The course will begin with a consideration of the definitions of civilisation, and will then explore the origins of the city, the state, and of writing, in Mesopotamia (Iraq & Syria) between c 3250 BC, and the conquest of the region by the Persian Achaemenid Empire in 539 BC. Themes to be considered will include the changing nature of city life, and of the state; the roles of religion, trade, and warfare; and the emergence of literacy. Much of the course will be based on archaeological evidence, but we will also be looking at translated texts, including law codes, medical and astronomical treatese, and the world's oldest surviving epic poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh.
The course will explore the cultural history of Europe and the Mediterranean world from 1914 to 1933AD, including the causes, conduct, and aftermath of the First World War; the Russian Revolution; the birth of new nations, including the Republic of Turkey, and the Irish Free State; the struggle for, and achievement of, universal suffrage for women and men; and related developments in literature and the arts. Drawing on archaeological evidence, literary texts, architecture and the visual arts, the course will look at the complex and shifting relationships between the present and the past in the definition and transformation of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures and identities.
The course will explore the cultural history of Europe and the Mediterranean world from 1816 to 1913AD, including aspects of the industrial revolution; new intellectual movements, including utilitarianism, romanticism, nationalism, liberalism, and socialism; and related developments in literature and the arts. Drawing on archaeological evidence, literary texts, architecture and the visual arts, the course will look at the complex and shifting relationships between the present and the past in the definition and transformation of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures and identities.
The course will explore the literature, art, and material culture of Europe, with reference to six key texts: Hesiod's Theogony; Ovid's Metamorphoses; Chaucer's The Manciple's Tale; Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis; Shelley's Prometheus Bound; and Blake's Urizen Books. It will focus on the influence that each of these texts had on those that followed; and on the complex and changing inter-relationships between literature, the visual and performing arts, and material culture in European culture and society.
The course will explore the literature, art, and material culture of Europe, with reference to eight key literary texts: The surviving poems of Sappho; Ovids Amores; Petrarchs Canzoniere; Shakespeares sonnets; the secular poems of John Donne; the poems of Goethe; Wordsworths Lyrical Ballads; and Walter Scotts The Lady of the Lake. It will focus on the influence that each of these texts had on those that followed; and on the complex and changing inter-relationships between literature, the visual and performing arts, and material culture in European culture and society.
The course will explore the cultural history of Europe and the Mediterranean world from 1816 to 1913AD, including the revolutions of 1848; the Crimean War; the unification of Germany & Italy; the character of British, French, & German imperialism; scientific developments, including Darwinism, the germ theory of disease, and public health; and related developments in literature and the arts. Drawing on archaeological evidence, literary texts, architecture and the visual arts, the course will look at the complex and shifting relationships between the present and the past in the definition and transformation of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish cultures and identities.
This course will explore the intense political and religious strife in England that began with Henry VII's break with Rome and continued until the Glorious Revolution. The Reformation politicised religion, pitting Catholics against Protestants. This course will examine important themes of the turmoil, such as the ways in which royal authority was contested; plots and conspiracies; rebellions; and the circulation of news and false news. This is an interdisciplinary course that will blend political, social, and cultural history, and the history of ideas, and the history of the book. We will assess lots of primary sources, including printed texts and images, paintings, and coins.