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CHOOSE A SUBJECT
2022/23
2023/24
Undergraduates
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Undergraduates
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Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • Pharmacy
  • Physician Associate

Subjects A-B

  • Accounting
  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Science
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Bioveterinary Sciences
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Subjects C-E

  • Chemistry
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  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
  • Criminology
  • Drama
  • Ecology
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  • French
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  • Healthcare
  • History
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  • International Relations
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  • Law
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  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Sciences
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate Studies
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre & Performance

Subjects U-Z

  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Zoology

Subjects A-C

  • Accounting
  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Animal Sciences
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
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  • Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
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  • Creative Enterprise
  • Creative Writing

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  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • History
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  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Management
  • Marketing
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  • Microbiology
  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Policy

Subjects Q-Z

  • Real Estate and Planning
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  • Strategic Studies
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  • Typography and Graphic Communication
  • War and Peace Studies
  • Zoology

BA Ancient History and History

  • UCAS code
    V117
  • Typical offer
    BBB
  • Year of entry
    2023/24
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  3 Years
  • Year of entry
    2023/24
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  3 Years

Join our BA Ancient History and History degree and explore the past, from ancient Greece through Medieval Europe to Cold War Britain. 

Choose BA Ancient History and History at the University of Reading

  • Explore the richness of the classical world alongside the wide variety of human history around the globe, combining two complementary subjects to enhance your understanding of both.
  • The Department of History’s expertise covers political, social and cultural history across a wide range of regions from the medieval period to the present, from the Crusades to the 1960s. In 2022, we achieved a 94% satisfaction score for BA History (National Student Survey 2022).
  • In the Department of Classics you can examine the fascinating cultures and societies of the Greek and Roman worlds, from c. 2000 BC to AD 600. In 2022, we achieved a 92% satisfaction score for BA Ancient History (National Student Survey 2022).

A wide-ranging curriculum with a global reach

In this three-year course, you’ll address important modern questions and trace them back to their roots, exploring different periods of history through both literary and material sources. In your first year, you will develop your research and analytical skills. During your second and final years, you will be able to select modules that best fit your interests, choosing from a wide range of subjects, such as:

  • ancient civilisations of Greece, Rome, Anatolia and Egypt
  • medieval magic and the origins of the witch craze
  • the making of modern South Asia.

We place a strong emphasis on small group learning within a supportive environment, encouraging discussion and debate with academics and peers.

Tailor your degree to fit your own interests

You will enhance your knowledge of the ancient world through:

  • ancient history core modules, such as Greek History or Roman History
  • optional Latin and Greek language modules
  • hands-on experience with artefacts from the Ure Museum – the University’s collection of Greek and Egyptian antiquities.

Conversely, the history segment of the course covers the last thousand years, giving you the chance to explore different historical periods before pursuing your own interests choosing from a wide variety of modules, including:

  • The Colonial Experience: Africa
  • Anarchy in the UK: Punk, Politics and Youth Culture in Britain, 1976-84
  • Doomsday Dystopias: Nuclear Disaster in the Cold War Imagination
  • Women in American History.

You will also write a dissertation on a specialist topic of your choice, and you will receive expert help from your supervisor in managing your research and writing the final thesis.

Additionally, the University offers all students the chance to learn a modern language alongside their core subjects.

Work placement opportunities

During your studies, you’ll have the opportunity to take a work placement and apply your skills and knowledge in real-world settings. Both departments benefit from links with the Careers Centre, offering help with potential employers, CVs and letters of application.

History’s second-year module, Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future, gives students the opportunity to work with external partners in museums, and heritage and media organisations. In your final year, two optional history modules also offer placements of 10 working days in local archives and secondary schools.

Employability modules in Classics are built into your degree. You can gain valuable experience and insight in a relevant workplace through our five-day Work Experience Scheme, or work with an academic on their research through our Academic Placement module. The Department’s Ure Museum also provides voluntary placements.

Study abroad opportunities

You will be encouraged to gain direct experience of ancient sites through both independent travel, which you might finance through our annual travel bursary, and by applying to study at the British School at Athens or Rome, both offering summer school opportunities to University of Reading students.

Additionally, field trips in the UK and abroad will enable you to access new areas of history within their historical surroundings. Past examples include the National Trust in Winchester and Westminster, and further afield in Paris and Berlin.

You can also choose to spend a term in your second year at one of our partner universities in Europe, the USA, Canada or Australia. We encourage all our students to seize the opportunity to study abroad, as it can help you develop skills such as independence, knowledge of different cultures, adaptability and the ability to communicate internationally.

Overview

Join our BA Ancient History and History degree and explore the past, from ancient Greece through Medieval Europe to Cold War Britain. 

Choose BA Ancient History and History at the University of Reading

  • Explore the richness of the classical world alongside the wide variety of human history around the globe, combining two complementary subjects to enhance your understanding of both.
  • The Department of History’s expertise covers political, social and cultural history across a wide range of regions from the medieval period to the present, from the Crusades to the 1960s. In 2022, we achieved a 94% satisfaction score for BA History (National Student Survey 2022).
  • In the Department of Classics you can examine the fascinating cultures and societies of the Greek and Roman worlds, from c. 2000 BC to AD 600. In 2022, we achieved a 92% satisfaction score for BA Ancient History (National Student Survey 2022).

Learning

A wide-ranging curriculum with a global reach

In this three-year course, you’ll address important modern questions and trace them back to their roots, exploring different periods of history through both literary and material sources. In your first year, you will develop your research and analytical skills. During your second and final years, you will be able to select modules that best fit your interests, choosing from a wide range of subjects, such as:

  • ancient civilisations of Greece, Rome, Anatolia and Egypt
  • medieval magic and the origins of the witch craze
  • the making of modern South Asia.

We place a strong emphasis on small group learning within a supportive environment, encouraging discussion and debate with academics and peers.

Tailor your degree to fit your own interests

You will enhance your knowledge of the ancient world through:

  • ancient history core modules, such as Greek History or Roman History
  • optional Latin and Greek language modules
  • hands-on experience with artefacts from the Ure Museum – the University’s collection of Greek and Egyptian antiquities.

Conversely, the history segment of the course covers the last thousand years, giving you the chance to explore different historical periods before pursuing your own interests choosing from a wide variety of modules, including:

  • The Colonial Experience: Africa
  • Anarchy in the UK: Punk, Politics and Youth Culture in Britain, 1976-84
  • Doomsday Dystopias: Nuclear Disaster in the Cold War Imagination
  • Women in American History.

You will also write a dissertation on a specialist topic of your choice, and you will receive expert help from your supervisor in managing your research and writing the final thesis.

Additionally, the University offers all students the chance to learn a modern language alongside their core subjects.

Work placement opportunities

During your studies, you’ll have the opportunity to take a work placement and apply your skills and knowledge in real-world settings. Both departments benefit from links with the Careers Centre, offering help with potential employers, CVs and letters of application.

History’s second-year module, Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future, gives students the opportunity to work with external partners in museums, and heritage and media organisations. In your final year, two optional history modules also offer placements of 10 working days in local archives and secondary schools.

Employability modules in Classics are built into your degree. You can gain valuable experience and insight in a relevant workplace through our five-day Work Experience Scheme, or work with an academic on their research through our Academic Placement module. The Department’s Ure Museum also provides voluntary placements.

Study abroad opportunities

You will be encouraged to gain direct experience of ancient sites through both independent travel, which you might finance through our annual travel bursary, and by applying to study at the British School at Athens or Rome, both offering summer school opportunities to University of Reading students.

Additionally, field trips in the UK and abroad will enable you to access new areas of history within their historical surroundings. Past examples include the National Trust in Winchester and Westminster, and further afield in Paris and Berlin.

You can also choose to spend a term in your second year at one of our partner universities in Europe, the USA, Canada or Australia. We encourage all our students to seize the opportunity to study abroad, as it can help you develop skills such as independence, knowledge of different cultures, adaptability and the ability to communicate internationally.

Entry requirements A Level BBB

Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS and we'll guarantee you a place even if you don't quite meet your offer. For details, see our firm choice scheme.

Typical offer

BBB, including grade B in A level History, Ancient History, or Classical Civilisation.

International Baccalaureate

30 points overall including 5 in History at higher level

Extended Project Qualification

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) provides to students for University study, we can now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.

BTEC Extended Diploma

DDM (Modules taken must be comparable to subject specific requirement)

English language requirements

IELTS 7.0, with no component below 6.0

For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages.

