Student blog

Visit the blog of one student's experience on the module here

Module aims

Through a series of thematic lectures, students will examine a selection of ancient objects and evaluate what the stories arising from them tell us about each object’s purpose in both antiquity and more recent history. Tutorials will provide students with the skills needed, firstly, to assess critically the stories told about ancient objects in the modern world and, secondly, to communicate these stories to different types of audiences. A museum visit will give students the opportunity to analyse how a specific cultural institution uses particular objects to tell stories about antiquity.

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ. Please note, the thematic topics are subject to change and are broadly indicative of the module content.

Week 1:

Students will watch the following 1 hour asynchronous lectures on each thematic topic and complete the associated 1 hour follow-up exercises:

• Lecture 1: Power
• Lecture 2: Myth
• Lecture 3: Daily Life
• Lecture 4: Gender and the body

Students will attend the following synchronous sessions:

• Group introductions and module overview (1 hour)

Students will complete the following asynchronous activities:

• Working asynchronously as a group, students will prepare a presentation on an object that relates to one of themes; the presentation will be delivered in week 2.

Week 2:

Students will attend the following synchronous seminars:

• Introduction: Why do object matters? (1 hour)
• Power & Daily life (1.5 hours)
• Myth & gender and the body (1.5 hours)
• Telling stories through museum exhibitions (1 hour)
• Writing creatively about objects (1 hour)
• Museum visit preparation (1.5 hours)
• British Museum visit (5 hours) dependent on current safety measures issued by the UK government

Students will attend the following synchronous project supervisions:

• Blog post preparation (0.5 hour)

Week 3:

Students will complete the following synchronous activities:

• Warwick Museum visit (4 hours) dependent on current safety measures issued by the UK government

• Communicating to a non-specialist audience (2 hours)
• Museum visit discussion (1.5 hours)
• Portfolio presentations (3 hours)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Have enhanced their research, writing and communication skills
• Have developed skills in the close analysis of a range of ancient objects
• Gained an understanding of how objects can be used in the modern world to communicate different stories about antiquity
• Gained an awareness of some of the methods used by museums to tell stories through ancient objects
• Thought critically about how different communities have engaged with objects in different contexts and the potential impact of social, political, economic, and religious factors on such engagement
• Developed an ability to identify appropriate material and communicate key ideas arising from it to different types of audiences
• Expanded their knowledge of some of the stories told by and about ancient objects, both in antiquity and the modern world.

Indicative reading list

• Approaching the Ancient Artifact: Representation, Narrative, and Function / Amalia Avramidou, Denise Demetriou. (Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter, 2014)
• Blogging for dummies / Amy Lupold Bair and Susannah Gardner. (Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2014)
• The Museum Is Open: Towards a Transnational History of Museums 1750-1940 / Andrea Meyer, Benedicte Savoy. (Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter, 2013)
• A companion to the archaeology of religion in the ancient world / edited by Rubina Raja and Jörg Rüpke. (John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2015)
• Classics for all : reworking antiquity in mass culture / edited by Dunstan Lowe and Kim Shahabudin. (Newcastle : Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009.)
• Cultural borrowings and ethnic appropriations in antiquity / Erich S. Gruen (ed.). (Stuttgart : Franz Steiner, 2005.)
• Beyond Egyptomania : Objects, Style and Agency / Miguel John Versluys (De Gruyter, | 2020)

Interdisciplinary

The module is designed to provide the students with an understanding of relationships between the different disciplinary areas within Classics and Ancient History, particularly Archaeology, Numismatics, Visual and Material Culture, and Museum Studies. It also invites to the students to make connections with other disciplinary areas covered in their main study programme. It provides the students with a critical understanding of dominant traditions and methodologies associated with the main phenomena covered in the module and enables the students to transcend disciplinary boundaries. The interdisciplinary course cohort provides contact opportunities and learning to see from different perspectives is a core aspect of the learning experience.

International

The module draws on cases from different contexts, including different geopolitical areas, professional environments and linguistic contexts. The content and assessment invite the students to reflect on the societal relevance in different environments of the phenomena covered in the module. The assessment involves students working in groups with academic and non-academic stakeholders, and a global and local outlook will be built into the module’s work. The international and diverse course cohort provides contact opportunities and learning to see from different perspectives is a core aspect of the learning experience.

Subject specific skills

By the end of the module students should be able to show skills of visual analysis by:

• Describing and interpreting the composition, style and iconography of a range of ancient objects, using appropriate terminology
• Identifying relevant information pertaining to a range of ancient objects, including material, date, find spot
• Evaluating the methods used to present ancient objects in museums.

They will also be able to show the following intellectual skills:

• Critical awareness of the advantages and limitations of visual material in the study of the ancient world
• The ability to evaluate the merits of different methodological approaches to the material
• The ability to select and present material clearly and with a coherent argument both verbally and in writing
• The ability to set their findings into a wider comparative context, drawing in other aspects of the study of the ancient world
• The ability to seek out appropriate secondary literature and show discernment in the types of primary evidence addressed.

They will also be able to show the following interdisciplinary skills:

• An understanding of relationships between the different disciplinary areas within Classics and Ancient History
• The ability to make connections with other disciplinary areas covered in their main study programme
• A critical awareness of dominant traditions and methodologies associated with the study of ancient objects
• An appreciation of different perspectives, as a result of interacting with an interdisciplinary and international cohort.

Transferable skills

• critical thinking
• problem solving
• active lifelong learning
• communicating clearly and effectively both in discussions and in writing
• information literacy, including finding, evaluating and using previous research
• professionalism
• working effectively with others in groups and tasks
• project and time management
• using a range of tools and resources effectively in the preparation of course work
• developing strong analytical skills by using appropriate methods to analyse research data.