Admission requirements
World Archaeology 2.2 obtained;
This is a seminar with a limited number of participants (20 students), for Archaeology students exclusively.
Description
This course delves deeper into the archaeology of the western Roman Empire between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, with a focus on the western Mediterranean. The course is structured around a series of set case studies, researched by students. . This will be placed in the context of current debates in Roman archaeology, especially the paradigm of the 3rd-century crisis. The significance of Roman heritage in (near-)contemporary society will be an additional focus of the course.
Course set-up
Each week, participating students are expected to submit an assignment through Brightspace, based on critical reading of compulsory literature and/or engagement with online resources.
In addition to lectures, there will be three student-led seminars during which students are expected to give group presentations on a key Roman site in the western Mediterranean that they have researched, thus strengthening research, team working and oral presentation skills. Groups and site allocations will be discussed in week 1, and student-led seminars will likely take place in weeks 3, 5 and 7. Note: this means that every group will give three short presentations during this course.
At the end of the course, students are expected to write a 2,500 – 3,000 word essay on a topic of their choice (relevant to the course and building on (an aspect of) their group work).
Course objectives
Obtain deeper knowledge of key archaeological sites within the (western) Roman empire;
Critically engage with current debates on Roman archaeology and heritage;
Improve team working skills;
Improve oral and written presentation skills;
Carry out a desk-based investigation of an archaeological site;
Formulate a research question and write a well-structured essay.
Timetable
Course schedule details can be found in MyTimetable.
Log in with your ULCN account, and add this course using the 'Add timetable' button.
Mode of instruction
Lectures with active student participation;
Student-led seminars (oral presentations);
Feedback on weekly assignments through Brightspace.
Assessment method
Weekly assignments (20%);
Group presentations (30%);
Final essay (50%).
Students who fail the course can only retake the final essay. An essay has to be submitted in order to qualify for a resit. In all cases, a minimum of 5.5 has to be obtained for the final essay to pass the module.
Assessment deadlines:
The dates of exams and retakes can be found in MyTimetable. The deadlines of papers, essays and assignments are communicated through Brightspace.
Reading list
The reading list will be made available to students prior to the start of the course.
Registration
Registration start dates for the BA2 seminars differ from the registration dates of the regular courses.
Registration will take place with the use of forms. These will be e-mailed by the Administration Office to all BA2 students at the beginning of January.
Contact
For more information about this course, please contact dr. A.T. (Letty) ten Harkel.
Remarks
Compulsory attendance. Failure to attend sessions without prior notice and/or valid reasons will normally result in a fail.Please note, as this course focuses on the western Mediterranean, where a strong tradition of scholarship in languages other than English exists, ability to read French, Spanish or Italian to some extent is helpful. Alternatively, willingness to engage with translation tools, such as Google Translate, is also fine. Please rest assured though that all of the set reading will be in English: this only applies to the group work, during which groups of up to 4 students will independently research case study sites / regions.