6