Alternative entry requirements for International and EU students

For country specific entry requirements look at entry requirements by country.

International Foundation Programme

If you are an international or EU student and do not meet the requirements for direct entry to your chosen degree you can join the University of Reading’s International Foundation Programme. Successful completion of this 1 year programme guarantees you a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. English language requirements start as low as IELTS 4.5 depending on progression degree and start date.

  • Learn more about our International Foundation programme

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

  • Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

Structure

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Compulsory modules include:

X

Module details


Title:

Greek History: war, society, and change in the Archaic Age

Code:

CL1GH

Convenor:

PROF Amy Smith

Summary:

This module will introduce students to a period of Greek history too often neglected in first-year study, one which established the foundations of the Classical World and saw the emergence of political and social forms still influential today. Starting in the eighth century BC and ending with the Persian invasions of Greece in the early fifth, the module tracks the upheavals, innovations and conflicts of the age, across Greece and beyond.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Class test 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Roman History: the rise and fall of the Republic

Code:

CL1RH

Convenor:

DR Andreas Gavrielatos

Summary:

This module investigates the mid- and late Republican history of Rome (2nd century BC to late first century BC), a period marked by profound socio-political changes which ultimately led to the crisis of the Republican institutions. It introduces students to the main types of evidence for ancient history and to modern methodological approaches.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Class test 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Journeys through History 1:Power and People

Code:

HS1JH1

Convenor:

DR Daniel Renshaw

Summary:

This module offers an introduction to the political and social history of Europe and the world in the last millennium. The module is compulsory for all Part 1 History students on both single subject and joint honours programmes.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Journeys through History 2: Culture and Concepts'

Code:

HS1JH2

Convenor:

PROF Anne Lawrence

Summary:

This module offers an introduction to the cultural history of Europe and the world in the last millennium, and to important concepts used by historians. The module is compulsory for all Part 1 History students on both single subject and joint honours programmes.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Set exercise 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Research Skills and Opportunities in History

Code:

HS1RSO

Convenor:

DR Ruth Salter

Summary:

This module provides you with the opportunity to develop and hone your skills as a historian, making sure you feel prepared for your academic journey with us in History, and helping to support progress in employability. The module is compulsory for all Part 1 History students on both single subject and joint honours programmes.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 25%, Set exercise 25%, Project 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Code Module Convenor
CL1GH Greek History: war, society, and change in the Archaic Age PROF Amy Smith
CL1RH Roman History: the rise and fall of the Republic DR Andreas Gavrielatos
HS1JH1 Journeys through History 1:Power and People DR Daniel Renshaw
HS1JH2 Journeys through History 2: Culture and Concepts' PROF Anne Lawrence
HS1RSO Research Skills and Opportunities in History DR Ruth Salter

Optional modules include:

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Greek 1

Code:

CL1G1

Convenor:

PROF Amy Smith

Summary:

This module aims to teach students some elements of the Ancient Greek language and give them skills to read Ancient Greek at an elementary level.

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Latin 1 (C)

Code:

CL1L1

Convenor:

MRS Jackie Baines

Summary:

This module aims to teach students some elements of the Latin language and give them skills to read Latin at an elementary level.

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Song

Code:

CL1SO

Convenor:

PROF Ian Rutherford

Summary:

This module introduces students to the lyric poetry of ancient Greece and Rome, studying authors from both civilisations and considering a range of thematic approaches to the surviving corpus of poetry. It is intended to be suitable for beginners and for those who have studied some ancient literature before; there is no language requirement, but there will be an opportunity for students who do have relevant skills to employ them in their coursework and exams.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Texts, Readers, and Writers

Code:

CL1TR

Convenor:

PROF Eleanor Dickey

Summary:

This module explores the history of texts, reading, and writing in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. We shall look at literature, papyri, inscriptions, letters, Linear B, etc. Attention will also be given to the invention of the alphabet and to ancient writing materials and technologies. No knowledge of Latin, ancient Greek, or the ancient world more generally is required.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Oral 50%, Set exercise 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Introduction to Management

Code:

AP1SB1

Convenor:

PROF Julian Park

Summary:

This module provides a contemporary and comprehensive introduction to management science and its relevance to businesses. Interactive in-class activities and the use of online apps will help you learn techniques for inspiring teamwork in an organisation context, discover the importance of strategic management design for achieving an organisation's goals, and understand the roles of the manager and the responsibilities this carries. You will also have a range of opportunities to gain hands-on practising decision making through case studies. Furthermore, develop your leadership skills to motivate and guide a team towards the achievement of an organisation’s objectives.  

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt & Rome

Code:

AR1EMP

Convenor:

PROF Roger Matthews

Summary:

This module introduces the archaeology and historical context of the world’s early empires, dating from 2500 BC to AD 395. We focus on the great empires of ancient Mesopotamia (Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria), Egypt, the Persian Achaemenid Empire and the Roman Empire. We will review other imperial entities of the world, including examples from China and the Far East, and the Americas. We will examine special themes relevant to the topic of empires, including ideology, imperial cult, trade, urbanisation, warfare, agriculture and the everyday lives of imperial subjects. You will study the rise and fall of some of the greatest, and the most fearsome, socio-political entities to have existed on our planet.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Practical 10%, Report 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt & Rome [10 credits]

Code:

AR1EMP10

Convenor:

PROF Roger Matthews

Summary:

This module introduces the archaeology and historical context of the world’s early empires, dating from 2500 BC to AD 395. We focus on the great empires of ancient Mesopotamia (Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria), Egypt, the Persian Achaemenid Empire and the Roman Empire. We will review other imperial entities of the world, including examples from China and the Far East, and the Americas. We will examine special themes relevant to the topic of empires, including ideology, imperial cult, trade, urbanisation, warfare, agriculture and the everyday lives of imperial subjects. You will study the rise and fall of some of the greatest, and the most fearsome, socio-political entities to have existed on our planet.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death

Code:

AR1FOR

Convenor:

DR Ceri Falys

Summary:

This module investigates the archaeological methods employed in the scientific study of the dead, both from modern crime scenes and within older archaeological contexts. You will have the opportunity to analyse skeletal remains, and carry out fieldwork in the form of a cemetery survey, learning how to analyse and interpret these results. Through a series of case studies, you will explore the role of forensic archaeologists and anthropologists (working within the context of the ethics, law and politics) behind the examination of human remains.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 50%, Report 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death [10 credit]

Code:

AR1FOR10

Convenor:

DR Ceri Falys

Summary:

This module investigates the archaeological methods employed in the scientific study of the dead, both from modern crime scenes and within older archaeological contexts. Through a series of case studies, you will explore the role of forensic archaeologists and anthropologists (working within the context of the ethics, law and politics) behind the examination of human remains.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Revolutions in Human Behaviour: 4 Million Years BC to the Present

Code:

AR1REV

Convenor:

PROF Steve Mithen

Summary:

This module investigates the development of human society from a long-term and global perspective. It traces the human journey from our earliest ancestors of c. 4 million years ago to the present day. The module considers the key revolutions and transitions that have affected human thought, behaviour and society, focussing on the evidence from material culture. Key themes include: human evolution, the development of complex societies, the inventions of metallurgy and writing, the industrial and agricultural revolutions, and globalisation. The module is taught by  a combination of online lectures, face-to-face seminars and lectures, practical classes and a field trip.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Revolutions in Human Behaviour: 4 Million Years BC to the Present [10 credits]

Code:

AR1REV10

Convenor:

PROF Steve Mithen

Summary:

This module investigates the development of human society from a long-term and global perspective. It traces the human journey from our earliest ancestors of c. 6 million years ago to the present day. The module considers the key revolutions and transitions that have affected human thought, behaviour and society, focussing on the evidence from material culture. Key themes include: human evolution, the development of complex societies, the inventions of metallurgy and writing, the industrial and agricultural revolutions, and globalisation. The module is taught by a combination of online lectures and face-to-face seminars and lectures.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology

Code:

AR1SOC

Convenor:

DR Alanna Cant

Summary:

This module provides a general introduction to social anthropology, the study of human societies and cultures. It will introduce you to major themes in the discipline of anthropology through focused study on topics that may include: kinship and marriage, gender and sexuality, the roles of religion, ritual and witchcraft in modern life, the concepts of ethnicity and race, and contemporary hunting and gathering societies. The module will also consider how anthropology can help us understand key issues in today’s world, such as ethnicity, race and decolonisation, and the role that work and consumption play in forming identities. Teaching is focused on real-world case studies from different cultures and regions around the globe, including the research expertise of the lecturer(s). 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology [10 credits]

Code:

AR1SOC10

Convenor:

DR Alanna Cant

Summary:

This module provides a general introduction to social anthropology, the study of human societies and cultures. It will introduce you to major themes in the discipline of anthropology through focused study on topics that may include: kinship and marriage, gender and sexuality, the roles of religion, ritual and witchcraft in modern life, the concepts of ethnicity and race, and contemporary hunting and gathering societies. The module will also consider how anthropology can help us understand key issues in today’s world, such as ethnicity, race and decolonisation, and the role that work and consumption play in forming identities. Teaching is focused on real-world case studies from different cultures and regions around the globe, including the research expertise of the lecturer(s). 

