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2021/2022

Social and Economic Ancient History

Code: 100339 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500241 Archaeology OT 3 0
2500241 Archaeology OT 4 0
2500501 History OB 2 1
2503702 Ancient Studies OB 3 1
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Isaias Arrayas Morales
Email:
Isaias.Arrayas@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Other comments on languages

The vehicular language in all the groups will be the Catalan, although the contents in Group 2 will be in general provided in Spanish.

Teachers

Jordi Cortadella Morral
Isaias Arrayas Morales

Prerequisites

There are no specific prerequisites, although it is recommended that interested students have a basic understanding of Ancient History.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The course will focus on the analysis of social processes and economic systems generated in the Near Eastern and Greco-Roman worlds. In addition to addressing the social and economic elements of the Near Eastern states, as well as Greek and Roman, plural and constantly evolving, will analyze the impact that had the commercial and military expansion led by them in their respective geographical areas of action, dealing with specific case studies.

At the end of the course, the student must acquire a basic knowledge of the main social and economic structures of both the Near Eastern and Greco-Roman worlds, as well as be able to analyze, process, and interpret any additional material, both primary and secondary sources (bibliography), demonstrating a first assimilation of the basic principles of historical research methodology.

Competences

    Archaeology
  • Contextualizing and analysing historical processes.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Managing the main methods, techniques and analytic tools in archaeology.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethic relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
    History
  • Critically assessing the fonts and theoretical models in order to analyse the different historical periods.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Mastering the basic diachronic and thematic concepts of the historical science.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
    Ancient Studies
  • Apply the main methods, techniques and instruments of historical analysis.
  • Be able to express oneself orally and in writing in the specific language of history, archaeology and philology, both in one’s own languages and a third language.
  • Recognise the impact of some important aspects of the ancient world in contemporary culture and society.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Understand and interpret the evolution of ancient societies in the Mediterranean – from Egyptian civilisation to the disbanding of Western imperial Rome – through analysis of the political, historical, social, economic and linguistic factors.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse processes of acculturation among the peoples of classical antiquity.
  2. Analyse the historical processes that lead to armed conflict.
  3. Analyse the key issues that help to approach the study of historical phenomena from a gender perspective.
  4. Applying both knowledge and analytical skills to the resolution of problems related to their area of study.
  5. Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
  6. Carrying out oral presentations using appropriate academic vocabulary and style.
  7. Communicating in your mother tongue or other language both in oral and written form by using specific terminology and techniques of Historiography.
  8. Coordinating work of interdisciplinary nature with other teams.
  9. Critically analysing informational speeches, especially in relation to ideology and ethnocentric and sexist bias.
  10. Critically assessing the models explaining the ancient times.
  11. Describe the economic, social and political structures of the classical societies.
  12. Describing the economic, social and political structures of classical societies.
  13. Describing the economic, social and political structures of the Middle Ages.
  14. Developing the ability of historical analysis and synthesis.
  15. Effectively expressing themselves and applying the argumentative and textual processes of formal and scientific texts.
  16. Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
  17. Explain the main historical events in Ancient Egypt and the Greco-Roman world.
  18. Explain the main historiographic debates on antiquity.
  19. Identifying main and supporting ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  20. Identifying the characteristic methods of Archaeology and its relationship with the historical analysis.
  21. Identifying the context of the historical processes.
  22. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  23. Identifying the specific methods of History and its relationship with the analysis of particular facts.
  24. Identifying the specific methods of history and their relationship with the analysis of particular facts.
  25. Integrate the study of ancient Catalonia into general historical discourse and point out its singularities.
  26. Interpreting and analysing documentary sources.
  27. Interpreting historical texts in relation to archaeological contexts.
  28. Interpreting material sources and the archaeological record.
  29. Knowing the main historiographical debates concerning the Middle Ages.
  30. Mastering the Universal Ancient History.
  31. Mastering the diachronic structure of the past.
  32. Mastering the relevant languages to the necessary degree in the professional practice.
  33. Organising and planning the search of historical information.
  34. Preparing an oral and written discourse in the corresponding language in a proper and organized way.
  35. Reading historical texts written in several formats.
  36. Recognising the importance of controlling the quality of the work's results and its presentation.
  37. Relate the historical texts to their archaeological contexts.
  38. Relating elements and factors involved in the development of historical processes.
  39. Show expertise in the reading of historical texts written on various media.
  40. Solving problems autonomously.
  41. Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
  42. Transmitting the results of archaeological research and clearly communicating conclusions in oral and written form to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  43. Using computing resources of the area of study of history.
  44. Using suitable terminology when drawing up an academic text.
  45. Using the characteristic computing resources of the field of History.
  46. Using the specific interpretational and technical vocabulary of the discipline.

Content

1.- History of the discipline.

2.- Economic concepts. Karl Polanyi.

3.- Economy and society in the Ancient Near East. The merchant.

4.- Economy and society in the Ancient Egypt.

5.- Socio-economic structures of the Greco-Roman world. The pólis and the ciuitas.

