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ANCIENT HISTORY

Major combinations:
NQF Level: 5: AHS1511, ANH1502
NQF Level: 6: AHS2611, CLS2602, CLS2603
NQF Level: 7: CLS3701, AHS3712, CLS3704, CLS3705, CLS3706
For Honours modules refer to Classical Studies.

Ancient Mythology in Context - AHS1511
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 5 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Purpose: To introduce students to the study of the earliest mythologies and their socio-historical context via case studies based on translations of the ancient literature prior to the fourth century BCE, and their receptions in modern literature and art. By studying the cultural products against their contexts of origin, students will become aware (1) the rich imagination of particularly early cultures and their legacies; (2) the social functions of myths and the various hermeneutical approaches to their understanding; (3) the impact of early mythologies on later cultures and (4) the significance of the role mythology in their own cultural environment.
Roman Ancient History - ANH1502
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 5 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Purpose: To introduce students to the political history of Rome, from its rise as a Republic, through the formation of the Roman Empire and to its eventual decline and fall in the 5th century AD.
Perspectives on North Africa in Antiquity - AHS2611
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Recommendation: Students to complete AHS1511 & AHS1502 (Old codes: CLS1502, CLS1502; ANH1501, ANH1502) before they enrol for this module.
Purpose: To introduce students to the political and cultural developments in North Africa and Egypt from 500 BC to 700 AD through critical reading of ancient texts (in English translation) relating to selected socio-historical and cultural topics. Qualifying students can gain an understanding of the nature of cultural development and integration in a multicultural and imperialistic context, and by comparison in a (post-) modern African context.
Material Testimonies to the Classical World - CLS2602
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Purpose: To introduce students to the classical world through its art, architecture and visual source materials. Students of Ancient History will engage with the original source material (in translation) in the forms of texts, coins and inscriptions. Students specialising in Classical Culture will study the main accomplishments in architecture and art, including vase painting, sculpture, mosaics and murals in the Greco-Roman period.
Ancient Democracy - AHS3712
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Pre-requisite: CLS2602 and CLS2603
Recommendation: AHS2611, CLS2602, CLS2603
Purpose: Is to equip students with the competencies and values to critically evaluate the various elements contributing to the origins of Greek democracy and its implementation in 5th century Athens through the examination of ancient texts in translation in conjunction with the interpretations and analyses of modern scholars.
Classical Historical Writings - CLS3701
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Pre-requisite: (AHS2611 or CLS2601) and CLS2602
Purpose: To introduce students to the concept of history and the origins of historical thinking through the works of ancient historians and other prose writers. Students will focus on the writings of Herodotus, Thucydides, and Tacitus, and their value as sources for our knowledge of events in antiquity.
Classical Heroes in Fact and Fiction - CLS3704
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Pre-requisite: CLS2602 and CLS2603
Purpose: Students of Ancient History will engage in a detailed study of the sources on the reign of Constantine the Great (AD 306 to 337) and his conversion to Christianity. Students specialising in Classical Culture study Homer's Iliad and selections from Vergil's Aeneid in translation from historical, cultural, literary and intertextual perspectives.
The Fall of Rome/Greco-Roman Drama - CLS3705
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Pre-requisite: (AHS2611 or CLS2601) & CLS2602
Purpose: Ancient History students will analyse the main factors in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and examine reasons why the West fell, while the East remained intact. Students specialising in Classical Culture are studying Graeco-Roman tragedy (Sophocles' and Seneca's renditions of the Oedipus myth), in order to establish how these genres were used to grapple with serious social issues.
Conquerors and Conquests in the Ancient World: from Text to Screen - CLS3706
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Pre-requisite: CLS2602 and CLS2603
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to expose students to ancient source material and scholarly discussions on prominent military figures in the Greco-Roman world and the contexts in which they operated, and to guide students in critical reflection on ancient military culture, its main exponents, and their reception in subsequent eras including the present.
Ancient Empires - CLS2603
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in English Module presented online
Purpose: To familiarise students with the basic concept of imperialism and acquaint them with the main Graeco-Roman texts on this topic. Students will also study modern interpretations of ancient imperialism, and develop awareness of how modern periods have influenced scholarly reception of this aspect of the ancient world. The ancient empires which will be looked at are the Persian, Athenian, Alexandrian, Roman and Byzantine Empires.