Knowledge, Wealth and Power in the Ancient World
| Module title | Knowledge, Wealth and Power in the Ancient World |
|---|---|
| Module code | CLA3279 |
| Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Professor Rebecca Flemming (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 17 |
|---|
Module description
What was the place and role of experts and expertise in ancient society? How did figures like doctors, seers and the designers of buildings and machines, make a living, build their reputation and their wealth? How were they viewed by the social and political elites and how did they fit into patterns of civic and royal patronage? What impact did these aspects of the world they lived and worked in have on their ideas and the ways they articulated and communicated them? The role of experts and the status of expert knowledge has recently become politically contentious, devalued and derided in various contexts, what light can the ancient world shed on current trends?
The course will focus on three groups of experts already picked out as enjoying international reputations, ‘invited all over the boundless world’, in Homer’s Odyssey, that is specialists in medicine, divination and construction. All groups which have left rich evidence of their ideas and practices as well as being richly reflected in wider material from the ancient world. Their fortunes will be traced through the classical Greek, Hellenistic and Roman worlds into late antiquity.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aims of this module are:
- To examine in detail a wide range of ancient technical texts and literary and material evidence that speaks to the role and status of experts and expertise in the ancient world.
- To consider wider historical debates about, and theoretical approaches to, issues of professionalisation, expertise and social structure, and how these relate to the ancient material.
- To explore the way interpretation of this ancient evidence has continued to change over the past two hundred years, owing to changes in the disciplines of classics and the history of science and medicine together with wider social and cultural shifts.
- To encourage reflection on the particular methodological problems in accessing the culture, attitudes or experience of those outside the elite.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of a wide range of sources relating to knowledge, wealth and power, and evaluate and discuss their significance
- 2. Identify and explain the various theoretical approaches to knowledge, wealth and power in the ancient world, and demonstrate awareness of the subjects central themes and issues
- 3. Demonstrate awareness of the extent to which interpretations of ancient material relating to the themes of knowledge, wealth and power are shaped by changing modern concerns
- 4. Demonstrate a good knowledge of the history and variety of scholarship on technical knowledge, expertise and the social and cultural order in antiquity and understand how this scholarship can inform your own interpretation of the sources
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Demonstrate sophisticated critical and analytical skills which can be applied to the analysis of material from any ancient culture
- 6. Understand the issues involved in using ancient texts and images as historical source material and relate sources to their socio-historical context
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Demonstrate advanced independent skills in research, critical analysis, and the presentation of findings
- 8. Select and organise relevant material to produce a cogent and coherent argument
- 9. Demonstrate an advanced level of communication skills, both orally and in writing, including confidence and clarity in public speaking
- 10. Reflect on your own work, respond constructively to feedback, implement suggestions and improve work on the basis of feedback
Syllabus plan
Whilst the content may vary from year to year, the structure will remain the same:
Term 1: introductory sessions on issues and materials, concepts, themes and evidence, then taking the story from Homer to the Hellenistic Kingdoms. Material covered could include (selections from) the Hippocratic writings and Hellenistic texts on military technology (e.g. Philo and Aeneas Tacticus). Topics could include: science, philosophy and debate in classical Greece, the role of the mantis and divinatory arts, professional practices of itinerancy and mobility, civic reward, dissection and Hippocratic scholarship in Hellenistic Alexandria, competition and warfare in the Hellenistic world, the development of Hellenistic astrology, drug-lore and Mithradates.
Term 2: Expertise and experts in the Roman world, from the Republican (Hellenistic) period into the Empire and late Empire. Material covered could include (selections from): Pliny, Natural History; Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos; Vitruvius, On Architecture; Galen). Topics could include: Greek knowledge and Roman power; public to private trends in divination (and the success of astrology); aristocratic and imperial patronage; civic organisation in the Roman empire (east and west); experts in the military machine; professional developments in self-representation; development of the medical schools in Alexandria.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | 256 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 44 | 1 x 2 hour seminar per week |
| Guided Independent Study | 256 | Independent study |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay plan | 1-2 sides of A4 | 1-7 | Verbal feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | 20 | 10 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 20 | 90 minutes | 1-6 | Mark, written comments |
| Essay | 70 | 4000 words | 1-10 | Mark, written comments |
| Critical Review | 10 | 1000 words | 1-10 | Mark and written comments on feedback sheet, comments and questions from lecturer and peers |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Test (90 minutes) | Test (90 minutes) | 1-6 | Referral/Deferral period |
| Essay (4000 words) | Essay (4000 words) | 1-10 | Referral/Deferral period |
| Critical Review (1000 words) | Critical Review (1000 words) | 1-10 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Tamsyn Barton, Ancient Astrology (London: Routledge, 1994).
Serafina Cuomo, Technology and Culture in Greek and Roman Antiquity (Cambridge: CUP, 2007)
Michael Flower, The Seer in Ancient Greece (Berkeley: UC Press, 2008)
Georgia L. Irby (ed.), A Companion to Science, Technology, and Medicine in Ancient Greece and Rome (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2016)
Alexander Jones and Liba Taub (eds), Cambridge History of Science 1: Ancient Science (Cambridge: CUP, 2018)
G.E.R. Lloyd, Revolutions of Wisdom: Studies in the Claims and Practice of Ancient Greek Science (Berkeley: UC Press, 1987)
E.M. Marsden, Greek and Roman Artillery: Historical Development (Oxford: Clarendon, 1969)
Vivian Nutton, Ancient Medicine, 2nd edn (London: Routledge, 2013)
Joseph Oleson, (ed), The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World (Oxford: OUP, 2008)
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | The successful completion of at least 90 credits at level 2, of which at least 30 must be in Classics and Ancient History |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 25/02/2022 |
| Last revision date | 24/01/2023 |