6.- Forms of dependence.

7.- Territorium.

8.- Negotium.

9.- Otium.

Methodology

- Attendance to theoretical sessions led by the teacher.

- Comprehensive reading of texts and interpretation of maps, graphics, archaeological documents.

- Carrying out reviews, works and analytical comments.

- Personal study.

The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may undergo some modification subject to the onsite teaching restrictions imposed by health authorities.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Comprehensive study of texts and documents of antiquity 5.5 0.22 9, 4, 39, 26, 28, 37, 35
Theoretical classes 35 1.4 4, 10, 29, 13, 12, 11, 31, 30, 18, 21, 24, 26, 35, 46
Type: Supervised      
Tutorial 15 0.6 7, 29, 18, 33, 35
Type: Autonomous      
Personal study. Comprehensive reading of texts and interpretation of documents 45 1.8 9, 10, 5, 14, 39, 26, 33, 35
Writing reviews, papers and analysis 15 0.6 4, 5, 7, 8, 14, 32, 34, 15, 6, 44, 19, 33, 16, 41, 42, 46, 45

Assessment

The evaluation of the subject will be based on the following specific exercises:

1.- PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES (60%). There will be two compulsory practical activities from which a written work will have to be delivered. The practical activities will consist of:

a) Bibliographic and research design activity (30%).

b) Primary sources activity and reading comprehension (30%).

2.- EXAM (40%). There will be a final exam, which will consist, on the one hand, of two questions to be developed to choose one (25%) and, on the other hand, a text commentary (from a primary or secondary source) (15%). The test will be done during the time of a class (90 min.).

On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.

Students will obtain a “Not assessed/Not submitted” course grade unless they have submitted more than 40% of the assessment items.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may undergo some modification subject to the onsite teaching restrictions imposed by health authorities.

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, orwill offer them feasible alternatives.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Bibliographic Activity 30% 17 0.68 40, 5, 8, 32, 44, 33, 16, 41, 38, 35, 45
Examen 40% 1.5 0.06 9, 1, 4, 10, 7, 29, 13, 12, 11, 14, 31, 30, 34, 18, 17, 15, 21, 24, 19, 26, 27, 38, 35, 46
Sources and Reading Comprehension Activity 30% 16 0.64 9, 2, 3, 5, 8, 14, 39, 34, 6, 21, 20, 24, 23, 22, 25, 26, 28, 27, 33, 16, 41, 36, 37, 35, 42, 43, 45

Bibliography

Near East / Egypt.

- GELB, I.J., Historia de la escritura, Alianza, Madrid 1993.

- GONZÁLEZ-WAGNER, C., El Próximo Oriente Antiguo, Síntesis, Madrid 1993.

- GRIMAL, N., Historia del Antiguo Egipto, Akal, Madrid 1996.

- KEMP, B.J., El Antiguo Egipto. Anatomía de una civilización, Crítica, Barcelona 1992.

- KLIMA, J., Sociedad y cultura en la Antigua Mesopotamia, Akal, Madrid 1983.

- LIVERANI, M., El Antiguo Oriente. Historia, sociedad y economía, Crítica, Barcelona 1995.

- MARGUERON, I.-C., Los mesopotámicos, Cátedra, Madrid 2002.

- MESKELL, L., Private Life in New Kingdom Egypt, Princeton 2002.

- PADRÓ, J., Historia del Egipto faraónico, Alianza, Madrid 2001.

- REDMAN, C.L., Los orígenes de la civilización, Crítica, Barcelona 1990.

- ROBINS, G., Women in Ancient Egypt, Cambridge 1993.

- SERRANO, J.M., Textos para la historia antigua de Egipto, Cátedra, Madrid 1993.

- SHAW, I. (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, OUP, Oxford 2000.

- SNELL, D., A Companion to Ancient Near East, Blackwell, Oxford 2005.

- TRIGGER, B.G. et alii, Historia del Egipto Antiguo, Crítica, Barcelona 1997.

- VAN DE MIEROOP, M., A History of the Ancient Near East, Blackwell, Malden 2007.

Greece / Rome.

- ANNEQUIN, J. et alii, Formas de explotación del trabajo y relaciones sociales en la Antigüedad clásica, Madrid 1979.

- ARIÉS, P.; DUBY, G. (dirs.), Historia de la vida privada, 1, Taurus, Madrid 1992.

- AUSTIN, M.M.; VIDAL-NAQUET,P., Economía y sociedad en la Grecia Antigua, Barcelona 1986.

- BADIAN, E., Roman Imperialism in the Late Republic, Blackwell, Oxford 1968.

- BRUNT, P.A., Conflictos sociales en la República romana, Buenos Aires 1973.

- CANTARELLA, E., La mujer romana, Santiago de Compostela 1991.

- CARANDINI, A., L'Anatomia della Scimmia, Turín 1979.

- COTTERELL, A., Los orígenes de la civilización europea, Crítica, Barcelona 1986.

- CRAWFORD, M.H., Coinage and Money Under the Roman Republic, Londres 1985.