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

The Economics of Climate Change

Code:

EC110

Convenor:

DR Stefania Lovo

Summary:

The module will offer an economic perspective on the causes and consequences of climate change. It will provide an introduction to key theoretical concepts, such as externalities and public goods, and to the policy tools available to devise adequate responses to climate change, such as command and control measures, taxation and subsidies. The module will also introduce national and international policy approaches in dealing with climate change and provide an overview of their implications for economic development.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Class test 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Approaches to Film

Code:

FT1ATF

Convenor:

DR Adam O'Brien

Summary:

How do films tell stories, make meanings, and contribute to our culture? What questions can, and should, we ask of a film?

This module includes a mix of cinema screenings, seminars and lectures, exploring a range of fiction and non-fiction films. Class discussions and assignments will challenge you to explore the meanings and cultural significance of moving images, across the 20th and 21st centuries.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Analysing Theatre and Performance

Code:

FT1ATP

Convenor:

DR Matt McFrederick

Summary:

How do theatrical stories allow us to examine and reimagine our impression of the world today?  What practical qualities do theatre makers return to - or reinvent - in creating meaning in performance?

In this introduction to theatre and performance, you will share your interpretations and expand the ways you see and think about theatre in relation to the world today. You will learn how to be a confident spectator and reader of theatre through a range of diverse and topical performances in local or in London-based venues - previous trips have included the National Theatre, RSC Live, Peking Opera, the West End and smaller, innovative fringe venues.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Oral 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Comedy on Stage and Screen

Code:

FT1CSS

Convenor:

DR Simone Knox

Summary:

This module gives you the opportunity to study comedy on stage and screen, encompassing film, television, theatre and stand-up comedy. You will engage with the relevant critical vocabulary and contextual knowledge to explore how humour is created, consumed and debated, across a range of genres and practices. Case studies may include classic and contemporary film comedies (e.g. screwball comedy, black comedy); musical comedies (e.g. The Book of Mormon); stand-up comedy (e.g. Ali Wong, Hannah Gadsby); sitcoms (e.g. Friends); or the work of specific creative practitioners (e.g. Joe Orton). 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Set exercise 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

Intercultural Competence and Communication

Code:

IL1GICC

Convenor:

MS Joan McCormack

Summary:

In this module students develop skills and understanding needed for working in the multi-cultural global workplace. In the Autumn term it will consider intercultural competence and communication from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including psychology, education, inclusivity, business, language and discourse. In the Spring term students will apply their knowledge to define and explain a defined a real-world issue.

The module will be delivered at the University of Reading Whiteknights campus

Assessment Method:

Oral 10%, Portfolio 30%, Project 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

IWLP Modern Greek 1

Code:

LA1PK1

Convenor:

PROF Timothy Duff

Summary:

Intended for students with no previous knowledge of the Modern Greek language, this module enables students to acquire a basic understanding of the language and the ability to communicate in everyday situations about matters of most immediate personal relevance. It also provides students with some insights into aspects of society and everyday life in Greece and Cyprus. Support is given and adjustments are made for students with disabilities. 

Support is given and adjustments are made for students with disabilities. However, IWLP language modules are communicative in nature and students are required to work in small groups.  Also, students should be aware that spelling, grammar and sentence structure are assessed. In this respect the IWLP assessment is exempted from the University’s requirement to take specific learning difficulties into account when marking.  For languages where handwriting is assessed, computers are not allowed. For queries, contact iwlp@reading.ac.uk.

Assessment Method:

Exam 40%, Oral 30%, Portfolio 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

Museum History, Policy and Ethics

Code:

MC1HPE

Convenor:

DR Rhi Smith

Summary:

This module explores and critically analyses the historical, political and ethical factors which influence contemporary museum practice. It investigates topics such as the origins of museums, collecting histories, social justice, repatriation, hidden voices, decolonisation, inclusivity, and the role of different audiences in curation. Case studies and museological theory are used to debate the role of museums in modern society. Students take part in lectures, seminars and museum visits and work is assessed through one coursework essay and a groupwork online resource.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Presenting the Past

Code:

MC1PP

Convenor:

DR Rhi Smith

Summary:

Museum display environments create representations of the past through a complex process of design, curatorship, and interpretation. This module uses museological theory and practice to interrogate the way that heritage organisations present the past to the public.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Introduction to Linguistics

Code:

ML1IL

Convenor:

MR Federico Faloppa

Summary:

This module aims to familiarise students with principles in general linguistics, and to give students an overall picture of what a language is, how it works, and what its main structures are, with a particular focus on French, German, Italian and Spanish. It will also provide useful meta-linguistic competence which can be applied to the study of any other language.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Oral 20%, Set exercise 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

The Science of Climate Change

Code:

MT1CC

Convenor:

PROF Nigel Arnell

Summary:

This module provides an introduction to the science of climate change, aimed at students who do not necessarily have a scientific background.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Assignment 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Inequality

Code:

PO1INE

Convenor:

DR Jonathan Golub

Summary:

Inequality is everywhere around us: different individuals earn different salaries, people of different genders and backgrounds have access to different economic opportunities, and those at the top of the income distribution have radically distinct life chances than those at the bottom. What explains rising inequality, is it fair and what are the consequences? Should anything be done to reduce inequality, and if so, what? This course aims to answer these questions by providing students with the analytical tools and knowledge to understand and explain the evolution of earnings, racial and gender inequality over time and its variation across developed countries. It also considers the economic, normative and political implications of different forms of inequality, in particular gender and racial inequality. Is inequality at the top of the income distribution (i.e. the 1% v. the rest of us) the inevitable outcome of a well-functioning market system or does it suggest problems in the way democracy works? Does inequality undermine democracy for instance by affecting political participation or increasing the appeal of non-liberal populist parties? Take the course and you will find out more about these fascinating questions and more!

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Oral 10%, Project 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

War and Warfare

Code:

PO1WAR

Convenor:

DR Vladimir Rauta

Summary:

This is an introductory module for students seeking foundational knowledge of war in international relations. The emphasis will be on concepts and types of war, their causes, and how they relate to real world issues in international relations and international security. By thinking through and examining a subset of wars and types of warfare the ultimate objective is to have students embrace a range of theoretical arguments about both historical and contemporary examples, to apply these insights to current debates about war in international relations and to prepare students for future scholarly research and security/strategy-focused analysis. The module draws on the department’s international longstanding reputation and robust intellectual tradition in the study of war, strategy and the uses of military force, and embeds in its teaching the department’s links with the British security and defence establishment, evidenced by the links with the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

Global Justice

Code:

PP1GJ

Convenor:

DR Shalini Sinha

Summary:

Global traditions of philosophy  from the Buddha and Confucius to Simone Weil, Frantz Fanon, Martin Luther King Jr., and African and Native American thinkers advocate ideas of justice and freedom that extend far beyond contemporary conceptions. This course shows how these thinkers question our  ideas of justice, and  transform how we approach injustice and freedom in the  context of race and colonialism, nature and  indigenous communities, identity  and sexuality, family and polity, through radically different conceptions of freedom and violence,  love, equality and harmony.

Some of the claims we will examine include: Justice is freedom from suffering!  Revolutionary violence is cathartic and emancipatory! Political justice  requires mental training! Nature is alive and has rights! Gender and sexual freedom are gained by  dissolving bodily boundaries!  Truth lies in pleasure! Justice is  love! Social justice comes with harmonising differences! 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

The Meaning of Life

Code:

PP1ML

Convenor:

DR George Mason

Summary:

What is the meaning of life? This is perhaps the most important philosophical question we can ask. What is the answer? Indeed, what is the question really asking? In this module, we seek the answers. Along the way, we will consider a series of fascinating questions which promise to enlighten our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world. What makes life worth living? Is there any reason to fear death? Could life in artificial reality be better or more fulfilling than life in the real world?

