Course Description
Topics in ancient history that vary by year and instructor. Subject matter may include, for example, "The Hellenistic World"; "The Social History of the Roman Empire"; "Late Antiquity."
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Additional research, projects and/or writing are required for graduate level credit.
Athena Title
Studies in Ancient History
Prerequisite
Junior or senior standing
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about selected topics in antiquity by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how select topics in the history of antiquity shaped social and cultural identities and attitudes in diverse regions of the ancient world, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to generate their own research question or topic, locate suitable primary and secondary sources, and synthesize their ideas in novel ways.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to initiate, manage, complete, and evaluate their independent research projects in stages and to give and receive constructive feedback through the peer review process.
Topical Outline
- Topics will vary and may include Society and Culture in Late Antiquity, the Roman Economy, Hellenistic and Roman Egypt, Slavery in Antiquity, or Ancient Historiography.
- Geographical background
- Cultural background (native Egyptian culture before the Ptolemies)
- Political history (the Ptolemic Dynast, the Roman Conquest)
- Administration
- Taxes
- Literacy, education, and writing
- Women in Greco-Roman Egypt
- Farming and village society
- The army and its interactions with the civilian population
- Medical science in Alexandria
- Jewish culture in Alexandria
- Religion
