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2022/23 Undergraduate Programme Catalogue

BA Ancient History

Programme code:BA-AHISUCAS code:V111
Duration:3 Years Method of Attendance: Full Time
Programme manager:Dr Paul White Contact address:p.m.white@leeds.ac.uk

Total credits: 360

Entry requirements:

For entry requirements for this course please visit: Coursefinder

School/Unit responsible for the parenting of students and programme:

School of Languages, Cultures and Societies

Examination board through which the programme will be considered:

Relevant QAA Subject Benchmark Groups:

Programme specification:

This programme will allow students to explore the political, cultural and social histories of the ancient world, focussing on the likes of Persia, Alexander the Great, Sparta, the Athenian empire, the Hellenistic Kingdoms and the Roman Republic and Empire. It will also investigate the reception of ancient events, peoples and cultures up to the present day. The subject likewise has broad geographical limits: it covers the entire area eventually occupied by the Roman empire, from Britain in the north-west to Mesopotamia in the south-east, from the countries of the Rhine and Danube rivers in central Europe to the whole northern edge of Africa. Students will also have the opportunity to draw on the wider expertise of the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies in the ancient world beyond Greece and Rome by choosing optional modules in subjects such as Arabic, Islamic and East Asian history and civilisation.
Students will find out who both the great and the ordinary ‘invisible’ people of antiquity were, what the most impactful events were in the ancient world, as well as evaluating what evidence is available to us, what is lost, and what was never recorded in the first place. This programme will therefore enable students to develop skills in theoretical approaches, such as historiography, critical thinking and reasoning, material culture analysis, awareness of comparative thoughts and practices, and intercultural understanding.

The programme begins with structured foundational study across a number of compulsory modules in core fields within the discipline, including the politics and societies of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, archaeology, and life writing. At level 2, core modules will enable students to develop an understanding of a range of imperial regimes in the classical world and the lived experiences of the great majority of the ordinary ‘invisible’ inhabitants of the ancient world who are under-represented in our literary sources. The core module Evidence and Enquiry will enable students to develop and enhance their subject-specific skills and transferable research skills to prepare them for independent research at level 3 with the help and guidance of an academic supervisor. The programme then offers a high degree of module choice at levels 2 and 3. Students are exposed to a broad range of different fields of study within the discipline, innovative assessment methods (e.g. blogs, creative writing pieces, wikis, portfolio work, online discussion forums, student surveys, posters, computer exercises) and a considerable element of research-based learning culminating in a compulsory independent research project of their choice at level 3.

The School of Language, Cultures and Societies is an internationally-recognised research leader, with long established reputations for excellence in researching and teaching the ancient world. Leeds also has first-rate library and IT facilities, of which students are encouraged to make the fullest use, and plenty of useful resources specifically for Ancient History students. Aside from a huge array of scholarly material on the subject, the world-class Brotherton Library holds a wide variety of manuscripts, archive and early printed material, coins and other materials from the ancient world in its Special Collections, some of which students on this programme will explore in dedicated practical sessions. The University Library offers a comprehensive training programme to help you make the most of Library resources.

Students on this programme may apply for transfer to an International Degree. Those students who are accepted may participate in one of our exchange schemes or go to one of a range of universities with which the University of Leeds has established links. The opportunity to apply for a work placement degree involving a year in industry is also available.


Year1 - View timetable

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]

Compulsory modules:

Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

CLAS1100Ancient Lives20 creditsSemester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS1300The Greek World: an Introduction20 creditsSemester 1 (Sep to Jan)
CLAS1400The Roman World: An Introduction20 creditsSemester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS1650Introduction to Classical Archaeology20 creditsSemester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Optional modules:

Candidates may study up to 40 credits from the following optional modules:

ARAB1030Introduction to Arab and Islamic Civilisation20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ARAB1140Muslim Beliefs: From Theology to Sunni-Shi'a Sectarianism20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ARAB1150Early and Medieval Islamic History20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1200Intermediate Ancient Greek (Level 1)20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1250Intermediate Latin (Level 1)20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1810Beginners Ancient Greek (Level 1)20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS1910Beginners Latin20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
EAST1065China in East Asian History20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Discovery modules:

Candidates may study up to 40 credits of discovery modules


Year2 - View timetable

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]

In Level 2 students must study 120 credits.

