Module Catalogue 2025/26

Pre Requisite Comment

None

Co Requisite Comment

None

Aims

The aims of this module are:
To introduce students to major themes in the art, architecture and archaeology of Greece and Rome.
To develop students’ knowledge of the technical terminology used in the study of Classical Art and Archaeology.
To introduce students to methods for the analysis of Classical Art and Archaeology.
To introduce the Classical collections held in the Great North Museum.

Outline Of Syllabus

Topics vary from year to year. They might include: Iron Age Greece; Orientalising; Panhellenic Sanctuaries; Greek Temple Architecture; Athens and Sparta; Greek Painted Pottery; Domestic Housing; Burial, Early Rome; The Augustan Cultural Revolution; The Flavians; Architecture of Rome.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

1) Students will gain a chronological and geographical understanding of the ancient Greek and Roman Worlds.
2) Students will acquire an awareness of the range of art-historical and archaeological evidence for the study of the ancient world.
2) Students will gain an understanding of the role of Classical art and archaeology in the study of antiquity.
3) Students will acquire a knowledge of the Greek and Roman collections in the Great North Museum.
4) Students will gain an understanding of the legacy of Classical antiquity.

Intended Skill Outcomes

1) Students will be able to critically analyse a variety of ancient sources (written, iconographic and archaeological) and use these sources to interpret the past.
2) Students will be able to integrate their interpretation of these sources with modern scholarship.
3) Students will develop communication skills (both verbal and written).
4) Students will develop key research skills through directed reading and research tasks and through independent study.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures introduce the major topics of the module. They will give students an overview of the material and the scholarship on Greek and Roman art and archaeology. Teacher-presented materials in lectures are not meant to provide students with answers but to act as a guide for their further reading and study, providing pointers to key scholars, case studies and approaches, whilst also providing the overall structure for student learning.

Small group seminars will allow students to explore and discuss topics in more depth, consolidating knowledge gained through lectures and lecture materials. This will allow students to examine primary material with greater focus or gain direct support for their comprehension of key pieces of academic literature.

Drop-in surgeries will allow students to ask specific questions and feedback about the module and assessments as well as gain feedback on their written work in tandem with structured non-synchronous discussion.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The module comprises four assessments covering different sections of the module programme. They are designed to test the student’s knowledge of the topics taught in lectures and seminars and to help students develop research and academic skills.

The computer assessment 1 encourages the students to complete essential readings. It will test knowledge of the first half of the module programme, which students will need to understand and contextualise the tasks carried out during the rest of the module.

The picture question (written exercise 1) allows students to develop research skills and promotes a learning-by-doing approach. Students will choose the picture question weeks before the submission deadline. The aim is to enable students to develop research skills by utilising a wide range of bibliographical resources and engaging with museum objects through in-person visits (e.g., the Great North Museum) and/or by using their online resources (e.g., online catalogues). It tests intended knowledge and skills outcomes and facilitates the development of key skills in analysis, research, reading and writing. It will introduce the students to elementary university skills: academic writing, the use of recommended reading lists to expand on knowledge gained in class, the proper use and acknowledgement of academic sources. It will also give the students the opportunity to begin applying approaches to the interpretation of archaeological and iconographic evidence learned in class, such as analysis on the basis of context and patterns of association.

The feedback from computer assessment 1 and picture question 1 will provide formative guidance for computer assessment 2 and picture question 2.

The computer assessment 2 will test knowledge of the second half of the module programme and it will be carried out in the same way as computer assessment 1.

The picture question 2 (written exercise 2) is designed in the same way as picture 1 but the question will involve the second half of the module programme.

General Notes

N/A