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CL-M08
Research Methodologies in Classics and Ancient History
This module is designed to develop academic research skills, an understanding of the methods used in the advanced study of Classics and Ancient History, and a grasp of appropriate ways of presenting the results of such study . Students will study a range of sources and methodological approaches and will be encourage to apply them to their particular areas of research interest. Throughout the module, students will be mentored in developing their research plans.
Welsh: To be provided later.
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CL-M09
Dissertation in Ancient History and or Classical Literature
Students produce a dissertation of up to 20,000 words on Classics and Ancient History or approved Classical Subject topic, chosen in conjunction with their supervisor. This represents the culmination of the MA Classics and Ancient History and constitutes Part Two of the programme.
Welsh: To be provided later.
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CL-M103
Heritage in Conflict
This module will engage students in critical analysis and discussion of the protection, destruction, damage and looting of cultural heritage in conflict from the First World War to the present day conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. The main focus will be on tangible cultural heritage - historic and religious buildings, archaeological sites and monuments, works of art and cultural institutions such as museums and archives. However, some attention will be paid to intangible and natural cultural heritage, and the specific challenges of protecting it.
The materials studied will prompt students to consider questions such as how cultural heritage is defined and by whom; why and how cultural heritage is damaged and destroyed in conflict; the humanitarian and practical rationales for protecting it; and the military, institutional and legal protections available and their limitations. Particular issues to be examined include the development and organisation of specialist military cultural protection units like the Allied MFAA 'Monuments Men' of the Second World War and their modern counterparts; the roles played by international organisations such as UNESCO and Blue Shield; and the changing protection accorded to cultural property accorded by the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law from the 1907 Hague Convention to the 1977 Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, by way of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
Case studies examined may include the First World War damage to Reims Cathedral, the 1943-44 bombings of Pompeii and of Montecassino Abbey, the 1993 destruction of the bridge at Mostar and the destruction of Yazidi cultural heritage and ancient and religious sites in Syria and Iraq by Da'esh/ISIL in 2014-15.
Welsh: To be provided later.
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CL-M113
Advanced Research Project Preparation
This module will develop the generic research skills acquired in CL-M08 (Research Methodologies in Classics and Ancient History) and focus them specifically towards preparation of a research proposal for the independent research project (CL-M09 Dissertation in Ancient History and/or Classical Literature). To this end students will be required to reflect critically on the feedback they have received for work in TB1; they will also be challenged to investigate diverse methodological approaches to their proposed area of research, for example by examining how understanding aspects of material culture enhances research approaches to literary texts (and vice versa). By the end of the module, students will have prepared a detailed research proposal for their dissertation.
Welsh: To be provided later.
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CL-M78
Saints and Sinners in Christian Late Antiquity
This module will analyse the presentation of various figures ¿ ranging from emperors and empresses to monks and bishops ¿ as heroes and villains in the discourses of the Christian Roman Empire in late antiquity. The core material for study will focus on texts: these will include accounts of emperors such as Eusebius¿ panegyrical Life of Constantine and diverging accounts of the emperor Julian from pagan and Christian perspectives, as well as various classics of the hagiographical genre, such as the lives of St Antony, St Martin of Tours, and St Ambrose of Milan. The module will also consider hagiographical literature produced in the non-western languages such as Coptic (in Egypt) and Syriac (in the Near East). Students You will be encouraged, in consultation with the module teacher, to follow their own interests in preparing their written assessments for the module.
Welsh: To be provided later.
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CLD300
Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology Dissertation
Dissertation module for students doing single honours or joint honours degrees in Classics, Classical Civilisation, Ancient History or Egyptology. The aim is for students to do detailed research, to work on a project for several months and to produce a scholarly study of c. 8000-10000 words.
The dissertation topic can be chosen freely, in consultation with a member of academic staff and subject to compatibility with a student's degree scheme and availability of supervisors and library material. This is a chance for students to pursue an area in which they are especially interested, and to deal with it in depth. Students may choose to do museum-based research.
There are two preparatory pieces of assessment: an abstract, outline and bibliography, and an analysis of crucial source material and/or secondary literature. Work on the dissertation itself takes up most of the two semesters. Students are expected to do research independently, but there is a series of lectures in the first semester to provide advice on research and scholarly writing, Every student will be assigned a supervisor who will be organising group sessions with his/her supervisees and who will also be available for one-to-one supervision sessions.
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CLH150
Rome from Village to Empire: An Introduction to Roman History
This module introduces key places, peoples, and institutions that underpin the study of Roman culture and society. It is intended to provide a framework that will form the basis for more specialised study of Roman history at Levels 5 and 6. In addition to introducing key themes about the Roman world, such as imperialism, responses to Roman rule, social and political structures, `othering¿, gender, and religion, it will encourage students¿ critical engagement with a range of primary sources and help to develop their academic writing skills.
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CLH230
The Heirs of Rome: The Making of Christendom, Byzantium, and Islam in the Early Middle Ages, 400-800
The period between AD 400 and 800 saw the unmaking of the world of antiquity and the forging of the new civilizations of medieval Christendom, Byzantium, and Islam. It is, in short, an era with reverberations that are keenly felt in the present. This module will trace the main outlines of this seminal period, showing how the heritage of the Roman world was transformed in diverse ways during the early medieval centuries. Particular attention will be paid to the emergence of new forms of polity, religion, and socio-economic structures. On completion of the module, students will have a keen appreciation of how and why the different regions of eastern and western Europe and the Middle East, once untied under Roman rule, had come to follow widely diverging destinies.
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CLH374
Pagans, Christians, and the "Falls" of Rome
Between the third century and the fifth, the ancient world was utterly transformed: where once society had largely been pagan, it became almost entirely Christian; and where once the Mediterranean world was dominated by the power of Rome, it became more diverse with the emergence in the West of kingdoms ruled by non-Roman ¿barbarians¿ and the creation in the East of a Byzantine empire in which the emperor was seen as God¿s representative on Earth. Since late antiquity itself, writers have explored the close connections between these processes; most famously, the Enlightenment historian Edward Gibbon regarded these twin processes as reflecting a triumph of ¿superstition¿ and ¿barbarism¿ over ¿reason¿ and ¿civilization¿, leading to the ¿decline and fall¿ of the ancient world. In these terms, aspects of the debate continue to inform debates on topics such as migration and social change down to the present day. The purpose of this module is to analyse these changes. The emphasis will be on religious change, since it is the shift from paganism to Christianity that provides the framework within which the inhabitants of the Mediterranean world sought to understand the remarkable changes that were overcoming their society and culture. To this end, parts of the module will focus on case studies represented by the reigns of the emperors Diocletian (the last pagan persecutor of the Church), Constantine (the first Christian emperor), Julian (the last pagan emperor), as well as examining such key institutional changes as the emergence of Christian figures (bishops, ascetics) as social leaders and the transformation of urban centres under the influence of these religious changes. Throughout the module, there will be close engagement with the ancient sources (both textual and material) for these developments, and engagement with the most recent scholarship on the subject.
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FY-012
Introduction to Being Human
This module will focus on introducing what it is to be human from a broad humanities and social science perspective. It will offer the opportunity to engage with key ideas, theory and literature within these disciplines. It will therefore prepare students for further academic work in the humanities and social sciences and initiate the development of critical thinking and creative abilities.
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HI-M22
Dissertation
This module is the exciting culmination of your Masters¿ degree in History. In this module you have the opportunity build on the analytical and research skills developed in Part I of the programme to produce a 20,000-word dissertation on a historical research topic of your choice.
Working under the guidance of an academic supervisor, you will identify and refine a research question, critically evaluate relevant primary and secondary sources, and construct a coherent, well-substantiated historical argument. The project reflects an advanced level of conceptual understanding and methodological rigour, characteristic of independent postgraduate research.
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HIH3300
History Dissertation
The History dissertation is a free-standing, 40-credit module that runs across both semesters of Level Three. Candidates conduct research upon a subject of their choice, devised in consultation with a member of staff teaching for the degrees in History, and concerning a topic that falls within staff research and teaching interests.
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HIMD00
Medieval Studies Dissertation
The Medieval Studies dissertation gives you the opportunity to pursue a substantial research project in a subject of your own choosing. Under the supervision of a specialist in the field, and using the materials you created in the Research Folder module, you will develop advanced research skills and expert subject knowledge. The module encourages independent study while supporting you in constructing coherent and persuasive arguments, communicating complex ideas effectively, and engaging critically with medieval scholarship. Completing this dissertation will not only deepen your knowledge of medieval history but also prepare you for postgraduate research or professional applications.
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HIMM01
Introduction to Advanced Medieval Studies 1: Themes, Approaches and Sources
This module introduces you to current themes, approaches and sources in medieval studies, that is, the interdisciplinary study of medieval history and literature. It begins to develop the skills required to conduct MA-level study. Lectures outline general concepts, approaches and key sources with respect to essential themes in medieval studies, such as genre and gender.
Workshops are built around interacting collaboratively with students to develop the necessary skills to implement the approaches discussed within and beyond the module¿s focus themes. Special attention will be given to the discipline¿s increasing interest in historically underrepresented groups and the emergent concept of the `global Middle Ages¿.
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HIMM04
Introduction to Advanced Medieval Studies 2: Themes, Approaches and Sources
This module builds on HIMM01 (Introduction to Advanced Medieval Studies I) to deepen your understanding of key themes, sources, and research approaches in the interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages, in order to develop the research skills required to conduct MA-level research. Lectures and seminars refine your general concepts, approaches and key sources with respect to essential themes in medieval studies, such as identity and spirituality. Following on from HIMM01, this module progressively shifts its thematic focus in a more strongly methodological direction, considering themes such as quantitative methods and archaeology in medieval studies. It also familiarises you with the medieval heritage of South Wales and the surrounding region.