In order to be eligible for an Honours degree, students must meet the normal Rules for Award by passing all modules which are designated to be passed for award or progression and by passing the required number of credits at each level as specified in the Curricular Regulations (at least 200 credits at level 2 or above, of which at least 100 should be at level 3).

Compulsory modules:

Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

CLAS2400Invisible Greeks and Romans20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2800Evidence and Enquiry in Classics20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2900Ancient Empires: Power and Control20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Optional modules:

Candidates will be required to study 40-60 credits from the following optional modules:

ARAB2015The Shari’a: Theory, Practice, Transformations20 creditsSemester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ARAB2320The Qur'an: History, Text and Interpretation20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2200Intermediate Ancient Greek (Level 2)20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2220Classical Receptions in the Brotherton Archives and Special Collections20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS2250The Athenian Empire20 creditsSemester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS2260Intermediate Latin (Level 2)20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2350Herodotus and the Beginning of History20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS2390The Rise of Rome: Myth and History20 creditsSemester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS2420Augustus and his Legacy20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS2460Subversive Desires: Roman Love Elegy20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS2650The Image of Sparta20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS2680Greek Art and Society20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS2740Greek Religion20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS2810Beginners Ancient Greek (Level 2)20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS2890The City in the Roman World20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS2910Beginners Latin (Level 2)20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2015Black Europe20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2075Global Environmental Humanities20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

NB. Not all CLAS modules listed above will run in every year.

Students may also choose to study the below module as long as they are not already enrolled onto Linguists into Schools

FOAH2020Towards the Future: Skills in Context20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Discovery modules:

Candidates may study up to 40 credits of discovery modules or the above FOAH module.
Candidates may take no more than a total of 60 discovery credits offered by other programmes of study over Levels 2 and 3.


Year3 - View timetable

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]

In Level 3 students must study 120 credits. Finalists may only take level 1 modules which are listed as discovery skills modules (skd) and only to the value of 20 credits.

In order to be eligible for an Honours degree, students must meet the normal Rules for Award by passing all modules which are designated to be passed for award or progression and by passing the required number of credits at each level as specified in the Curricular Regulations (at least 200 credits at level 2 or above, of which at least 100 should be at level 3).

Compulsory modules:

CLAS3200Major Research Project40 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Optional modules:

Candidates will be required to study up to 80 credits from the following optional modules:

CLAS3220Classical Receptions in the Brotherton Archives and Special Collections20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS3230Intermediate Ancient Greek (Level 3) 20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3250The Athenian Empire20 creditsSemester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS3260Intermediate Latin (Level 3)20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3350Herodotus and the Beginning of History20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS3390The Rise of Rome: Myth and History20 creditsSemester 2 (Jan to Jun)
CLAS3420Augustus and his Legacy20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS3460Subversive Desires: Roman Love Elegy20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS3650The Image of Sparta20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS3680Greek Art and Society20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS3815Beginners Ancient Greek (Level 3)20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3835Advanced Ancient Greek20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3890The City in the Roman World20 creditsNot running in 202223
CLAS3915Beginners Latin (Level 3)20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
CLAS3935Advanced Latin20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL3600Material Cultures and Cultures of Consumption20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL3610Adventures of the Imagination: Crime and the Fantastic Across Continents20 creditsSemesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL3620Decolonial Approaches20 creditsSemester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL3630Social Movements across Cultures20 creditsSemester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL3650Minoritised Languages, Dialects and Cultures from Past to Present20 creditsSemester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Discovery modules:

Candidates may study up to 40 credits of discovery modules

Candidates may take no more than a total of 60 discovery credits offered by other programmes of study over Levels 2 and 3.

Last updated: 08/09/2022 16:57:01

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