Module CLAS45830: Research Skills in Ancient Visual and Material Culture

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS45830: Research Skills in Ancient Visual and Material Culture

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• In accordance with the general aims of the MA in Classics, to promote self-motivated and self-directed research in the sub-discipline of Classical Archaeology and Ancient History for students who have received appropriate grounding in their undergraduate studies. And specifically to develop an in-depth knowledge and understanding of current research in a specialised topic in ancient visual and material culture, chosen from a list of topics representing the main areas of research in the Department.

Content

• The precise content changes yearly, depending on the specific area of ancient material culture studied. Students will receive broad training and research skills in interpreting ancient visual or material culture through a specific area of focus such as Aegean prehistoric archaeology, Greek landscape archaeology, Roman art in the domestic sphere, Vitruvius on architecture, urban landscapes of the Roman provinces, or life and death on Roman sarcophagi. Typically, students will be asked to look every fortnight at one or two art historical or archaeological case studies and to read a selection of relevant scholarly literature. By the end of the module, students may expect to have become familiar with a range of sites or material objects that is appropriate to give an understanding of the complexities and diversity of the specific field studied, and they should also expect to have read a substantial proportion of the relevant scholarly discussion.

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of the course students should have a basic understanding of a diverse range of art historical and/or archaeological approaches or investigative techniques, such as iconography, structural analysis, urban mapping, visual reception, aerial prospection, geophysical survey or pedestrian field walking.
• Students will have explored in-depth a number of case studies from across the Mediterranean world, using a range of disciplinary approaches to look at different types of visual and material evidence.
• They will have critically assessed the limits of interpretation that can be made about different types of ancient visual or material evidence.

• Students will be challenged to select and synthesise data sourced from a variety of sources and investigative techniques for understanding and reconstructing ancient visual evidence. They will develop a wide variety of skills to support their use of material culture and/or environmental evidence in their understanding of ancient life.

• The analytical and interpretative skills required for the successful completion of this module are transferable to any field which demands sophisticated understanding of heterogeneous datasets and their meaning and the construction of plausible arguments about visual, archaeological or environmental evidence. It also requires the effective use of library and IT resources and good written presentation skills.

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

• The class will meet ten times; teaching will involve a range of approaches, including but not limited to introductory lectures by the instructor, general class discussion, and student presentations based on in-depth individual research.
• Summative Assessment will take the form of an essay (5000 words), on a relevant topic developed by the student.
• Classes and introductory lectures will help the students to orient themselves in the field; student presentations offer the opportunity for early and constructive feedback before the written assignments are due.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Normally an outline or draft of the summative. This may also include oral presentations in seminars.

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.