Undergraduate Course: The City in the Late Antique Mediterranean World (CACA10042)

Course Outline
School	School of History, Classics and Archaeology	College	College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate)	Availability	Available to all students
SCQF Credits	20	ECTS Credits	10
Summary	This course uses texts and material culture to examine how people lived in, thought about and interacted with urban spaces and how these practices changed through time.
Course description	How did the cities in the Mediterranean world develop from the fourth to the eighth century? How did the arrival of Christianity and Islam influence the built environments and how did the urban populations engage with the monuments of the pasts? This course uses texts and material culture (art, architecture and objects) to examine how people lived in, thought about and interacted with the urban space. We begin with a critical examination of the models that scholars have used to explore the process of urban change. The course adopts a thematic approach by addressing the organisation of physical space, examining the fabric of the late antique city, and exploring social and religious practices in the urban environment. Towards the end of the course, we return to the present to explore how archaeological practices and heritage management influences our view of the late antique city.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites	It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed Roman Art and Archaeology (CACA08011)	Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	Students must have progressed to Honours.

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics, History or Archaeology (at least 1 of which should be in Classical Art and Archaeology) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course
High Demand Course?	Yes

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)		Quota: 15
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 172 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 60 %, Coursework 40 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Coursework: 3,000 word essay (40%) Exam: 2 hour paper (60%)
Feedback	Students will receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours for this course or by appointment.
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)			2:00

Academic year 2019/20, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)		Quota: 4
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 172 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 60 %, Coursework 40 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	Coursework: 3,000 word essay (40%) Exam: 2 hour paper (60%)
Feedback	Students will receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours for this course 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: demonstrate, in seminar discussion and coursework, an ability to critically engage with archaeological publications; demonstrate, in seminar discussion and coursework, an ability to analyse the development of cities using different strands of material culture; demonstrate, in seminar discussion and coursework, the ability to summarise the main interpretative models that have dominated the study of cities and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses; demonstrate, in class discussion and coursework, a sound knowledge of the material culture of cities in the Mediterranean world from the fourth to the eighth century; demonstrate, in class discussion and coursework, bibliographical research skills and to be able to independently find additional information on topics related to the archaeology of late antique cities.

Reading List
Avni, G. 2014. The Byzantine-Islamic transition in Palestine: an archaeological approach. Oxford. Ball, W. 2015. Rome in the East. London and New York. Bowden, W. and Lavan, L. (eds.) 2001. Recent research in late antique urbanism. Portsmouth. Christie, N. and Loseby, S.T. (eds.) 1996. Towns in transition: urban evolution in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Aldershot. Dey, H.W. 2015. The afterlife of the Roman city: architecture and ceremony in late antiquity and the early middle ages. New York. Jacobs, I. 2013. Aesthetic maintenance of civic space: the 'Classical' city from the 4th to the 7th c. AD. Leuven. Lavan, L., �zgenel, L. and Sarantis, A.C. 2007. Housing in late antiquity: from palaces to shops. Leiden. Leone, A. 2013. The end of the pagan city: religion, economy, and urbanism in late antique North Africa. Oxford. Smith, R.R.R. and Ward-Perkins, B. (eds.) 2016. The last statues of Antiquity. Oxford. Yeg�l, F.K. 1992. Baths and bathing in classical antiquity. New York. Weiss, Z. 2014. Public spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Palestine. Cambridge.

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills	Not entered
Keywords	Not entered

Contacts
Course organiser	Dr Louise Blanke Tel: (0131 6)50 2368 Email: louise.blanke@ed.ac.uk	Course secretary	Miss Rachel Ord Tel: (0131 6)50 3580 Email: rord@ed.ac.uk