Reading:

A list of required readings will be posted online. All or nearly all core readings are available electronically.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

Radical Philosophy

Code:

PP1RP

Convenor:

PROF Maximilian De Gaynesford

Summary:

From Plato and Marx to contemporaries like Judith Butler, Slavoj Zizek, and Catharine MacKinnon, there is a long tradition of radicalism in philosophy. This course is about how radical philosophy can usefully question our deepest assumptions and challenge our deepest beliefs. Poets should be outlawed from our society! We can secure knowledge by doubting everything! Capitalism will be destroyed by the very forces it creates! Gender is a social performance! Pornography silences women! Torture is permissible in extreme circumstances, e.g. post 9/11! These are some of the claims this course investigates philosophically.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

What the font? Making and using typefaces

Code:

TY1WTF

Convenor:

DR Rob Banham

Summary:

You are surrounded by fonts. Social media, text messages, email, branding, advertising, websites, books, magazines … Human (and machine) communication relies extensively on fonts, but what do you really know about them? How and why are new fonts created? And is it ever OK to use comic sans?! This module will introduce you to the world of typeface design, exploring the history, theory, and practice of making and using fonts and giving you the opportunity to design a typeface of your own. No background in design is required.

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 50%, Project 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Code Module Convenor
CL1G1 Ancient Greek 1 PROF Amy Smith
CL1L1 Latin 1 (C) MRS Jackie Baines
CL1SO Ancient Song PROF Ian Rutherford
CL1TR Texts, Readers, and Writers PROF Eleanor Dickey
AP1SB1 Introduction to Management PROF Julian Park
AR1EMP Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt & Rome PROF Roger Matthews
AR1EMP10 Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt & Rome [10 credits] PROF Roger Matthews
AR1FOR Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death DR Ceri Falys
AR1FOR10 Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death [10 credit] DR Ceri Falys
AR1REV Revolutions in Human Behaviour: 4 Million Years BC to the Present PROF Steve Mithen
AR1REV10 Revolutions in Human Behaviour: 4 Million Years BC to the Present [10 credits] PROF Steve Mithen
AR1SOC Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology DR Alanna Cant
AR1SOC10 Contemporary world cultures: an introduction to social anthropology [10 credits] DR Alanna Cant
EC110 The Economics of Climate Change DR Stefania Lovo
FT1ATF Approaches to Film DR Adam O'Brien
FT1ATP Analysing Theatre and Performance DR Matt McFrederick
FT1CSS Comedy on Stage and Screen DR Simone Knox
IL1GICC Intercultural Competence and Communication MS Joan McCormack
LA1PK1 IWLP Modern Greek 1 PROF Timothy Duff
MC1HPE Museum History, Policy and Ethics DR Rhi Smith
MC1PP Presenting the Past DR Rhi Smith
ML1IL Introduction to Linguistics MR Federico Faloppa
MT1CC The Science of Climate Change PROF Nigel Arnell
PO1INE Inequality DR Jonathan Golub
PO1WAR War and Warfare DR Vladimir Rauta
PP1GJ Global Justice DR Shalini Sinha
PP1ML The Meaning of Life DR George Mason
PP1RP Radical Philosophy PROF Maximilian De Gaynesford
TY1WTF What the font? Making and using typefaces DR Rob Banham

These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Optional modules include:

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Module details


Title:

Ancient Epic

Code:

CL2AE

Convenor:

DR Christa Gray

Summary:

This module offers an introduction to Greek and Latin epic, centring around close study of the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid, but including discussion of other early Greek hexameter poems such as Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and the Epic Cycle. It may also cover Hellenistic epic, for example Apollonius Rhodius, or other Roman epics like Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Egyptian Language and Hieroglyphs

Code:

CL2AEL

Convenor:

DR Hana Navratilova

Summary:

This module aims to teach students some elements of the Ancient Egyptian language and give them skills to read Egyptian, in the hieroglyphic script, at an elementary level.

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient World on Film

Code:

CL2AF

Convenor:

DR Dimitra Tzanidaki-Kreps

Summary:

This module provides an introduction to key techniques and issues in the study of films inspired by the ancient world. We will consider the variety of influences that shape the re-presentation of antiquity in cinema through an examination of films inspired by ancient literature, myth and history. Students will learn how to read, research and write about cinematic texts and their relationship with antiquity.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Greek Warfare

Code:

CL2AGW

Convenor:

DR Emma Aston

Summary:

This module equips students with a broad understanding of the military methods, strategies, customs and ideologies of the Classical Greeks. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Oral 10%"

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Academic Work Placement

Code:

CL2APL

Convenor:

DR Emma Aston

Summary:

This module allows students to undertake academic work placements for credit. Students on the module undertake an academic placement offered by a member of staff in the Department and related to his/her own research (or teaching). This allows students to gain experience and understanding of the work of research and teaching professionals.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Oral 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Greek History: Persian Wars to Alexander

Code:

CL2CGH

Convenor:

DR Emma Aston

Summary:

Greek History 479-323 BC, from the end of the Persian Wars, through the Peloponnesian War and the fall of Sparta, to the rise of Macedon and the meteoric career of Alexander the Great.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Drama

Code:

CL2DR

Convenor:

PROF Barbara Goff

Summary:

This module examines the ancient genre of drama, with respect to its content, themes and style, and the context of performance culture which surrounded it.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Egypt and the Greco-Roman World

Code:

CL2EGR

Convenor:

PROF Ian Rutherford

Summary:

A module examining relationships between Ancient Egypt and the Greco-Roman world.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Greek 2 (I)

Code:

CL2G2

Convenor:

MRS Doukissa Kamini

Summary:

The module aims to introduce students to reading Ancient Greek authors in the original, and to develop further knowledge of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. 

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Greek 3 (I)

Code:

CL2G3

Convenor:

DR Dimitra Tzanidaki-Kreps

Summary:

The module aims to enable students to read Ancient Greek authors with some fluency, and to develop a sound competence in grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied.

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

The Justinianic Plague

Code:

CL2JP

Convenor:

DR Arietta Papaconstantinou

Summary:

Adopting a strongly interdisciplinary approach, this module will study the pandemic of bubonic plague that broke out in the Mediterranean in 542, widely known as the Justinianic Plague (because it happened under emperor Justinian), or as the First Pandemic. It has often been understood as one of the factors precipitating ‘the end of Antiquity’.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 80%, Oral 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Latin 2 (I)

Code:

CL2L2

Convenor:

MRS Jackie Baines

Summary:

The module aims to introduce students to reading Latin authors in the original, and to develop further knowledge of grammar, syntax and vocabulary.

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Latin 3 (I)

Code:

CL2L3

Convenor:

DR Andreas Gavrielatos

Summary:

The module aims to enable students to read Latin authors with some fluency, and to develop a sound competence in grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied.

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Prospects for Classicists and Ancient Historians

Code:

CL2PR

Convenor:

DR Emma Aston

Summary:

A module designed to foster reflective and employability skills.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Rome's Mediterranean Empire; A World of Cities

Code:

CL2RME

Convenor:

DR Andrew Souter

Summary:

This module will explore the phenomenon of Roman urbanism through detailed analysis of architecture and Imperial iconography at a range of geographically-diverse sites: case studies will include those on Rome, Pompeii, Lepcis Magna, Merida and Athens, thereby providing students with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of leading cities of the Roman world while addressing broad themes such as cultural exchanges and stylistic developments. We will also examine the means by which urban landscapes were used to communicate Imperial ideology and provincial munificence. Essays and group discussion will prepare students to discuss issues of chronology, technique, and style in art and architecture; we will also address overarching issues through the reading and discussion of current and previous scholarly articles in these fields.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Roman History: From Republic to Empire

Code:

CL2RO

Convenor:

PROF Annalisa Marzano

Summary:

This Roman history module covers the period from the second triumvirate in the last years of the Republic to the reigns of the emperors.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future

Code:

HS2GPP

Convenor:

PROF Kate Williams

Summary:

This module provides students with an opportunity to explore public interpretations of the past beyond academia, to work collaboratively with external partners on a group project which involves researching and communicating about history for public audiences, and to develop key areas of employability. This module is compulsory for all Single Subject History students, and optional for Joint Honours History students.

Assessment Method:

Oral 40%, Portfolio 40%, Report 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Historical Approaches and My Dissertation

Code:

HS2HAD

Convenor:

MISS Liz Barnes

Summary:

This module introduces students to a wide range of primary sources and to the methods and approaches used by historians to analyse those sources, to prepare you to plan, research, and write your final-year dissertation.

This module is compulsory for all Single Subject History students and History with Study Abroad students. It is available as an optional module for students taking a joint degree in History, and strongly recommended for Joint History students wishing to complete their Part 3 Dissertation in History. Joint History students opting to complete their Part 3 Dissertation in History without taking this module will be required to complete (as a formative assessment) the dissertation proposal which forms one element of the summative assessment on this module.

Assessment Method:

Portfolio 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Intellectuals and Society in Twentieth Century Italy

Code:

HS2INT

Convenor:

PROF Daniela La Penna

Summary:

The aim of the module is to provide a clear historical overview of the main conflicts between the intellectual class and the state in twentieth-century Italy, focussing specifically on the Fascist period and the Republican years. Through carefully selected case studies, the students will learn about the always dynamic and sometimes openly conflictual relationship between some key Italian intellectuals and institutions such as the State, the Universities and the media. At the end of the module, the students will be able to give cogent, structured, and informed answers to the following questions: what is an intellectual? Who may become a public intellectual and how does one acquire that status? What are intellectuals' responsibilities towards society?

Assessment Method:

Assignment 80%, Oral 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

The Colonial Experience: Africa, 1879 to 1980

Code:

HS2O10

Convenor:

DR Heike Schmidt

Summary:

This module explores the impact of colonialism in Africa, considering this impact in broad terms but with a particular focus on the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and reflects on how historians can understand the colonial past without reproducing a Eurocentric point of view.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Belief and Unbelief in Europe: Religion, Science and the Supernatural c.1400-1800

Code:

HS2O12

Convenor:

PROF Joël Félix

Summary:

This module will explore the ways in which beliefs about God and attitudes towards nature, science and the supernatural changed between c. 1400 and 1800, and how institutions responded to change. We will examine the interactions between religion, science and magic, and explore the relationship between religious orthodoxies, superstition, and atheism across this period.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Rebel Girls: The Influence of Radical Women 1792-1919

Code:

HS2O14

Convenor:

DR Jacqui Turner

Summary:

This module considers changing perceptions of women in Britain from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century, and examines the influence of those women who challenged social stereotypes and the Victorian double standard.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

‘The brightest jewel in the British crown’: The Making of Modern South Asia, 1757-1947

Code:

HS2O16

Convenor:

DR Rohan Deb Roy

Summary:

This module introduces students to the history of modern South Asia. Students learn how British colonial rule and anti-colonial Indian nationalism shaped modern South Asia.  

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Europe in the Twentieth Century

Code:

HS2O19

Convenor:

DR Daniel Renshaw

Summary:

This module surveys European history over the course of the twentieth century, a period of dramatic conflicts and social, political, and cultural changes which transformed Europe itself, and European relationships to the wider world.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Utopia: the Quest for a Perfect World

Code:

HS2O21

Convenor:

DR Jeremy Burchardt

Summary:

This module explores one of humanity’s most cherished and long-standing dreams: the quest for a perfect world. After an initial survey of the roots of the utopian tradition, we focus primarily on modern visions and versions of utopia in the period c.1800-c.2000.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

People, power and revolution: political culture in seventeenth-century England

Code:

HS2O3

Convenor:

DR Rachel Foxley

Summary:

The political narrative of seventeenth-century England is eventful: one Stuart monarch, Charles I, was tried and executed by his own subjects in 1649 following two civil wars; another, James II, was ousted and replaced in the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688-9. In the middle of the century England came under republican government and experienced the rise to power of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector. In this module we will ask who ruled England in the seventeenth century, why two revolutions occurred, and how different politics was by the end of the century compared to the situation when James I came to the throne in 1603.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

The American Civil War

Code:

HS2O53

Convenor:

MISS Liz Barnes

Summary:

In 1861, long-standing divisions over the place of slavery in American life erupted into war. The ensuing conflict between the national government and Southern rebels, to date the United States’ bloodiest war, resulted in significant constitutional changes that expanded the nation’s commitment to liberty and equality. In this module, we will examine the outbreak of hostilities, the course of the war, and the route to peace, examining the ways the conflict reshaped American life. We will also explore the memory of the conflict, considering ongoing debates about Confederate memorialisation across the United States.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Oral 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

American Century: United States history since 1898

Code:

HS2O55

Convenor:

DR Mara Oliva

Summary:

The module will investigate the impact that US foreign policy had on the development of a modern American state and society since the Spanish-American war of 1898.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Medieval Medicine

Code:

HS2O56

Convenor:

DR Ruth Salter

Summary:

This module considers a variety of aspects of medieval medicine, taking a longue durée approach, from classical medical theories through to plague in the fourteenth century. Among the topics to be explored are: classical and religious concepts; the early Middle Ages; transmission of medical knowledge and the medical schools; hospitals and charity; diagnosis and prognosis; women’s health; miraculous cures; leprosy; and the global Black Death. Students will engage with a wide range of written sources as well as material/visual resources. This module aims to challenge negative preconceptions regarding the nature of medieval medicine, and highlights the continuous interest in new ideas and the acquisition of knowledge throughout the Middle Ages.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Encountering the Atlantic World, 1450-1850

Code:

HS2O57

Convenor:

DR Richard Blakemore

Summary:

This module introduces students to the ‘Atlantic world’, the idea that from the late fourteenth to the late eighteenth century new connections were established around and across this ocean, connections which drove profound and often turbulent changes to cultures, economies, and political structures, and which have left an important and sometimes unsettling legacy for the modern world.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Kingship and Crisis in England, c.1154–1330

Code:

HS2O7

Convenor:

DR Elizabeth Matthew

Summary:

This module investigates continuity and change in English politics from the late twelfth to the early fourteenth century. In this era, government was royal government: the prime mover in politics was the king. But kings had concerns outside England. Succession could be problematic. What happened when a king was absent or too young to rule in person? What constrained kings’ freedom of action? What part did queens and subjects play in shaping politics?

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Society, Thought and Art in Modern Europe

Code:

HS2STA

Convenor:

DR Veronica Heath

Summary:

This module aims to provide students with a systematic historical and cross-national understanding of the key ideas, institutions and symbols that have come to constitute and represent modernity in Europe and, at the same time, new conceptions of Europe. This module examines the birth of modern men and women in Europe in the late eighteenth century and the broad intellectual, cultural, economic, political and social conditions which have been shaping and re-shaping them since. The module further shows a) the contributions of different European nations to a common European reaction to and re-evaluation of tradition and modernity; and b) the diffusion of modernity (Westernisation) from Europe to Asia and Africa and its role in the creation of a global world. Finally, it shows how art has played a leading role in the transformations of modernity; not only recording it but also constituting one of its central components.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 80%, Class test 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

Unity, Nationalism and Regionalism in Europe

Code:

HS2UNR

Convenor:

DR Athena Leoussi

Summary:

The aim of this module is to study how two ideas became two of the most important  forces which shaped modern Europe from the 18th century to the present day. These were the idea of the nation and the idea of the European community. With this aim in mind, the module is divided into two thematic sections:

The first section explores the origins of the idea of the nation as it emerged as a revolutionary idea in Enlightenment Europe, remoulding states and peoples across Europe and the rest of the world. The section gives historical depth to current debates on nations and nationalism exploring the development of ideas about the nation, national identity, nationalism and the nation-state, through the study of classic and foundational texts such as Ernest Renan’s famous lecture at the Sorbonne of 1882, ‘What is a nation?’, Woodrow Wilson’s ‘Fourteen Points’ of 1918, and close examination of a variety of nationalist movements in Europe, from the French Revolution of 1789, through the making of the first German nation-state, to the national revolutions of 1989 in communist Eastern Europe,  and the challenges to established nation-states by the nationalisms of the European regions which have persisted into the 21st century (e.g., Catalan, Flemish, Scottish). 

The relationship between majority, ruling nations and ethnic and national minorities is also examined as an important factor in nation-building. Does the nation-state exclude minorities?  