- DE LA VILLA, J. (ed.), Mujeres de la Antigüedad, Alianza, Madrid 2004.

- DE MARTINO, F., Historia económica de la Roma antigua (2 vols.), Akal, Madrid 1985.

- DOMÍNGUEZ MONEDERO, A., La Polis y la expansión colonial griega, Síntesis, Barcelona 1991.

- DOMÍNGUEZ MONEDERO, A., Solón y Atenas, Alianza, Madrid 1999.

- ECKSTEIN, A., Mediterranean Anarchy, Interstate War and the Rise of Rome, Berkeley 2006.

- ERDKAMP, P. (ed.), A Companion to the Roman Army, Blackwell, Oxford 2007.

- ÉTIENNE, R., La vida cotidiana en Pompeya, Temas de Hoy, Madrid 1992.

- FANTHAM, E. et alii (eds), Women in the Classical World, Nova York 1994.

- FINLEY, M.I., El mundo de Odiseo, FCE, México 1961.

- FINLEY, M.I., Economía y sociedad en la antigua Grecia, Crítica, Barcelona 1984.

- FINLEY, M.I. (ed.), Estudios sobre Historia Antigua, Akal, Madrid 1981.

- FORNIS, C., Esparta: historia, sociedad y cultura de un mito, Crítica, Madrid 2003.

- GARNSEY, P.; SALLER, R., El Imperio Romano. Economía, sociedad y cultura, Crítica, Barcelona 1990.

- GREENE, K., The Archaeology of the Roman Economy, Berkeley 1986.

- GRIMAL,P., La formación del Imperio romano, Siglo XXI, Madrid 1990.

- HARRIS, W.V., Guerra e imperialismo en la Roma republicana, Siglo XXI, Madrid 1989.

- HINDESS, B.; HIRST, P.Q., Los modos de producción precapitalistas, Barcelona 1977.

- HOPKINS, K., Conquistadores y Esclavos, Barcelona 1981.

- HUMBERT, M., Institutions politiques et sociales de l'Antiquité, Précis Dalloz, París 1986.

- KOVALIOV, S.I., Historia de Roma, Akal Textos, Madrid 1973.

- LÉVÊQUE, P., VIDAL-NAQUET, P., Clisthène l’Athénien, Les Belles Lettres, París 1964.

- LYNN, S., MACINTOSH, J. (eds.), Women in Antiquity, Routledge, Londres 2016.

- MARROU, H.-I., Historia de la educación en la Antigüedad (2 vols.), Akal, Madrid 1985.

- MORLEY, N., Trade in Classical Antiquity, Cambridge 2007.

- MOSSÉ, C., Les institutions politiques grecques, Armand Colin, París 1967.

- MOSSÉ, C., Historia de una democracia: Atenas, Akal, Madrid 1987.

- MOSSÉ, C., La mujer en la Grecia Antigua, Nerea, Madrid 1990.

- NICOLET, C., Roma y la conquista del mundo mediterráneo (2 vols), Labor, Barcelona 1982.

- OLIVA, P., Esparta y sus problemas sociales, Akal, Madrid 1983.

- PEACHIN, M., The Oxford Handbook of Social Relations in the Roman World, Blackwell, Oxford 2014.

- PLÁCIDO, D., Introducción al Mundo Antiguo: problemas teóricos y metodológicos, Madrid 1993.

- PLESSIS, P. et alii (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Roman Law and Society, Blackwell, Oxford 2016.

- POMEROY, S., Diosas, Rameras, Esposas y Esclavas, Akal, Madrid 1991.

- POMEROY, S. et alii, La Antigua Grecia, Crítica, Barcelona 2001.

- ROLDÁN, J.M., El Imperialismo romano: Roma y la conquista, Síntesis, Madrid 1994.

- ROSENSTEIN, N.; MORSTEIN, R. (eds.), A Companion to the Roman Republic, Blackwell, Oxford 2006.

- ROUGÉ, J., Les institutions romaines, Armand Colin, París 1969.

- RÜPKE, J. (ed.), A Companion to Roman Religion, Blackwell, Oxford 2011.

- SCHEIDEL, W. et alii (eds.), The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World, Cambridge 2007.

- SNODGRASS, A., Archaic Greece: The Age of Experiment, Londres 1980.

- STAERMAN, E.M.; TROFIMOVA, M.K., La esclavitud en la Italia Imperial, Madrid 1979.

- STE. CROIX, G.E.M., La lucha de clases en el mundo griego antiguo, Crítica, Barcelona 1988.

- STRUVE, V.V., Historia de la Antigua Grecia, Akal Textos, Madrid 1979.

- SYME, R., La Revolución Romana, Taurus, Madrid 1989.

- VEYNE, P., La sociedad romana, Madrid 1990.

- VLACHOS, G.C., Les sociétés politiques homériques, PUF, París 1974.

- WINTERLING, A., Politics and Society in Imperial Rome, Blackwell, Oxford 2009.

Software

None.