Admission requirements
This course is part of the (Res)MA History Programme. It is not accessible for BA students.
Description
Julian Apostata is one of the best known yet also one of the most enigmatic figures from Late Antiquity. Born in the imperial dynasty of Constantine, he appears to have been too young to pose a threat when Constantine died; many other members of his family were massacred. He spent his youth in relative safety, in pursuit of a literary and intellectual education in the major centres of the Roman world.
Only gradually was he drawn into the orbit of Roman imperial government, but from that point onwards he quickly gained power. More or less by chance he became sole ruler of the empire in AD 361. His tenure was of short duration, but has acquired notoriety for Julian’s attempts to return to the old Roman gods (now marked as ‘pagan’) and to reinstate the values of traditional Hellenism. His untimely death in AD 363 turned his attempts into a spectacular failure, but the brief episode would be remembered for centuries to come.
In the course we follow Julian through the ancient sources, written by himself, his pagan admirers, and his Christian opponents. We try to reconstruct his motives, and through his life explore the religious tensions of the world of late antiquity.
Please note that this course starts with an entry test. See under Literature.
Course objectives
General learning objectives
The student has acquired:
1) The ability to independently identify and select literature, using traditional and modern techniques;
2) The ability to independently identify and select sources, using traditional and modern techniques;
3) The ability to analyse and evaluate a corpus of sources with a view to addressing a particular historical problem;
4) The ability to analyse and evaluate literature with a view to addressing a particular historical problem;
5) The ability to independently formulate a clear and well-argued research question, taking into account the theory and method of the field and to reduce this question to accessible and manageable sub-questions;
6) The ability to independently set up and carry out an original research project that can make a contribution to existing scholarly debates;
7) The ability to give a clear and well-founded oral and written report on research results in correct English, when required, or Dutch, meeting the criteria of the discipline;
8) The ability to participate in current debates in the specialisation;
9) The ability to provide constructive feedback to and formulate criticism of the work of others and the ability to evaluate the value of such criticism and feedback on one’s own work and incorporate it;
10) (ResMA only:) The ability to participate in a discussion of the theoretical foundations of the discipline.
Learning objectives, pertaining to the specialisation
11) Thorough knowledge and comprehension of one of the specialisations or subspecialisations as well as of the historiography of the specialisation, focusing particularly on the following; in the specialisation Ancient History: unification processes in the Graeco-Roman World, 400 BC – 400 AD; insight into the recent large-scale debates in the field with respect to both the history of mentality and socio-economic history.
12) Thorough knowledge and comprehension of the theoretical, conceptual and methodological aspects of the specialisation or subspecialisation in question, with a particular focus on the following: in the specialisation Ancient History: the comparative method; application of socio-scientific methods; specialized source knowledge, in particular of documentary sources, and more specifically epigraphy.
Learning objectives, pertaining to this Research Seminar
The student:
13) Acquires knowledge about the major elements of fourth century political history;
14) Acquires comprehension of the major strands of late-antique thinking;
15) Acquires comprehension of the transition of paganism to Christianity in the fourth century;
16) (ResMA only): Acquires comprehension how to evaluate complex sources that vary widely in character and are mutually contradictory;
17) (ResMA only): Acquires understanding of the shifts in the historiography about late-antique religious transformations.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the MA History website
Mode of instruction
- Seminar (compulsory attendance)
This means that students have to attend every session of the course. If a student is not able to attend, he is required to notify the teacher beforehand. The teacher will determine if and how the missed session can be compensated by an additional assignment. If specific restrictions apply to a particular course, the teacher will notify the students at the beginning of the semester. If a student does not comply with the aforementioned requirements, he will be excluded from the seminar.
Course Load
Total course load 10 EC x 28 hours = 280 hours
Entry test:
Lectures: 13 x 2 = 26 hours
Preparation tutorials (incl. study of compulsory literature): 13 x 2 hours = 26 hours
Entry test and assignment(s): 4 x 10 hours = 40 hours
Paper: 160 hours
Assessment method
Written examination with closed questions (eg multiple choice)
Written examination with short open questions
Written examination with essay questions
Take home examination
Paper
Oral examination
Abstract, oral presentation.
the final mark for the course is established by (i) determination of the weighted average combined with (ii) additional requirements. These additional requirements generally relate to one or more of the subtests always be sufficient
Instruction:
1) Please state the methods of assessment for this Research Seminar, and make explicit in how they are connected to the learning objectives of this course:
Refer to the numbering of the learning objectives as stated above in the section ‘Course objectives’.
Please make sure that the methods of assessment cover all learning objectives.
2) State clarly how all parts of the assessments will be weighed, resulting in the final grade.
3) State the terms for a resit.
Assessment
Written paper (6,500-7,500 words, based on research in primary sources, excluding title page, table of contents, footnotes and bibliography)
measured learning objectives: 1-17Assignment 1 (entry test)
measured learning objectives: 4Assignment 2 (Introduction and bibliography)
measured learning objectives: 1-6Assignment 3 (Oral presentation about previously circulated chapter)
measured learning objectives: 1-9Participation (both in class and on blackboard)
Measured learning objectives: 8-9
Weighing
Written paper: 70 %
Assignment 1 (Entry test): 5%
Assignment 2 (Introduction and bibliography): 10%
Assignment 3 (Oral presentation about previously circulated chapter): 10%
Participation (both in class and on blackboard): 5%
The final grade for the course is established by determining the weighted average with the additional requirement that the written paper must always be sufficient.
Deadlines
Assignments and written papers should be handed in within the deadline as provided in the relevant course outline on Blackboard.
Resit
Should the overall mark be unsatisfactory, the paper is to be revised after consultation with the instructor. Papers graded with a 5 can be revised and rewritten after consultation with the instructor, whereas papers graded with a 4 or lower should be written about a new subject
Exam review
How and when a review of the written paper will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the results, a review of the written paper will have to be organised.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for:
publication course outline (incl. compulsory literature)
communication of deadlines
discussion forum
Upon enrollment in uSis, students should also enroll themselves on the Blackboard site (see the remark under Literature)
Reading list
S. Tougher, Julian the Apostate. Debates and documents in ancient history (Edingburgh 2007).
All other literature will be announced on Blackboard.
Please note that this course starts with an entry test. 48 hours before the first session a 1,500 word essay should be handed in. Students should read in preparation pages 1-76 of Tougher’s book. The essay question will be made available on Blackboard 10 days before the start of the course.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable