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2022/2023

History of the Mediterranean in the Ancient World

Code: 100389 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500241 Archaeology OB 2 1
2500501 History OT 4 1

Contact

Name:
Jordi Cortadella Morral
Email:
jordi.cortadella@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

Prerequisites

No special prerequisite, beyond the background acquired in the subjects of Ancient History of the first cours. However, it is necesary to emphasize the importance of being able to read foreign bibliography to carry out the activities of continuous evaluation.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The objective of the subject is to analyze the main political, social and economic structures of Mediterranean civilizations during antiquity. First of all, we will focus on the Mediterranean context of the 1st millennium BC, focusing on the Phoenician-Punic, Greek and Roman worlds, but also on the impact of the influence and domination of these on peripheral areas, affected by Colonizing phenomena and the Roman conquest. It will be important to deepen the institutional aspect of the main Mediterranean political formations, a way of approaching the functioning of each one. Secondly, once the political union of the Mediterranean was reached by Rome, on the following day in 146 BC, we will focus on the crisis of the republican system and the advent of the Empire, which analyzed its characteristics and its changes until 476 AD It will also be important to go deeply into the institutional aspect and in matters of everyday life. To achieve our goals, it will be important to familiarize yourself with the available primary sources, which must be related to historical interpretations.

Competences

    Archaeology
  • Contextualizing and analysing historical processes.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • 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 ethic relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • 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
  • Contextualizing the historical processes and analysing them from a critical perspective.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • 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 be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • 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.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Applying both knowledge and analytical skills to the resolution of problems related to their area of study.
  2. Applying both knowledge and capacity for analysis to the resolution of problems related to the field of study.
  3. Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
  4. Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network. Expertly making use of the possibilities of Internet.
  5. Carrying out oral presentations using an appropriate academic vocabulary and style.
  6. Carrying out oral presentations using appropriate academic vocabulary and style.
  7. Effectively communicating and applying the argumentative and textual processes to formal and scientific texts.
  8. Effectively expressing themselves and applying the argumentative and textual processes of formal and scientific texts.
  9. Identifying main and supporting ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  10. Identifying the characteristic methods of Archaeology and its relationship with the historical analysis.
  11. Identifying the context of the historical processes.
  12. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  13. Identifying the specific methods of History and its relationship with the analysis of particular facts.
  14. Identifying the specific methods of history and their relationship with the analysis of particular facts.
  15. Interpreting and analysing documentary sources.
  16. Interpreting material and documentary sources.
  17. Mastering and identifying the history of immediate environment.
  18. Mastering the Universal Ancient History.
  19. Mastering the diachronic structure of the past.
  20. Mastering the general diachronic structure of the past.
  21. Mastering the processes of change produced in Prehistory.
  22. Mastering the relevant languages to the necessary degree in the professional practice.
  23. Recognising the importance of controlling the quality of the work results and their presentation.
  24. Recognising the importance of controlling the quality of the work's results and its presentation.
  25. Transmitting the results of archaeological research and clearly communicating conclusions in oral and written form to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  26. Using specialized knowledge acquired in an interdisciplinary context when debating.
  27. Using suitable terminology when drawing up an academic text.
  28. Using the specific interpretational and technical vocabulary of the discipline.
  29. Using the specific technical and interpretational vocabulary of the discipline.

Content

1. The Sea, the mountains, the Sahara and the Atlantic. The Long March to Civilization: The First Agricultural Civilization (Fertile Crescent and Asia Minor).

2. Mesopotamia and Egypt. The potter's wheel, domestic animals, textiles, wood. Copper and bronze, the scriptures. The cities: earthly life and eternal life.

3. River boats, Mediterranean ships (the first sailors). Syria, Egypt and the Red Sea; The Mediterranean Levant. The expansion of the megaliths: from the Levant into the Atlantic.

4. Centuries of unity. The seas of the Levant from 1500 to 1200: The acceleration of exchanges. Crete. Accidents, evolutions and catastrophes: mountaineers and sailors (nomadism). The Hittites and the Semites.

5. The Sea Peoples. Everything changes from the 12th to the 8th century: The "balkanization" of the Middle East. The peoples of the steppes (the horse).

6. Indo-Europeans and Celtic invasions. Iron metallurgy and alphabetic writing.

7. The colonizations. 10th to 6th centuries. The Phoenicians and Carthage. The Etruscans.

8. The Greek colonization. The “Greek miracle.” The polis: hoplites and rowers, democracy and slavery.

9. The empire of Darius and the mistake of Alexander the Great.

10. The example of Pyrrhus. " Graecia capta " (146 BC). Roman imperialism: Rome against Carthage.

11. The Near East: the coveted prey. From the city to the Empire (131-31 BC).

12. Beyond the Mediterranean. Shoring and Teutons.

13. Caesar conquers Gaul (59-50 BC). Trajan, the Dacians and the Euphrates.

14. Mediterranean civilization: landscapes, cities and techniques.

15. Roman originalities.

 

Methodology

- Assistance to lectures led by the teacher.

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

- Perform analyzes, reviews and reviews.

- Preparation and presentation of oral presentations.

- Personal study

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      
Practices and seminars 10 0.4 2, 7, 5, 14, 12, 16
clases teóricas 35 1.4
Type: Supervised      
Preparation of practical activities 15 0.6 2, 4, 20, 18, 7, 5, 27, 11, 14, 12, 16, 23, 29
Tutorials 10 0.4 4, 23
Type: Autonomous      
Preparation of activities and written tests 45 1.8 2, 4, 7, 27, 11, 14, 12, 16, 23, 29
Reading bibliography 30 1.2 4, 11, 14, 12, 16, 29

Assessment

The evaluation of the subject will be done from 2 notes:

1.- REVIEW: It will be done in class hours (90 minutes) and will consist of 2 activities: a) the development of a theme, to choose between 2 options (50% of the note); b) the commentary on a literary or archaeological document (50% of the note).

2.- CONTINUOUS EVALUATION: Two practical activities, one individual and one group, will be proposed. From the latter, it will be necessary to make an oral presentation in a group. The practices are compulsory, necessary to appear in the exam. In case of suspending one of the exercises, it will be necessary to recover it during the period of re-evaluation in January.

To have the right to re-evaluate a suspended activity must have been submitted to all the tests (exam and practical activities) and have approved at least one.

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In the event that the tests cannot be done in person, their format will be adapted (maintaining their weighting) to the possibilities offered by the UAB’s virtual tools. Homework, activities and class participation will be done through forums, wikis and / or exercise discussions through Teams, ensuring that all students can access them.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Test 50 1.5 0.06 1, 21, 22, 17, 19, 20, 18, 8, 7, 27, 11, 10, 13, 14, 9, 25, 28, 29
Work placement 50 3.5 0.14 2, 3, 4, 26, 21, 20, 18, 7, 6, 5, 27, 11, 14, 12, 15, 16, 24, 23, 25, 29

Bibliography

- AUBET, M.E., Tiro y las colonias fenicias de Occidente (3a ed. ampliada), Ed. Bellaterra, Barcelona 2009.

- BRAUDEL, F., Memorias del Mediterráneo: Prehistoria y Antigüedad, Ed Cátedra, Madrid, 1998.

- DICKINSON, O., El Egeo, de la Edad del Bronce a la Edad del Hierro, Ed. Bellaterra, Barcelona 2010.

- GRACIA, F., MUNILLA, G., Protohistoria: pueblos y culturas en el Mediterráneo entre los siglos XIV y II a.C., Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona 2004.

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

- GÓMEZ ESPELOSÍN, F.J., Historia de Grecia Antigua, Akal Textos, Madrid 1995.

- GRAS, M., El Mediterráneo arcaico, Alderabán, Madrid, 1999.

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

- KARAGEORGHIS, V., Chipre, encrucijada del Mediterráneo Oriental 1600-500 a.C., Bellaterra, Barcelona 2004.

- LOPEZ BARJA, P., Historia de Roma, Akal Textos, Madrid 2004.

- NICOLET, C., Roma y la conquista del mundo mediterráneo, 264-27 a. de J.C. (2 vols), Labor, Barcelona 1982.

- REDFORD,D.B., Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1992.

- ROLDÁN HERVÁS, J.M., Citerior y Ulterior, Istmo, Madrid 2001.

- PLÁCIDO, D., ALVAR, J., GONZÁLEZ WAGNER, C., La formación de los estados en el Mediterráneo occidental, Síntesis, Madrid 1991.

- POTER, D.S. (ed.). A companion to the Roman Empire, Blackwell, Oxford, 2006.

- OSBORNE, R. La formación de Grecia, 1200 – 479 a.C., Crítica, Barcelona, 1998.

Software

Campus Virtual