History of the Mediterranean in the Ancient World
Code: 106864 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Archaeology | OB | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Jordi Cortadella Morral
- Email:
- jordi.cortadella@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge (introductory) in Ancient History of the Near East, Greece and Rome.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The objective of the subject is to analysed the main social and political structures of Mediterranean civilizations during Antiquity. Firstly, we will focus on the context of the Eastern Mediterranean of the 3rd-2nd millenniums BC, and on the impact of this area on the peripheral Mediterranean areas, affected by the phenomena of exchange, colonizers, migration and conquests. Secondly, we will look at those phenomena and events that led to Mediterranean unity, both on a cultural and political level. It will also be important to delve into institutional aspects and issues of daily life. To achieve our objectives it will be important to become familiar with the available primary sources (textual and archaeological), which must be related to historical interpretations.
Learning Outcomes
- KM19 (Knowledge) Understand the main and diverse theoretical (epistemological and ontological) and methodological debates in the context of the study of ancient and medieval societies.
- KM21 (Knowledge) Explain ancient and medieval historical processes from a critical and reflective perspective, analysing how archaeological evidence can question current theoretical frameworks.
- KM22 (Knowledge) Understand the processes of social formation in the ancient and medieval periods and from the perspective of geographical, social and gender diversity to build inclusive historical accounts that avoid taking androcentric and Eurocentric perspectives.
- SM21 (Skill) Develop critical and reflective archaeological thought from the inference and generation of ancient and medieval archaeological information.
- SM22 (Skill) Consider the relationship between the archaeological record and the historical processes of ancient and medieval times in their respective contexts and social complexity.
Content
Part One. The Early Mediterranean (22000 - 1000 BC)
1. Isolated in Isolation (22000 - 3000 BC)
2. Copper and Bronze (3000 - 1500 BC)
3. Merchants and Heroes (1500 - 1250 BC)
4. Sea Peoples and Land Peoples (1250 - 1100 BC).
Part Two. The Second Mediterranean (1000 BC - 600 AD)
1. Purple Merchants (1000 - 700 BC)
2. The Heirs of Ulysses (800 - 550 BC)
3. The Triumph of the Tyrrhenians (800 - 400 BC)
4. Towards the Garden of the Hesperides (1000 - 400 BC)
5. Thalassocracies (550 - 400 BC)
6. The Lighthouse of the Mediterranean (350 BC -100 AD)
7. «it seems good to me that Carthage does not exist» Plu. Cat. Ma. 27, 2 (400 BC - 146 AD)
8. «our sea» (146 BC - 150 AD)
9. Old and new faiths (1 – 450)
10. Disintegration (400 – 600)
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Practices and seminars | 10 | 0.4 | KM19, KM22, SM22, KM19 |
| Theoretical classes | 35 | 1.4 | KM21, SM21, KM21 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Preparation of practical activities | 15 | 0.6 | KM22, KM22 |
| Tutorials | 10 | 0.4 | SM22, SM22 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Lectura de bibliografia | 30 | 1.2 | KM19, KM22, SM22, KM19 |
| Preparation of activities and written tests | 45 | 1.8 | KM21, SM21, KM21 |
- Attendance at theoretical classes led by the teacher.
- Comprehensive reading of texts and interpretation of maps, graphs, tables and archaeological documents.
- Realization of reviews, works and analytical comments.
- 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.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam | 40 | 1.5 | 0.06 | KM19, KM21, KM22, SM21, SM22 |
| practical work | 60 | 3.5 | 0.14 | KM21 |
The evaluation of the subject will be carried out based on 3 notes:
1.- CONTINUOUS EVALUATION-A (20% of the final grade): individual practical activity related to the analysis of primary sources . The practices are mandatory, necessary to take the exam.
2.- CONTINUOUS EVALUATION-B (40% of the final grade): group practical activity related to the analysis ofspecialized bibliography. The practices are mandatory, necessary to take the exam.
3.- EXAM (40% of the final grade): It will be carried out during class time and will consist of 2 activities: a) the development of a topic, to choose from several options; b) the commentary on a literary or archaeological document.
To be eligible for reevaluation of a suspended activity, it is necessary to have taken all the tests (exam and practical activities) and have passed at least one.
This subject offers the possibility of taking a "Single Assessment".
To participate in remediation, students must have previously been evaluated in a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade (CONTINUED ASSESSMENT) or submit all the tests planned (SINGLE ASSESSMENT).
The maximum grade a student can obtain in retakes will be 5.
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.
Bibliography
- ALBULAFIA, D., El gran mar. Una historia humana del Mediterráneo, Crítica, Madrid, 2019.
- AUBET, M.E., Tiro y las colonias fenicias de Occidente, 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.
- KARAGEORGHIS, V., Chipre, encrucijada del Mediterráneo Oriental 1600-500 a.C., Bellaterra, Barcelona 2004.
- LOPEZ BARJA, P., Historia de Roma, Akal Textos, Madrid 2004.
- REDFORD,D.B., Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1992.
- 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
Virtual Campus, projected in the classroom with a projector cannon.
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |