Undergraduate Course: Pompeii: a Roman town and its modern reception (ANHI10059)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Ancient History |
Other subject area | Classical Art/Classical Archaeology |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Pompeii, a Roman town destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, has played a major part in the way we relate to the ancient world. From its rediscovery in the eighteenth century, Pompeii has prompted archaeologists, artists, writers and tourists to recover and re-imagine Roman life. The course will examine how evidence from Pompeii contributes to current academic understandings of Roman art, architecture, religious, economic and social life, and question how and why the town and its inhabitants are imaginatively reconstructed in paintings, novels and films up to this day. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting Students should usually have at least 3 History/Classics courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students who complete the course successfully will have demonstrated in written coursework, a written degree examination and class room discussion knowledge and understanding of:
i. a variety of important evidence for the study of Pompeii
ii. the different types of questions asked by archaeologists and historians of the evidence
iii. the different problems that different bodies of evidence pose for the study of Pompeii
iv. the different later 'uses' of Pompeii
v. the importance of Pompeii for our understanding of the ancient, esp. Roman world
vi. the importance of Pompeii for our understanding of ancient urban culture
vii. the differences between ancient (Roman) cities and other, also modern towns
viii.the relationship between town and countryside
ix. the wealth of different aspects of ancient life (e.g. religion, economy, politics, etc) that the study of Pompeii affords
x. the importance of wide-reaching reading, as well as independent and original thought to come to terms with the study of Pompeii and ancient urbanism
In similar fashion, they will demonstrate skill and expertise in:
xii. dealing independently with a wide-ranging body of information pertaining to the study of Pompeii, digest, structure and comment on this information;
xiii. 'thinking on their feet' about ancient urbanism, i.e. to make fast and spontaneous connections between both familiar ('seen') and unfamiliar ('unseen') source material (archaeological, epigraphic and textual) pertaining to the study of ancient towns;
xiv. 'intellectual problem solving' within the given field of study, i.e. the production of answers to questions that demand independent soliciting and 'discovery' of source materials and secondary reading pertaining to the study of Pompeii and ancient urbanism;
xv. maintaining complex information about ancient towns over a sustained period of time and to access this information as and when necessary;
xvi. accessing, understanding, and employing the standard conventions in the field, from publisher's conventions (e.g. bibliographical styles, referencing systems, text displays, etc.) to scholarly conventions in the study of evidence pertaining to Pompeii and other ancient towns (e.g. epigraphic abbreviations, legal and literary referencing, etc.)
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Assessment Information
60% degree examination (2 hours)
40% coursework (c. 3,000 words)
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Special Arrangements
| If non-Classics students are to be enrolled on this course, contact must be made with a Classics secretary (50 3580 or 50 3582) for confirmation if this is appropriate. |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
A model of the teaching schedule looks as follows:
W1: Pompeii: Destruction and Rediscovery
W2: Pompeii: History of Excavations
W3: Pompeii: City Layout and Structure
W4: Pompeii: Before the Romans
W5: Pompeii: Domestic Art and Architecture
W6: Pompeii: Economy
W7: Pompeii: Religion
W8: Pompeii: Social Life
W9: Modern Reception: 18th to 21st century depictions in art and literature
W10 Modern Reception: Harris' Pompeii
W11: Modern Reception: The future of Pompeii
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| Transferable skills |
In addition to the ILOs described above, students will also demonstrate a number of transferable skills, such as
* reading skills of a high volume (i.e. the digestion of large quantities of textual material)
* general analytical skills
* written and verbal communication skills
* oral presentation and discussion skills
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| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Pompeii |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Elizabeth Munro
Tel: (0131 6)50 4614
Email: B.Munro@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Elaine Hutchison
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: E.Hutchison@ed.ac.uk |
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