Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module, one of the initial modules taken by entrants onto the MA programme, provides students with an advanced exposure to the different methods for interpreting ancient cultures (in the broadest sense) in a variety of different contexts. Emphasis is placed on acquiring a deeper understanding of the particular practices of various research fields, theoretical approaches, and different models for interpretation and reconstruction.

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The overall aims of the module are threefold:

i) To encourage students of different disciplinary backgrounds to expand their skill-sets and conceptual horizons via exposure to different models of interpretation and contextualisation;

ii) To stimulate critical thinking about the robustness of integrated, interdisciplinary approaches to subject material in Classics and Ancient History;

iii) To foster (in common with CAC8000) a broad, dynamic set of skills with respect to sources, models, and interpretation, ultimately ensuring that each student is equipped with a diverse toolkit for pursuing subsequent study and research in Classics and Ancient History.

In the context of the MA programme, this module’s learning outcomes anticipate and are complementary with the following other modules.

• CAC8000: Research Skills and Development
• CAC8009: Performance and Text
• CAC8011: The Writing of History
• CAC8080: Dissertation Preparation: Source Study and Literature Review
• CAC8090: Dissertation

Outline Of Syllabus

Typically, this module will be structured around four major research case-studies relating to the active research expertise of Newcastle staff, which will be presented by that staff and discussed with students in a dialogic, seminar-style forum. An essay-planning workshop and individual drop-in session will be provided for in the schedule, and the module will conclude with an essay workshop, featuring research samples presented by the students as an opportunity for obtaining formative feedback on an essay topic.

1-2: Module introduction
3-6: Case-study 1
7-10: Case-study 2
11-12: Workshop on essay-planning
13-16: Case-study 3
17-20: Case-study 4
21: Essay-planning drop-in session
22-24: Essay workshop: student presentations

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

1. To appraise the models and approaches deployed in a range of scholarly sub-fields in Classics and Ancient History, and to demonstrate an informed awareness of how to pursue research using such models and approaches on an independent basis;
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2. To review how different research skills in Classics and Ancient History are developed (especially relating to issues of modern interpretation), and to determine how these skills might be further enhanced and applied to a plurality of self-chosen areas of study;
3. To identify and investigate independently a self-chosen research topic inspired by a topic featuring in the conspectus of the module’s teaching programme, resulting in an extended written research-essay;
4. Overall, to recognise the value of integrating different disciplinary skill-sets and interpretative approaches, and to evolve an interdisciplinary perspective (distinct from previous UG study) that will be beneficial for the duration of the MA programme and beyond.

Intended Skill Outcomes

1. To discuss, analyse, evaluate, and integrate the advanced research skills relating to a range of sub-fields in Classics and Ancient History in which Newcastle staff have expertise;
2. To practise and recognise the learning value of collaboration and discussion with student peers and teaching staff throughout the module’s teaching and learning activities, including student-led content;
3. To apply advanced research skills learnt during the module to a self-chosen area of study;
4. To consolidate and expand competence with respect to the presentation of individual work in written and oral forms;
5. To utilise structured opportunities for personal and professional reflection, in response to feedback of various kinds, in the pursuit of constructive academic improvement.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The learning outcomes, both knowledge and skills, for this module fundamentally underpin the teaching and learning methods employed.
Seminars will principally consist of teacher-introduced material which will serve as the basis for discussion of a particular research case-study (a ‘culture in context’) over two two-hour sessions. Reading will be assigned in advance and will inform this discussion. Ultimately, the aim is to create a learning environment in which students take an active role in their own development, and indeed support each other’s development, while being guided by staff expertise and experience. This type of learning activity aligns with knowledge outcomes 1, 2, & 4, and skills outcomes 1 & 2.
Workshops and a drop-in session will explicitly prepare students for the assessment component of the module, namely the research-essay, itself designed to assess the broader sets of knowledge and skills
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Rationale of Teaching Methods and relationship to Learning Outcomes (maximum 4000 characters):
developed over the course of the module. In one workshop, a reflective task related to essay-planning will be assigned as work in advance, and for another a small sample of a proposed topic will be prepared and presented by each student. This type of learning activity aligns with knowledge outcomes 2, 3, & 4, and skills outcomes 3, 4, & 5.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The assessment for this module has been designed in tandem with the learning outcomes and with the chosen teaching and learning activities.
The written research-essay, 4,000 words long and due after the close of teaching for the semester, builds on the skills content introduced in the module. Students will be asked to devise a research question inspired by (but not necessarily featuring the same topic as) a contextualising approach featured in one or more of the case-studies introduced in the teaching and learning sessions, and they will do so with staff guidance but predominantly as an independent exercise (and thus as a structured step into autonomy); this question will then serve as the basis for their essay. All research questions will be approved, including the issue of their level-appropriateness, by the module leader. Staff guidance will be available throughout the module for this exercise, but it will also be supported by three activities: (i) a two-hour essay planning workshop for which students will complete a reflective planning task in advance; (ii) a one-hour essay drop-in consultation with a specialist member of staff; and (iii) a three-hour workshop at which students present a sample of their proposed content. These three activities will enable students to obtain both staff- and peer-feedback ahead of the formal completion of the task, and will ensure that the aims of the assignment are fully clarified. This assessment component aligns with knowledge outcomes 1, 2, & 4, and with skills outcomes 1, 2, 3, & 4.

This module can be made available to Erasmus students only with the agreement of the Head of Subject and of the Module Leader. This option must be discussed in person at the beginning of your exchange period. No restrictions apply to study-abroad, exchange and Loyola students.
All Erasmus students at Newcastle University are expected to do the same assessment as students registered for a degree.

Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending semester 1 only are required to finish their assessment while in Newcastle. This will take the form of an alternative assessment, as outlined in the formats below:

Modules assessed by Coursework and Exam:
The normal alternative form of assessment for all semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be one essay in addition to the other coursework assessment (the length of the essay should be adjusted in order to comply with the assessment tariff); to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.

Modules assessed by Exam only:
The normal alternative form of assessment for all semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be two 2,000 word written exercises; to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.

Modules assessed by Coursework only:
All semester 1 non-EU study abroad students will be expected to complete the standard assessment for the module; to be submitted no later than 12pm Friday of week 12. The essays should be set so as to assure coverage of the course content to date.
Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending the whole academic year or semester 2 are required to complete the standard assessment as set out in the MOF under all circumstances.

General Notes

N/A