The Clash of Empires: History of the Balkans from Alexander the Great to Napoleon
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| MLAC1155 | Modern Languages and Cultures | 1 | 20 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- MLAC1155
- School
- Modern Languages and Cultures
- Level
- 1
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
The module presents a comparative survey of the consecutive imperial policies in the Balkans from Antiquity to the early modern period and explores the principal political myths arising from the imperial legacy in the region. The survey includes the following empires: the Hellenistic Empire, the Roman Empire, Byzantium, the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Empire, Venice, France, and Russia. The topics explored include: the imperial border, army structure, types of conquest, capital and peripheries, client states, demographic policies.
Target Students
Available for all students in the Faculty of Arts. Students of RSS degrees have priority.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
- One 1-hour lecture each week for 20 weeks
Assessment
- 50% Coursework: 2,000 word essay
- 50% Presentation: Presentation with a 1,500 word write-up
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
The aim of the module is to introduce first-year students to visual cultures of different empires and religions on the Balkans (colonial discourse, multiconfessionality); to introduce the basic categories of postcolonial theory and identify their potential in interpreting artefacts from different historical periods (colonial legacy); to analyse differential features of architecture, painting and sculpture and their interaction with different types of script (intermediality); to discuss artefacts in the wider context of South Slavonic cultures (Balkan cultural studies).Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
i) Good knowledge of the different cultural traditions and their visual and ideological templates (A1)
ii) Good knowledge of the different medial features of architecture, sculpture, painting (A3)
iii) Awareness of the link between visual arts on the one hand and the target South Slavonic cultures on the other hand (A2)
iv) opportunity to engage with visual material from target cultures (A4)
Intellectual skills
i) Ability to structure an argument in a clear and coherent manner (B6)
ii) Ability to differentiate between different approaches and forms of reproduction of visual artefacts (B5)
iii) Ability to apply the selected theoretical concepts in interpretation (B4)
iv) Ability to deconstruct ideological discourses (B1, B3)
Professional practical skills
i) Skills in independent research and critical analysis (C2)
ii) Ability to present evidence and conclusions in an accurate and concise written format (C1)
iii) Ability to process and organise information (C6)
Transferable skills
i) Giving presentations and monitoring discussions (D3)
ii) Communications skills, i.e. ability to engage in effective discussion, developing, justifying, and criticising an opinion (D2)
iii) Ability to prioritise tasks, organise work schedules and meet deadlines (D4)
iv) Working effectively in groups (D1)