The second section engages with public debates about European integration and the nature of European identity as these interact with the member states of the EU and with processes of globalisation.  

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Oral 10%, Set exercise 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

Medieval Europe: power, religion and death

Code:

AR2M8

Convenor:

DR Gabor Thomas

Summary:

This single-term module gives students an overview of how archaeology has changed our understanding of European society over the course of the ‘Long Middle Ages’ (5th-16th centuries AD). It comprises 10 weekly sessions involving a combination of teacher-led content with student-led discussions, is assessed by an essay and site interpretation panel and has a field trip to Winchester - one of the richest medieval urban landscapes in southern England.  It will also include a formative assessment in the form of group poster presentations designed to support students in developing essay topics.  

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Set exercise 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

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Module details


Title:

Development of transferable skills through a school placement 1

Code:

ED2TS1

Convenor:

DR Caroline Foulkes

Summary:

This module enables undergraduate students to develop key transferable skills needed for employment, and also provides outreach experience. Following specialist training on key aspects of working in schools, five day placements in June/July in secondary schools in the Reading area will provide work experience in a professional setting.

In the autumn, students will build on the knowledge and transferable skills acquired in order to plan and deliver, with colleagues, a teaching session that shares knowledge of their degree specialism with small groups of school students. Students will reflect on, and share, their experiences with their colleagues. Assessment will be by coursework, and placement supervisor report on professionalism and engagement.

Students will be selected by application and interview.

Please be aware that once the placement has been completed in June it is not possible to switch from this module in the Autumn Term as students have completed practical activities directly relating to 50% of the mark (professionalism and portfolio) and that link to the activities in the Autumn Term.

Assessment Method:

Practical 10%, Oral 50%, Portfolio 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Curatorship and Collections Management

Code:

MC2CCM

Convenor:

DR Rhi Smith

Summary:

A practical introduction to researching, cataloguing, interpreting and displaying museum objects. The module is based on work with objects from the University of Reading's collections. Students will choose one object from the stores, and are assessed on three assignments based on researching, labelling and displaying the object.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Museum Learning and Engagement

Code:

MC2LE

Convenor:

DR Rhi Smith

Summary:

This module critically examines the learning role of museums in society. Students are introduced to learning theory, programme and event management, while also learning about resource design, evaluation, and visitor research. During the course students will hear from museum-based learning and engagement professionals and observe and evaluate learning resources and events. Interactive lectures, seminars and museum visits encourage students to contextualise and apply learning. Work is assessed through design and planned evaluation of a learning resource, evaluation of an educational event, and an analysis of a museum's learning programme.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Oral 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Founder Dilemmas

Code:

MM2101

Convenor:

DR Norbert Morawetz

Summary:

This is a dynamic and experiential module aiming to give students a strong understanding of key dilemmas likely to be faced by first time entrepreneurs. The module develops student's entrepreneurial skill and confidence to put plans into action. Students gain understanding of the practice of entrepreneurship as informed by theory, role play and guest lectures. This will include exposure to the experience of successful entrepreneurs. Students are given a solid understanding of the realities of business start-up.

 

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Code Module Convenor
CL2AE Ancient Epic DR Christa Gray
CL2AEL Ancient Egyptian Language and Hieroglyphs DR Hana Navratilova
CL2AF Ancient World on Film DR Dimitra Tzanidaki-Kreps
CL2AGW Ancient Greek Warfare DR Emma Aston
CL2APL Academic Work Placement DR Emma Aston
CL2CGH Greek History: Persian Wars to Alexander DR Emma Aston
CL2DR Ancient Drama PROF Barbara Goff
CL2EGR Egypt and the Greco-Roman World PROF Ian Rutherford
CL2G2 Ancient Greek 2 (I) MRS Doukissa Kamini
CL2G3 Ancient Greek 3 (I) DR Dimitra Tzanidaki-Kreps
CL2JP The Justinianic Plague DR Arietta Papaconstantinou
CL2L2 Latin 2 (I) MRS Jackie Baines
CL2L3 Latin 3 (I) DR Andreas Gavrielatos
CL2PR Prospects for Classicists and Ancient Historians DR Emma Aston
CL2RME Rome's Mediterranean Empire; A World of Cities DR Andrew Souter
CL2RO Roman History: From Republic to Empire PROF Annalisa Marzano
HS2GPP Going Public: Presenting the Past, Planning the Future PROF Kate Williams
HS2HAD Historical Approaches and My Dissertation MISS Liz Barnes
HS2INT Intellectuals and Society in Twentieth Century Italy PROF Daniela La Penna
HS2O10 The Colonial Experience: Africa, 1879 to 1980 DR Heike Schmidt
HS2O12 Belief and Unbelief in Europe: Religion, Science and the Supernatural c.1400-1800 PROF Joël Félix
HS2O14 Rebel Girls: The Influence of Radical Women 1792-1919 DR Jacqui Turner
HS2O16 ‘The brightest jewel in the British crown’: The Making of Modern South Asia, 1757-1947 DR Rohan Deb Roy
HS2O19 Europe in the Twentieth Century DR Daniel Renshaw
HS2O21 Utopia: the Quest for a Perfect World DR Jeremy Burchardt
HS2O3 People, power and revolution: political culture in seventeenth-century England DR Rachel Foxley
HS2O53 The American Civil War MISS Liz Barnes
HS2O55 American Century: United States history since 1898 DR Mara Oliva
HS2O56 Medieval Medicine DR Ruth Salter
HS2O57 Encountering the Atlantic World, 1450-1850 DR Richard Blakemore
HS2O7 Kingship and Crisis in England, c.1154–1330 DR Elizabeth Matthew
HS2STA Society, Thought and Art in Modern Europe DR Veronica Heath
HS2UNR Unity, Nationalism and Regionalism in Europe DR Athena Leoussi
AR2M8 Medieval Europe: power, religion and death DR Gabor Thomas
ED2TS1 Development of transferable skills through a school placement 1 DR Caroline Foulkes
MC2CCM Curatorship and Collections Management DR Rhi Smith
MC2LE Museum Learning and Engagement DR Rhi Smith
MM2101 Founder Dilemmas DR Norbert Morawetz

These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Optional modules include:

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Module details


Title:

Anatolia and the Aegean in the Late Bronze Age. The Context for the Trojan War

Code:

CL3AA

Convenor:

PROF Ian Rutherford

Summary:

This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the civilisations of Crete, Greece and Anatolia in the Late Bronze Age (1500-1150BC), and the political and cultural interactions taking place in Western Turkey in this period that form the background to the “Trojan War”.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Biography

Code:

CL3AB

Convenor:

PROF Timothy Duff

Summary:

A study of ancient biographical writing from its beginnings to its developed form as seen in Plutarch, based on a series of case-studies of texts relating to key historical figures.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Egyptian Language & Hieroglyphs

Code:

CL3AEL

Convenor:

DR Hana Navratilova

Summary:

This module aims to teach students some elements of the Ancient Egyptian language and give them skills to read Egyptian, in the hieroglyphic script, at an elementary level.

Assessment Method:

Exam 67%, Class test 33%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Greek & Roman Painting

Code:

CL3AP

Convenor:

PROF Amy Smith

Summary:

In this module students will explore the range of styles, techniques, and contexts for painting in the Greek and Roman world, whether it was used to decorate architecture or free-standing objects.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Oral 10%, Portfolio 30%, Report 20%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

British School at Rome Undergraduate Summer School

Code:

CL3BSR

Convenor:

DR Andreas Gavrielatos

Summary:

Students enrolled for this module will make an application to the British School at Rome for study on the School’s undergraduate summer school programme. If accepted, they can then complete two 2,000 word essays drawing on their time in Rome for academic credit within the module CL3BSR.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Dissertation in Classics

Code:

CL3DN

Convenor:

DR Emma Aston

Summary:

This dissertation should allow for in-depth research, explication, and documentation of a topic. Its result should be a piece of original research or, possibly, an original artistic production.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 15%, Dissertation 85%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Preparation for Dissertation in Classics

Code:

CL3DP

Convenor:

DR Emma Aston

Summary:

Students will prepare for their dissertation by completing a series of workshops, an assessed proposal, which will include an annotated bibliography, and a presentation.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

History and Culture of New Kingdom Egypt

Code:

CL3EGY

Convenor:

DR Hana Navratilova

Summary:

