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CL3EGY-History and Culture of New Kingdom Egypt
Module Provider: Classics
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:6
Terms in which taught: Autumn term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites: N/A -except that the students will benefit from ability to read German and French publications.
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2021/2
Module Convenor: Dr Hana Navratilova
Email: hana.navratilova@reading.ac.uk
Type of module:
Summary module description:
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.Ìý
Aims:
The module aims to provide students with knowledge of the main issues of New Kingdom Egyptian history and to familiarise them with the unique sources it is based on. It will encourage student research and the pursuit of specific personal interests within the remit of the module's topic. It will aim at developing the sensitivity to challenges of history and historiography of the ancient world. Study and understanding of history and historiography contribute to a nuanced understanding of cultural narratives, heritage, cultural memory and also the role of targeted, specialist knowledge in the complex understanding of the past.
Assessable learning outcomes:
By the end of the module it is expected that students will be able to:
- Describe, analyse and assess key issues pertaining to the history of the period examined.
- Locate, assemble and critically assess material on specific topics within the wider field studied
- Interpret primary sources of different natures, assess their respective relevance, identify the connections between them and use them to construct coherent arguments.
- Formulate and frame personal research questions
- Understand the terms and arguments of ongoing debates and take a critical position regarding them.
Additional outcomes:
The module will develop individual research skills in the use of databases, bibliographies, and other digital resources, search for relevant information and synthesis; acknowledging and evaluating multiple factors prompting an outcome; logical argumentation and deconstruction of unsound arguments; written and oral presentation skills.
Outline content:
The module will cover the social, economic, political, religious and cultural history of Egypt from the sixteenth to the twelfth century BC; several key aspects will be emphasised: first, following the country on an apparent trajectory from a re-unification to division, second, the concept and practice of kingship and its adaptations, and third, the cultural development that saw a number of innovations in the cultural production, notably in literature, but also in the intellectual approach to history, and eventually in art.
A technical introduction to the sources and their proper use will be provided.
Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
The module includes a mix of lecture, group work, oral presentations and exercises, working up to a final essay on a subject chosen at the beginning of term from a suggested list. Sessions will require prior background reading.Ìý There are 20 contact hours.
In the eventuality of on-campus teaching, the module has 20 hours, 10 lectures and 10 seminars, on campus, and in the eventuality of a blended mode, there is the asynchronous delivery of 10 lectures plus 10 hours of seminars run both on campus and online.
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