Ancient History and Archaeology BA

Explore Greek and Roman art, from the Bronze Age to the end of the Roman Empire (roughly 1600 BC to AD 400). We will consider classic sites and monuments that are among the great lasting achievements of mankind, including the Parthenon, Trajan’s Column and the statue of Augustus of Prima Porta.

You will learn how to look at works of art and artefacts from the ancient world. This includes how to describe, explain and analyse them. As a result, you will unlock the meanings of these images and monuments for the people who made, commissioned and looked at them.

You will build a thorough understanding of the key contexts and media of ancient art and archaeology. This includes:

• sculpture
• vase-painting
• coins
• mosaics
• architecture and urban structures

We will cover the Greek world in the autumn semester, and the Roman world in the spring semester. Rather than working chronologically, the material on this module is organised by media and contexts (topography, sculpture, vase painting, temples, tombs, houses etc.) This gives you a grasp of formal and stylistic developments within each of these media through the centuries, helping you understand their meanings in their original contexts.

This module is worth 20 credits.

"'Interpreting Ancient Art and Archaeology', which was a first-year module, is by far my favourite. You spend the first semester doing Greek art. You progress from the earliest Greek art, to when the Romans conquered them. Then in the spring semester, you do Roman art from beginning to the end and talk about all the different periods. It was interesting for me, as you got to do a presentation on a specific piece of art. It was really fun." - Hannah Parker, second-year Classical Civilisation

What is archaeology? What are its origins and how did it develop? In this module you’ll be given an overview of the origins of archaeology alongside some of the key techniques used to study the material remains of the past. The module covers key topics including the development of archaeology in different parts of the world, principles of stratigraphy, dating techniques and approaches to field archaeology. It will also introduce you to the ways in which archaeology reflects and contributes to society.

This year-long module is devoted to the history of the ancient world. You will investigate some of its key themes and approaches through a series of historical case studies, covering major periods of Greek and Roman history.

You will explore:

• What do we know (and not know) about the ancient world?
• How do ancient politics, society, culture and morality differ from our own?
• What evidence informs us about the ancient world? What are its limits and pitfalls?
• How do modern concerns influence academic debates about the ancient world, and the views of individual scholars?
• How far can we hope to know ‘how things really were’ in the ancient world?

This module is worth 20 credits.

This module will introduce you to the interpretation of ancient literary texts (in translation) as sources for ancient culture, by focusing on a representative range of texts and themes.

We will address issues such as:

• ancient performance-contexts and audiences
• the workings of genres
• analysis of rhetoric and literary style
• representations of gender and sexuality
• study of classical reception
• how to compare translations

The autumn semester will focus on Greek texts, and the spring semester will focus on Latin texts.

This module is worth 20 credits.

Gain an introduction to the practicalities of studying the human past through its material remains. You will be introduced to the practical approaches to studying sites, landscapes and buildings, as well as laboratory-based approaches to studying ancient materials. As well as classroom-based activities, this module will give you practical training in the lab and in the field, including the park landscape around Wollaton Hall.

Archaeology in the 21st century isn't just about digging up the past - it's about how we share, interpret, and debate it today.

We explore key issues around the preservation, interpretation and display of heritage in the 21st century. We also consider the different roles of government, national organisations, universities, professional commercial archaeologists and museums in caring for archaeological remains and presenting them to the public.

By the end of the module, you will:

• Be able to critically assess the role of heritage in contemporary political and ethical concerns

• Have developed your own cross-cultural perspective on the management of heritage and its significance to modern challenges and debates.  

Gain an overview of prehistoric archaeology through global case studies.

We’ll be covering the latest debate and scholarship, on topics such as:

• Human dispersal
• Technology
• Environmental change
• Food procurement and production
• Monumentality
• Sedentism and urbanisation

By the end of the module, you’ll understand the broad chronological development and key themes in Prehistory, up to the development of writing.

You will also have an appreciation of archaeological approaches in prehistoric periods, and the complexities of integrating varied sources of archaeological evidence including landscapes, monuments, excavated evidence and material culture.

This module is worth 10 credits.

