THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2023/2024

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of History, Classics and Archaeology : Ancient History

Undergraduate Course: Ancient History 2a: Past and Present in the Ancient World (ANHI08014)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of History, Classics and Archaeology CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe course is an introduction to the study of ancient historiography, itself a crucial element of the study of history, past and present. I.e. the course encourages students to analyse a good number of ancient historians and histories, especially the key figures and key texts in the development of the practice we call history, including Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Polybius, Livy, Cassius Dio, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus, and others. The selection of authors to be studied in any one year depends on the research expertise of staff teaching the course so as to allow maximum scope for cutting-edge teaching based on new research undertaken by staff at Edinburgh.
Course description The course offers focussed study of key ancient historians in lectures and tutorials, covering both Greek and Roman historians, and a period that stretches roughly one millennium.

A typical class schedule may look like this:
W1 Herodotus
W2 Thucydides
W3 Xenophon
W4 Alexander historians
W5 Polybius
W6 Diodorus Siculus
W7 Livy
W8 Tacitus and Suetonius
W9 Suetonius
W10 Cassius Dio
W11 Eusebius

Students should thus gain a sound understanding of the creation and evolution of the writing of history, and in particular a clear understanding of the beginnings of the practice of history writing - and thus of the foundations of the modern practice.
In studying important historical writings and their authors, students will explore the concept of 'history' in comparing different ancient and modern approaches to this concept. Students will thus be challenged to consider and reconsider their own and others' assumptions of what history is and how history is (to be) written.
In sum: whilst the past remains unchanged, history is always changing, and this course is concerned to examine how the past and present have been continuously interpreted and reinterpreted in antiquity through the exercise that we call history. It explores the sources and methods by which history is constructed in antiquity, looking at the roles different types of evidence can play, as well as how different historians aim to change the history of a particular geography, period or topic.
This course builds upon the first year survey courses in Classics with the intention to deepen students' understanding of ancient history as well as their understanding of how history is written.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: The Greek World 1A: Greece in the Making (CLGE08001) OR The Greek World 1B: Greece's New Horizons (CLGE08002) OR The Roman World 1A: The Rise of Rome (CLGE08003) OR The Roman World 1B: The Roman Empire (CLGE08004)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students must have at least 1 introductory level Ancient History course at grade B or above for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2023/24, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  100
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 22, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 8, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 164 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 60 %, Coursework 40 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Coursework:
2,500 word Essay (40%)

Exam:
Two-hour degree examination (60%)
Feedback Students will receive written feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the tutor/Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. demonstrate understanding and knowledge of a variety of key ancient histories and historians
  2. demonstrate understanding and knowledge of the different forms in which history was written and the different themes and topics chosen by ancient historians
  3. demonstrate understanding and knowledge of the different historical contexts in which the chosen histories have been written
  4. demonstrate understanding and knowledge of the ways in which different ancient cultures viewed the past
  5. demonstrate understanding and knowledge of the relationship/s between the historian and his subject matter, theme, and aim
Reading List
Cameron A., History as Text: The Writing of Ancient History (1989)
Chaplin J.D., Livy's Exemplary History (2000)
Finley, M.I. The Greek Historians: the Essence of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon and Polybius (1959)
Fornara, C. W., The Nature of History in Ancient Greece and Rome (1983)
Hornblower, S. (ed.), Greek Historiography (1994)
Kraus C.S., Latin Historians (1997)
Levick, B. (ed.), The Ancient Historian and his Materials (1975)
Luce, T.J., The Greek Historians (1997)
Marincola, J. (ed), A Companion to Greek and Roman Historiography (2007)
Marincola, J., Greek Historians (2001)
Morley N., Writing Ancient History (1999)
Potter D.S., Literary Texts and the Roman Historian (1999)
Sacks K., Polybius on the Writing of History (1981)
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsAnc Hist 2A
Contacts
Course organiserDr Kimberley Czajkowski
Tel: (0131 6)50 9110
Email:
Course secretaryMr George Bottrell-Campbell
Tel: (0131 6)50 8349
Email:
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information