AN1004 Cities and communities in the ancient Mediterranean

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

20

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 7

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Planned timetable

To be confirmed

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module Staff

Team Taught

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

In 1000 BCE, the Mediterranean and Near East were barely urbanized; in the centuries that followed, a dense network of interconnected cities spanning the region developed. This module explores this transformation by examining changing physical as well as social relations between people, as well as between people and their environments. We will study the rise and fall of the ancient city, including its ecology and domestic politics, and modern debates over ancient urbanism. What existed before cities? Why do cities appear and why do they decline? How do cities relate to the natural world? Is urbanism necessarily linked to inequality? How do cities change when they are integrated into imperial systems? We will explore these questions through a variety of case studies, from tiny trading outposts to megacities like Rome and Alexandria, and a range of types of evidence, such as written histories, inscribed law codes, and the physical remains of the cities themselves.

Assessment pattern

100% Coursework

Re-assessment

100% Coursework (revising and resubmitting failed items only)

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

3 lectures (x 11 weeks), 7 tutorials/workshops across the semester

Scheduled learning hours

40

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

165

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Explain the role of urban communities in early history
  • Explore the relationship between humans and their environment
  • Assess the relationship between the concentration of power, inequality, and urbanisation
  • Critically analyse historiography on ancient societies
  • Integrate varied types of primary evidence