This module studies the historical and cultural development of Egypt over five centuries of the New Kingdom period, from approximately 1600 BCE to 1100 BCE, from being an ascendant expansionist state to becoming a divided kingdom with a significantly changed character of once pivotal royal authority. It makes intensive use of both material and written culture to elucidate this dynamic period of Egyptian history, defined as an imperial and cosmopolitan age, but exhibiting also significant social and cultural change. Egyptological historiography of the period will be also addressed to illustrate the complexity - and plasticity - of modern historiography concerned with the ancient world. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

From Classroom to Courtroom: Mastering the Art of Persuasion in the Ancient World

Code:

CL3FCC

Convenor:

DR Christa Gray

Summary:

In a world without mass media, public speech (i.e. oratory) was the main way for politicians and other ambitious individuals to reach a large audience. This means that the skills required for public speech – the techniques of rhetoric – were indispensable for the development of a public profile. This module studies the relationship between the theory of rhetoric and the practice of oratory in antiquity. It caters for students interested in history, literature, and ancient languages (or all three) as it looks in depth at the construction of ancient speeches, at the skills required for composing and delivering them, and at the methods by which they were taught.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 75%, Oral 20%, Class test 5%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Greek 4 (H)

Code:

CL3G4

Convenor:

DR Dimitra Tzanidaki-Kreps

Summary:

The module aims to enable students to improve their skills in reading a range of Ancient Greek authors and with greater fluency, and to develop advanced knowledge of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied. Students will also practise unseen translation.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Ancient Greek 5 (H)

Code:

CL3G5

Convenor:

DR Dimitra Tzanidaki-Kreps

Summary:

The module aims to enable students to improve their skills in reading a range of Ancient Greek authors with fluency, and to gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied. Students will also practise unseen translation.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Independent Third Year Project

Code:

CL3INP

Convenor:

DR Emma Aston

Summary:

This project should allow for in-depth research, explication, and documentation of a topic which can be best presented in a format or formats different from the traditional dissertation. Admission to this module will be at the discretion of the Programme Director.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Oral 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Latin 3 (I)

Code:

CL3L3

Convenor:

DR Andreas Gavrielatos

Summary:

The module aims to enable students to read Latin authors with some fluency, and to develop a sound competence in grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied.

Assessment Method:

Class test 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Latin 4 (H)

Code:

CL3L4

Convenor:

DR Andreas Gavrielatos

Summary:

The module aims to enable students to improve their skills in a range of Latin authors with greater fluency, and to develop advanced knowledge of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied. Students will also practise unseen translation.

Assessment Method:

Exam 67%, Assignment 33%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Latin 5 (H)

Code:

CL3L5

Convenor:

DR Andreas Gavrielatos

Summary:

The module aims to enable students to improve their skills in reading a range of Latin authors with fluency, and to develop appreciation of literary style. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied. Students will also practise unseen translation.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Late Antique Egypt

Code:

CL3LAE

Convenor:

DR Arietta Papaconstantinou

Summary:

This module studies the transformation of Egypt over four centuries, from being a province of the Roman Empire to being a province of the Caliphate, and makes intensive use of the invaluable source material represented by the papyri for the study of social history.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Modern Tragedy

Code:

CL3MT

Convenor:

PROF Barbara Goff

Summary:

From the middle of the twentieth century, writers and practitioners have turned to Greek tragedy both to reinterpret the ancient texts and to use them as springboards for investigations into contemporary society’s pressing issues.  In this module we shall read modern rewritings that deploy ancient tragedy to discuss war, colonialism, feminism, and queer identities.  The module will also provide an introduction to ‘classical reception’ as a whole.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

‘Race’ in the Ancient Greek and Roman Worlds

Code:

CL3RA

Convenor:

PROF Barbara Goff

Summary:

Racism is frequently theorised as a modern phenomenon. This module challenges such theorisations by exploring representations of racial otherness in Greek and Latin texts, and considering how these classical representations shaped medieval and modern ideas around ‘race’. 

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Crisis, Change, Opportunity: Italy from 1968 to the Present

Code:

HS3CCO

Convenor:

PROF Daniela La Penna

Summary:

The module focuses on defining episodes of Italian history from 1968 to the present day, and it will shed light on how each of the selected themes and events have contributed to change the physiognomy of contemporary Italian society. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Discovering Archives and Collections

Code:

HS3DAC

Convenor:

DR Jacqui Turner

Summary:

This module will enable students to test and develop their interest in careers in the archives sector through 10-day placements based internally, at the university’s Special Collections, or externally, at the Berkshire Record Office or another participating repository. These 10-day placements will give students the opportunity to gain and reflect on the type of practical work experience required for successful applications for postgraduate training in archives and records management. The placements will also develop skills in research, oral and written communication, professionalism and adaptability in the workplace, and attention to detail, readily transferable to, and highly valued in, other areas of postgraduate employment. Offered as an alternative to a Topic module, Discovering Archives and Collections will increase choice and enhance personal career-development opportunities within the Part 3 History degree programme.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 30%, Practical 10%, Oral 20%, Report 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

History Education

Code:

HS3HED

Convenor:

DR Elizabeth Matthew

Summary:

This module enables students to test and develop their interest in careers in teaching by applying their skills and communicating their knowledge in local schools. Two-week placements in secondary-school history departments, with pre-placement training and post-placement assessments at the university, give students the opportunity to gain, and reflect on, the practical work experience required for successful applications for postgraduate teacher-training.

Assessment Method:

Practical 10%, Oral 20%, Portfolio 35%, Report 35%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Dissertation in History

Code:

HS3HLD

Convenor:

DR Heike Schmidt

Summary:

This module leads to the completion of a dissertation of 10,000 words, excluding title page, contents page, references, tables, illustrations and their captions, appendices, and bibliography. It allows for an extended in-depth examination of a historical topic, based on guided independent research.

Assessment Method:

Oral 10%, Dissertation 90%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Sexual Politics: Gender, Sex, and Feminism in Britain after 1918

Code:

HS3T100

Convenor:

DR Natalie Thomlinson

Summary:

Sexual Politics examines histories of gender, sex and sexuality, and feminism, in Britain since 1918, when the vote was first won for women (albeit only over the age of 30). A mixture of social, cultural and political history, it challenges students to ask why our understandings of these concepts have changed so much over the last 100 years.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Empire, Slavery, and Society, 1550-1750

Code:

HS3T101

Convenor:

DR Richard Blakemore

Summary:

In this course we will examine the question of piracy in terms of its popular connotations, legal definition, social dimensions, and its importance for the growth of early modern empires, with specific reference to the Caribbean from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth century.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Melancholy Medicine: Healing the Body and Mind in Early Modern England, 1570-1730

Code:

HS3T102

Convenor:

MS Amie Bolissian McRae

Summary:

Melancholy might lead to madness, and fear could cause the plague in early modern understandings of health and medicine in England. This module explores these sorts of beliefs about emotions, health, and the body, and the physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, and lay healers who provided medical treatment. By examining a wide range of primary sources, such as handwritten diaries, medicinal recipe books, and surgeon’s casebooks, key questions will be asked about who treated diseases, how they thought bodies worked, and what patients felt about being sick - during a period which treated sadness with sneezing powder, and fear with leeches. Particular attention will be paid to how bodily health and emotional temperament was thought to differ according to gender, age, race, and disability.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Medieval Magic and the Origins of the Witch-Craze

Code:

HS3T25

Convenor:

PROF Anne Lawrence

Summary:

The period from c.1100 to c.1500 saw important and influential changes in the conception and practices of magic; and yet, despite modern perceptions, this period did not experience a witch craze.  For much of the period, magical practice was dominated by learned men, most of whom were clerics.  This module looks in detail at the forms of magic which they attempted, and traces the gradual changes in attitudes towards magic.  We also look at historical debates about the causes of the early-modern witch craze, and study the evidence provided by late-medieval documents on questions such as the role of the Inquisition.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

The Romantic Revolution: Culture, Environment and Society in England, c.1790-c.1900

Code:

HS3T88

Convenor:

DR Jeremy Burchardt

Summary:

The Romantic Revolution was the third of the great revolutions that shaped the modern world, alongside the French and Industrial Revolutions.  It transformed culture in a way that was comparable to the effect of the French Revolution on politics and the Industrial Revolution on the economy.  While less easy to define than the other two revolutions, the Romantic Revolution had, in the view of scholars such as Isaiah Berlin and Tim Blanning, still greater consequences for the way we think and perhaps even feel about the world.  This module looks at Romanticism in England from its origins in the eighteenth century through to its nineteenth-century apogee. 