Gain an overview of key topics in the archaeology of the last 2000 years, drawing on case studies from around the world. You’ll cover key themes including:

• changing environments

• economies

• technology and trade 

• the growth of towns and cities

• the origins and spread of major world religions

• social and ethnic identities

• the impact of colonialism and diaspora in different contexts in world history 

Gain a wide-ranging interdisciplinary introduction to the history, literature and culture of the ancient Greek World. Covering from c.1600-31 BC, you will explore Greek history from the Mycenaean period to the coming of Rome.

You will:

• Examine the major topics in Greek history – from the Mycenaean Period and the Dark Ages, through the rise of the polis in the Archaic period, to the height of Greek civilisation in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, and finally its conquest by the Roman Empire
• Explore primary evidence from Greek literary and material culture
• Consider the relationship between ancient Greece and the modern world

This module is followed by the Studying the Roman World module, in the spring semester. No prior knowledge of Greek history or Greek language is needed.

This module is worth 10 credits.

This module gives a wide-ranging interdisciplinary introduction to the history, literature and art of the Roman world. We will explore from the beginnings of the city of Rome, to the fall of the Roman Empire in the West.

You will:

• examine the major chapters of Rome's history – such as the Roman Republic, the rise of the empire, the establishment of the Principate, and the fall of Rome
• discover coinciding developments in Roman literary and artistic culture
• consider the reception of ancient Rome in modern western culture

We will also examine the relationship of the Roman world to the Greek world. This will complement the autumn semester module, Studying the Greek World, by continuing training in a number of basic study skills. No prior knowledge of the Roman world is needed.

This module is worth 10 credits.

How can the arts help us think about health and cope with illness?  What can the arts contribute to healthcare practice and policy?

You will explore big questions like these, looking at how the arts can engage with the crucial issues in health today and build a better vision of health for the future.

We will cover major themes including:

• Representing health - look critically at representations of good and poor health, found in politics, religion, art, film, literature, and philosophy.
• Mental health - explore what mental health is, and how it differs from physical health. You’ll look critically at themes such as the marketisation of mental health, the history of mental health institutions, and the ethics of psychiatry.
• Communicating health - how health is communicated in personal, public, and professional settings. We’ll explore questions such as why it is so important that patient voices are heard in communicating about health.
• Health inequalities - look critically at striking inequalities in health, including patterns of gender, race, class, sexuality and economic differences in health and access to healthcare.

From treatment, information, care, and outreach, understanding the health humanities provides career opportunities for the next century.

This module is worth 10 credits.

We live in a data-driven society. Information is used for everything from predicting our shopping habits, to understanding global weather patterns, and has radically changed our world.

From the development of Artificial Intelligence to robotics and the use of ‘big data’, the capture and use of information is essential in modern society. To make sure these developments help solve problems, and are not used for harm, we need the arts and humanities to set boundaries and ask questions.

You will:

• Explore topics such as privacy, surveillance, power and representation
• Learn how modern technology can replicate historical biases and ignore contemporary struggles
• Gain the background and context to contemporary issues on data and society
• Question the limits we place on technology in our world
• Explore how the arts and humanities shape, direct and protect against the way data is used

This module is worth 10 credits.

The digitisation of records and texts has revolutionised academic study. The ability to efficiently and confidently use data is a valuable skill for both your course and future career.

On this module, you will:

• Learn the basics of data and ‘text mining’ (using search terms to explore large amounts of information)
• Develop your skills and apply them to case studies
• See how your work can highlight issues and solve problems
• Understand how data analysis allows us to create narratives that inspire and drive change

We will use examples and case studies from across the faculty, where data and text analysis have been used by arts and humanities researchers within their work.

This module is worth 10 credits.

Learn the basics of creating and editing audio and visual material.

From podcasting, photo editing, photography, video editing and sound editing, you can work on how your digital skills can be used to communicate and inspire.

You will be guided through a series of tutorials and examples where you can develop your skills and produce your own content.

This work will be developed through examples and case studies from across the faculty, where audio and visual materials have been used by researchers within their work.

Examples include:

• Virtual reality renditions of historical photographs
•  Immersive museum experiences
• Audio installations to share stories about migration and sustainability
• Interactive events to inspire young people about languages and cultures past and present

This module is worth 10 credits.

Epidemics and infectious illnesses have shaped our world. Most recently, the Coronavirus pandemic dramatically changed the way we work and socialise, with lasting effect.

We will explore the past and present of infectious disease, including how cultures, religions, literature and art have been shaped by the interaction between humans and disease.

You will learn about:

• The variety of human responses to sickness
• How ideas about illness are expressed across the world
• Drug resistant bacteria and mutations of viruses
• How the arts help societies to process the impact of disease - it is often through music, literature, philosophy and media that suffering is expressed and issues raised

This module is worth 10 credits.

Our digital revolution has been led by the arts and humanities.

From mobile apps to learn languages, to video tutorials on how to play an instrument, the use of digital platforms has transformed our disciplines.

In an age defined by ecological issues, technological change and political upheaval across the world, it is the arts and humanities which provide vital links between the past, present and future. It is now more important than ever that we connect communities, challenge structures of power and address inequality.

You will examine how the digital arts changed the world, using examples from a range of mediums from across the globe. This could be a community walking app, that has brought hidden histories to light, a crowd-sourced projects that have given a platform to new voices, or social media forums that link music, philosophy and literature to contemporary debates.

This module is worth 10 credits.

We are in a state of climate emergency. Sustainability and climate change is on both political and personal agendas like never before.

On this module, you will:

• Examine the idea of ‘sustainability’ - looking at the social, cultural, political, economic and environmental challenges that sustainability aims to address
• Link issues of climate change, and our responses to them, to shifting ideas about nature and its distinctness from culture, the scientific and industrial revolutions, and the emergence of the Western world
• Examine Western culture’s way of defining the ‘environment’ and our relationship with nature
• Look at the diverse ways in which different cultures imagine nature

The arts and humanities do not offer quick fixes to our problems, but ways of thinking that can change the world. We do this through understanding context, process and change.

We show how the arts and humanities sheds light on the history of the present and directs us towards the future.

This module is worth 10 credits.

Explore how the arts and humanities contribute to sustainability.

From stories, to images and representation, the ways we understand the world also shape how we understand sustainability.

With a focus on globalisation, and the accelerating pace of climate change in the 20^th and 21^st centuries, we will think about the problems raised by the climate crisis. 

You will:

• Learn about debates around the Anthropocene, the era of humanity’s marked impact on the environment
• Examine the controversies and disputes that have emerged about our relationship with nature
• Explore how we can tell stories about climate change – for example through the literature and music of marginalised groups across the world, who feel the impact of climate change first

By considering how everyday life choices are linked to the environment, the module offers an imaginative way to explore the challenges of sustainable living.  You will gain the tools to challenge opinion and identify how local ideas can offer a solution to global problems.

This module is worth 10 credits.

From filters to fake news, we are exposed to a huge amount of information in our day-to-day lives.

Whether through advertising, promotion, policies or the media, the (mis)information we are exposed to is intended to influence us, change our minds, or maybe even censor and withhold information about important issues.

To challenge this, we need to think critically about data. This module will give you the skills to do just that.

You’ll gain the critical skills to observe, question, and act when the facts do not support what’s being represented. We will also introduce approaches you can use to question visual, textual, quantitative and qualitative information. This could include:

• Causality
• Statistics
• Bias
• Content analysis
• Language

Critical analysis is an important skill, not only so we can preserve our freedoms and protect from harm caused by misinformation, but in the workplace too. The ability to make judgements that are based on logic is a key transferable skill.

This module is worth 10 credits.

Writing inspires change. From the academic textbook that demonstrates a new concept, to a blog post that influences habits, writing can change the world.

On this module, you will learn to think critically about yourself and society, through reflecting on how you write.

Writing lets us occupy different spaces and identities. You can write to develop your sense of self, to enlighten others, or to build connections. Writing skills are more than just how to write an academic essay. Writing can give you an insight into who you are, your values and future direction.

During your studies, you will use writing to develop analytical approaches which can enhance your work and prepare you for your future career. Focusing on the diversity of experiences and backgrounds, interests and motivations, we show how meaningful writing can lead, inspire and transform. 

This module is worth 10 credits.