Undergraduate Course: Race and Ethnicity in the Roman World (CLGE10014)
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 explores the subject of race and ethnicity, focusing on the very real diversity of the Roman world. Students will explore detailed case-studies, using both textual and material evidence from across the Roman world, developing both historical and archaeological skills. We will consider how scholars have approached this topic and its continued resonance in public discourse today. |
| Course description |
The Roman empire at its peak ranged from Scotland to Mesopotamia, embracing three continents, and containing a plethora of different racial, ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. This course examines this diversity through the lens of a wide range of primary sources, both textual and material. Topics covered may include: foreigners at Rome and contemporary attitudes to them, as well as how they presented themselves; the Jewish diaspora; formal representations of provinces and their peoples in imperial visual culture; images of captives and slaves; ethnographical accounts, such as those of Caesar and Tacitus on northern peoples (Gauls, Britons and Germans); Africans in Roman literature, including the writings of the African authors Apuleius and Augustine; new approaches to the archaeology of ethnicity, including the contribution of bioarchaeology. This course will equip students critically to evaluate scholarship in the field as well as to contribute meaningfully to wider debates on a subject of real contemporary relevance.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students should have received at least 20 credits in either Ancient History 2A, Ancient History 2B or Roman Art and Archaeology. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics (at least 1 of which should be in either Ancient History or Classical 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
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 25 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
3000 word essay (50%)
3000 word source portfolio (50%)
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| Feedback |
Students are expected to discuss their coursework with the Course Organiser at least once prior to submission, and are encouraged to do so more often. Meetings can take place with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment. Students will also receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Analyse a range of sources, both material and textual, relevant to the study of race and ethnicity, and engage in detailed discussion of their significance.
- Demonstrate an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship and debates about race and ethnicity in the Roman world.
- Engage with scholarly, arguments, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence in response.
- Consider the implications of the knowledge gained in the course for understanding the subjects raised in this course and their wider resonance.
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Reading List
Bindman, D., Blier, S. P. and Gates, H.L. (eds.) 2010 The Image of the Black in Western Art. Volume 1. New edition. Cambridge, MA.
Gruen, E.S. 2010 Rethinking the Other in Antiquity. Princeton, NJ.
Gruen, E.S. (ed.) 2011 Cultural Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean. Malibu, CA.
Isaac, B. 2004 The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity. Princeton, NJ, and Oxford.
Kennedy, R.F, Sydnor Roy, C., Goldman, M. 2013 Race and Ethnicity in the Classical World: An Anthology of Primary Source in Translation. Cambridge.
McCoskey, D. E. 2012 Race: Antiquity and its Legacy. London and New York.
McCoskey D, (ed.) 2021 A Cultural History of Race in Antiquity (500 BCE - 800 CE). London.
McInerny, J. (ed.) 2014 A Companion to Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean. Chichester.
Nasrallah, L. and Schüssler Fiorenza, L. (eds.) 2009 Prejudice and Christian Beginnings: Investigating Race, Gender and Ethnicity in Early Christian Studies. Minneapolis, MN.
Schäfer, P. 1997. Judeophobia: Attitudes toward the Jews in the Ancient World. Cambridge, MA, and London.
Snowden, F. M. 1983 Before Colour Prejudice: The Ancient View of Blacks. Cambridge, MA.
Thompson, Lloyd. 1989 Romans and Blacks. Norman, OK. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Assimilate, process and communicate a wide range of information from various sources.
- Process and critically assess information derived from textual and archaeological research, utilising theoretical and methodological knowledge and skills specific to the subject area.
- Provide clear written and oral analyses based on literary, archaeological and historical information.
- Master practical skills in accessing and interpreting relevant sources.
- Construct and pursue a coherent argument driven by analysis of the primary source material.
- Analyse, assimilate and deploy critically a range of secondary literature relevant and essential to the student's individual research subject. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lucy Grig
Tel: (0131 6)50 3579
Email: Lucy.Grig@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Lizzie Hunter
Tel:
Email: ehunter6@ed.ac.uk |
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