Crowns and Concubines: Court Society in the Ancient World (VS1) (U03596)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : HCA-3-VS1-CROWN

This course traces the common trends in court cultures across several successive ancient civilisations: the Near Eastern and Hellenistic worlds. The course aims to demonstrate the centrality of palace institutions in the cultural and political milieu of these ancient empires, and will re-establish the importance of studying court and society in contemporary historical studies. Cross cultural comparisons with the court cultures of Qing China, Moghul India, the Ottoman Empire, and C17th France will also form a backdrop to students' understanding of ancient court life.
Themes for exploration will include:
Palace architecture (public & private space, the inner court, architecture and ceremony, temporary spaces tents and pavilions);
Images of power (portraits, coinage, art);
Courtiers (viziers, king's relatives, foreign dignitaries & ambassadors, princes, eunuchs and the 'inner court');
Ceremony and ritual (audiences, gift-giving, birth-death-marriage rituals, executions, tribute);
Protection (warfare, the military elite, bodyguards, tasters, poison, death);
Religion (monarchic cult, court cults, ancestor worship, sacrifice, burial rites and rituals);
Spectacle, pastimes and entertainment (hunting, boating, feasting, theatricals, dancing);
Harem (polygamy, queen mothers, royal wives, concubines, courtesans, female power at court);
Bureaucracy (scribes, administrators, rations, workers, servants, slaves, edicts);
Succession (designated heirs, rivalries at court, coups).

Entry Requirements

? This course is only available to part year visiting students.

? This course is a variant of the following course : U03595

? Pre-requisites : Experience in Ancient History at the discretion of the Course Organiser

? Special Arrangements for Entry : This course is only for visiting students in Edinburgh during the 1st Semester but NOT the 2nd Semester. In order for a student to be enrolled, contact must be made with a Course Secretary on 50 3580 in order for approval to be obtained.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Ancient History, (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
21/09/2007	11:00	13:00	Room G.02, William Robertson Building	Central	This course is only for visiting students in Edinburgh during the 1st Semester but NOT the 2nd Semester. In order for a student to be enrolled, contact must be made with a Course Secretary on 50 3580

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Friday	11:10	13:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the student will be able, through written examination, coursework and seminar participation (demonstrated through the keeping of a course logbook), to show:

- an understanding of the varied complexity of the large body of evidence for ancient court life
- an understanding of the history of court society and its importance for the political, social and cultural historian
-an understanding of political and social structures of the court and their interrelatedness with the source materials under investigation
- an ability to use critically a variety of different methodologies and approaches to this body of material
-a familiarity with real artefacts in a museum context
- bibliographical research skills to enable students to find independently additional information relating to the study of court society in the ancient world

Students will also demonstrate the following transferable skills:

- written skills and oral communication skills
- presentation skills
- analytical skills
- ability to recognise and focus on important aspects of a wide-ranging subject and to select specific examples
- ability to produce a concise summary