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Africa from European Settlement to Nelson Mandela

Code:

HS3T89

Convenor:

DR Heike Schmidt

Summary:

Part 3 Options involve the study of specific periods, subjects or types of history.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Poor Law to Hostile Environment: Repatriation, Deportation and Exclusion from Britain 1800-2016

Code:

HS3T90

Convenor:

DR Daniel Renshaw

Summary:

This module will examine the fraught and often controversial language and policy based around concepts of repatriation and expulsion of migrant and minority groups in modern Britain. Beginning in the early nineteenth century and concluding in the twenty-first century, it will consider concepts of the ‘self’ and the ‘other’, what constitutes ‘foreignness’ and ‘home’, attitudes towards migration, and the relationship between voluntary and forced forms of repatriation.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Politics and Popular Culture: Post-Arab Spring Egypt

Code:

HS3T91

Convenor:

DR Dina Rezk

Summary:

This module examines the relationship between politics and popular culture through an examination of post-Arab Spring Egypt as a case study. As well as providing a historical overview of events in Egypt since 2011, we explore various forms of Egyptian popular culture to understand how ordinary people voiced and thereby gave shape to key revolutionary themes including resistance, repression and struggles over the meaning of the revolution.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Policing the United States

Code:

HS3T92

Convenor:

MISS Liz Barnes

Summary:

This module traces the evolution of policing in the United States, from the use of watchmen and militias in colonial North America to the militarised forces we see today. We will examine the role that policing plays in society, particularly in crafting ideas of ‘otherness’ and maintaining established hierarchies of class, race, and gender. We will think about the place that police forces occupy in the American imagination and in American culture, and use what we have learned about the past to reflect on recent calls to defund or abolish the police.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

The Anthropology of Heritage and Cultural Property

Code:

AR3HCP

Convenor:

DR Alanna Cant

Summary:

This module focuses on the concepts, institutions, politics, and legal claims of heritage and cultural property in the contemporary world. You will learn about the historical development of these concepts and the national and global institutions, such as English Heritage and UNESCO, through which they are promoted. You will develop a critical understanding of the political, economic, social and environmental effects of these processes. You will also develop your understanding of how heritage has become an important global industry premised on economies of tourism and heritage site conservation. By looking at different cases of heritage and cultural property, you will investigate such questions as: What is the relationship between heritage, identity and the nation-state? What happens when culture becomes a resource? Can the concept of cultural property afford the protections that indigenous and minority groups seek? What are the consequences of natural and human made threats to heritage sites? Course materials will primarily be academic texts and documentary films about specific cases from all over the world. The module will be delivered through a series of lectures, seminar sessions (small groups and general discussions), and documentary films. It will also include presentations by guest speakers who work in the heritage industries.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

The Archaeology of Crusading

Code:

AR3M7

Convenor:

DR Aleks Pluskowski

Summary:

This module reviews the archaeological approaches to the crusading movement and the related processes of colonisation, religious conversion and inter-cultural exchange at the fringes of medieval Christian Europe - covering the years AD1095-1492. It is taught through lectures and seminars, and is examined through an assessed essay, seminar performance and a focused report.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Oral 10%, Report 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

X

Module details


Title:

Archaeology of the City of Rome

Code:

AR3R9

Convenor:

DR Philippa Walton

Summary:

The module will provide an overview of the archaeology of the city of Rome in the imperial period.  Adopting a thematic approach and using a range of archaeological, epigraphic and historical evidence, we will focus on a study of the inhabitants of the city, particularly those who are ‘without history’. 

Assessment Method:

Assignment 60%, Portfolio 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Code Module Convenor
CL3AA Anatolia and the Aegean in the Late Bronze Age. The Context for the Trojan War PROF Ian Rutherford
CL3AB Ancient Biography PROF Timothy Duff
CL3AEL Ancient Egyptian Language & Hieroglyphs DR Hana Navratilova
CL3AP Greek & Roman Painting PROF Amy Smith
CL3BSR British School at Rome Undergraduate Summer School DR Andreas Gavrielatos
CL3DN Dissertation in Classics DR Emma Aston
CL3DP Preparation for Dissertation in Classics DR Emma Aston
CL3EGY History and Culture of New Kingdom Egypt DR Hana Navratilova
CL3FCC From Classroom to Courtroom: Mastering the Art of Persuasion in the Ancient World DR Christa Gray
CL3G4 Ancient Greek 4 (H) DR Dimitra Tzanidaki-Kreps
CL3G5 Ancient Greek 5 (H) DR Dimitra Tzanidaki-Kreps
CL3INP Independent Third Year Project DR Emma Aston
CL3L3 Latin 3 (I) DR Andreas Gavrielatos
CL3L4 Latin 4 (H) DR Andreas Gavrielatos
CL3L5 Latin 5 (H) DR Andreas Gavrielatos
CL3LAE Late Antique Egypt DR Arietta Papaconstantinou
CL3MT Modern Tragedy PROF Barbara Goff
CL3RA ‘Race’ in the Ancient Greek and Roman Worlds PROF Barbara Goff
HS3CCO Crisis, Change, Opportunity: Italy from 1968 to the Present PROF Daniela La Penna
HS3DAC Discovering Archives and Collections DR Jacqui Turner
HS3HED History Education DR Elizabeth Matthew
HS3HLD Dissertation in History DR Heike Schmidt
HS3T100 Sexual Politics: Gender, Sex, and Feminism in Britain after 1918 DR Natalie Thomlinson
HS3T101 Pirates of the Caribbean: Empire, Slavery, and Society, 1550-1750 DR Richard Blakemore
HS3T102 Melancholy Medicine: Healing the Body and Mind in Early Modern England, 1570-1730 MS Amie Bolissian McRae
HS3T25 Medieval Magic and the Origins of the Witch-Craze PROF Anne Lawrence
HS3T88 The Romantic Revolution: Culture, Environment and Society in England, c.1790-c.1900 DR Jeremy Burchardt
HS3T89 Africa from European Settlement to Nelson Mandela DR Heike Schmidt
HS3T90 Poor Law to Hostile Environment: Repatriation, Deportation and Exclusion from Britain 1800-2016 DR Daniel Renshaw
HS3T91 Politics and Popular Culture: Post-Arab Spring Egypt DR Dina Rezk
HS3T92 Policing the United States MISS Liz Barnes
AR3HCP The Anthropology of Heritage and Cultural Property DR Alanna Cant
AR3M7 The Archaeology of Crusading DR Aleks Pluskowski
AR3R9 Archaeology of the City of Rome DR Philippa Walton

These are the modules that we currently offer. They may change for your year of study as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Fees

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250

New international students: £20,300

UK/Republic of Ireland fee changes

UK/Republic of Ireland undergraduate tuition fees are regulated by the UK government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government’s guidance for EU students.

Additional costs

These course fees cover the cost of your tuition. Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

Careers

An Ancient History and History degree from Reading offers excellent career prospects:

  • Overall 93% of graduates from Classics are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation. (Based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2022, Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20; includes first degree Classics responders)
  • Overall 92% of our History graduates are in work and/or study 15 months after the end of their course. (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20; First Degree responders from History)

With this course, you will develop essential transferable skills, including the ability to think critically, to work in a team and to communicate with confidence, making you an ideal candidate for many employers. Our previous graduates have pursued a career in a wide variety of sectors, including:

  • accountancy and banking
  • the government and the civil service
  • law
  • heritage and museums
  • teaching
  • publishing
  • public sector management
  • libraries and archives
  • media research and production.

Past employers include the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British Museum and Sotheby’s. Other graduates have continued to postgraduate study.

Studying for a joint honours degree at the University of Reading has been invaluable to me. Going from a lecture on 5th-century BC Athens to one on Cold War politics definitely keeps my brain fresh and engaged. It allows for comparison across the centuries and enables me to see how society progresses and changes in terms of technology, warfare and plenty of other areas. It has provided me with many opportunities when it comes to my learning experience and I never feel limited, especially in choosing modules. On top of all this it has given me two departments to meet people and make friends in. I couldn't recommend it more!

Sayeda Islam
BA Ancient History and History

Contextual offers


We make contextual offers for all our courses.

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