Sparta
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| CLAR3063 | Classics and Archaeology | 3 | 40 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- CLAR3063
- School
- Classics and Archaeology
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 40
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
This module will consider:
- The history of Sparta from its origins in the archaic period through to its decline as a leading Greek power in the fourth century BC, with major events including: the 'sixth-century revolution' Sparta's territorial expansion within the Peloponnese Sparta's leading role in resisting the Persian invasions Sparta's rivalry with Athens during the fifth century, culminating in the Peloponnesian War the period of Spartan hegemony Thebes' rise and Sparta's fall.
- Spartan society, its institutions and cultural idiosyncracies, including: the communal upbringing the communal dining of Spartan males the Spartan political, property, and military systems the position within Spartan society of helots, other subordinate groups, and women Spartan attitudes towards war, wealth, religion, age, and outsiders.
- The significant challenges posed by our available evidence, the issue of the 'Spartan mirage', and the fundamental question of how far we can hope to reconstruct Sparta and Spartan society.
Any reassessment for this module will be by essay or assignment.
Target Students
Only available to Undergraduate level 3 students in the Department of Classics and Archaeology. Not available for exchange or subsidiary students.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
- One 2-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
Assessment
- 30% Coursework 1: 3000 word essay in autumn semester
- 30% Coursework 2: 3000 word essay in Spring semester
- 40% Exam 1 (2-hour)
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
This module will allow students to:-Study in depth a leading Greek power which played a major role in determining the course of Greek history in the fifth and fourth centuries BC.-Closely examine a society regarded as exceptional and treated as a model (positive or negative) by authors ranging from contemporaries and Romans down to the present day.-Critically evaluate our evidence, which disproportionately consists of textual accounts of Sparta and Spartans written by non-Spartans observing Sparta with an outsider’s perspective, idealising it, or otherwise using it for their own narrative or discursive purposes.-Explore how the limitations of our evidence have facilitated highly contrasting interpretations by scholars, and develop their own opinions regarding the character and exceptionality of Spartan society.Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will:
-Gain a detailed knowledge of a major Greek state, its contribution to Greek history and its place within wider Greek society.
-Gain a deeper understanding of issues of bias, perspective, and purpose in the interpretation of textual evidence.
-Improve their ability to analyse evidence, digest information, and construct an argument.
-Improve their ability to manage independent study and make appropriate selections from within a vast bibliography of secondary scholarship.
-Enhance their oral communication skills through participation in discussion and formal presentations.
-Enhance their written communication skills through completion of assessments.