University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 20

ECTS credits : 10

Level : SCQF level 7

Semester: 2

Planned timetable: To be confirmed

In 1000 BCE, the Mediterranean and Near East were barely urbanized; in the centuries that followed, a dense network of interconnected cities spanning the region developed. This module explores this transformation by examining changing physical as well as social relations between people, as well as between people and their environments. We will study the rise and fall of the ancient city, including its ecology and domestic politics, and modern debates over ancient urbanism. What existed before cities? Why do cities appear and why do they decline? How do cities relate to the natural world? Is urbanism necessarily linked to inequality? How do cities change when they are integrated into imperial systems? We will explore these questions through a variety of case studies, from tiny trading outposts to megacities like Rome and Alexandria, and a range of types of evidence, such as written histories, inscribed law codes, and the physical remains of the cities themselves.

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: 3 lectures (x 11 weeks), 7 tutorials/workshops across the semester

Scheduled learning hours: 40

Guided independent study hours: 165

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: 100% Coursework


Re-assessment: 100% Coursework (revising and resubmitting failed items only)

Personnel

Module coordinator: Dr R M Post
Module teaching staff: Team Taught
Module coordinator email rmp26@st-andrews.ac.uk

Intended learning outcomes

• Explain the role of urban communities in early history
• Explore the relationship between humans and their environment
• Assess the relationship between the concentration of power, inequality, and urbanisation
• Critically analyse historiography on ancient societies
• Integrate varied types of primary evidence