Module HIST31A3: The Ruin of the World: Roman to Barbarian Gaul, 400-500

Department: History

HIST31A3: The Ruin of the World: Roman to Barbarian Gaul, 400-500

Prerequisites

• • A pass mark in at least TWO level two modules in History.

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students to an important transitional period at the beginning of the early Middle Ages;
• To lead students towards a deep familiarity and understanding of a variety of complex historical sources, and the ways in which they have been interpreted by historians;
• To train students in the advanced independent analysis of these sources;
• To train students to ask complex questions about identity, affiliation and religious belief in the past.

Content

• ‘Amidst such disasters and the ruin of the world,’ wrote the Gallo-Roman aristocrat Sidonius Apollinaris, ‘to have lived was death.’ He was speaking of his own time, the middle of the fifth century, which saw the slow collapse of Roman Gaul and its replacement by a very different world of ‘barbarian’ kingship. And yet Sidonius Apollinaris survived this time of civil war and barbarian takeover, as did many of his aristocratic friends. This module will explore how they managed to do this, and will challenge such melodramatic talk of ‘ruin’ and ‘disaster’. Should we speak instead of ‘transformation’? Or is there a danger of modern historians downplaying the very real trauma and conflict of this period? The chronological parameters cover the fifth century, from the beginning of serious barbarian incursions across the Rhine to the rise of the Franks as the dominant force in what had once been Roman Gaul. The geographical emphasis will be on southern Gaul, reflecting the bias of the surviving historical sources, but this will not be to the exclusion of the north. It will encompass the Roman provinces of Gaul and the Gothic, Frankish and Burgundian kingdoms that gradually subsumed them. The module will deal with a rich and challenging variety of translated historical sources, including chronicles, letters, poetry, hagiography, law codes, monastic rules, panegyrics, sermons, inscriptions, and polemics, all of which provide insight into a highly sophisticated society going through profound and difficult changes. These changes will be considered in their various aspects: cultural, legal, spiritual, political and economic. Especially prominent themes will be ‘Roman’ versus ‘barbarian’ identity, the spread of ascetic Christianity, warfare and violence, and the ways in which power was conceptualised and expressed.

Learning Outcomes

• A detailed factual knowledge of the end of Roman Gaul and the development of the early medieval kingdoms that replaced it;
• An ability to analyse and interpret a variety of challenging historical sources, and to relate these sources to specific historical questions;
• An understanding of how different groups and individuals can resist, adapt or succumb to processes of profound social and political change.

• Subject specific skills for this module can be viewed at:
• http://www.dur.ac.uk/History/ugrads/ModuleProformaMap/

• Key skills for this module can be viewed at:
• http://www.dur.ac.uk/History/ugrads/ModuleProformaMap/

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods:
• seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals;
• tutorials either individually or in groups to discuss topics arising from prepared work, allowing students the opportunity to reflect upon their personal learning with the tutor.
• Assessment:
• Unseen Examinations test students' ability to work under pressure under timed conditions, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning, and develop key time management skills. The unseen examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure. Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge;
• Summative essays remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources;
• Assessment of Primary Source Handling Students are assessed on their understanding of original primary sources, usually in print, their character varying according to the nature of the subject, and the students' ability to bring that knowledge to bear on 'cutting edge' research-based monographs and articles. Students are given the opportunity to discuss and articulate an understanding of changing interpretations and approaches to historical problems, drawing evidence from a body of primary source materials. Students are required to demonstrate skills associated with the evaluation of a variety of primary source materials, using documentary analysis for a critical assessment of existing historical interpretations.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One formative essay of not more than 2500 words (not including footnotes and bibliography); preparation to participate in seminar and tutorials; at least one oral presentation, and practice source/gobbet work.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University