Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer Kenneth Sheedy ken.sheedy@mq.edu.au Contact via email By appointment via email Lecturer Shawn Ross shawn.ross@mq.edu.au Contact via email W6A 510 By appointment via email Lecturer Susan Lupak susan.lupack@mq.edu.au Contact via email By appointment via email
Credit points	Credit points 3
Prerequisites	Prerequisites 12cp at 100 level or above
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This unit explores the era of the palace-based states in the Aegean during the Bronze Age (c.3000 BC – c.1100 BC). These are the dramatic years of Greek prehistory which the poet Hesiod famously described as the ‘Age of Heroes’. It was the time of the Trojan War. This unit critically examines the rich archaeological evidence. We begin with the emergence of complex societies in the Cyclades and Crete and the creation of the Minoan palace civilization with its capital at Knossos. Then follows a critical study of the rise of competing states on the Greek mainland and the eventual domination of Mycenae and its allied fortified palaces in the Peloponnese.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

Recognise key elements of the material culture of the Greek Bronze Age.
Explain the chronology and geography of the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age world.
Summarise the cultural, social, and political evolution of the Greek Bronze Age in its broader Mediterranean context.
Outline the history of Greek Bronze Age archaeology, identifying key approaches used by archaeologists in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
Assess and apply selected theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the Greek Bronze Age.
Locate and analyse a range of primary and secondary source materials related to the study of the Greek Bronze Age, including material evidence, ancient texts, and modern scholarship.
Combine and synthesise material evidence, textual primary sources (where available), and secondary sources to compose original written and oral arguments.

General Assessment Information

Unit Requirements and Expectations

Students must achieve an overall mark of 50% or above to complete this unit satisfactorily.

Assignment submission

All written work must be submitted through the iLearn website. Please upload your assignment to the drop-box for the relevant week. Save your assignment as a pdf or a doc file (a pdf is best; please do not use docx).

All assignments must include the following at the start: Student name; Student Number; Assessment Task Title or Question. Any assignment submitted without these will not be marked.

All written assignments will be returned via the ‘turnitin’ tool on the iLearn Unit site, and feedback from the marker will be delivered through that tool.

Extensions and Special Considerations

If you anticipate any difficulty in attending class for a scheduled test it is important that you contact us as early as possible. Please avoid asking for extensions as missing deadlines complicates the work of markers and puts you behind. If you have to ask for an extension or the opportunity to reschedule the date of a test please request it before the deadline, and only request the extension if you face serious crises that can be documented in some way (e.g. with a medical certificate). ‘Getting behind with your work’ or 'I ran out of time’ are not excuses. If you miss a class test due to illness or a serious crisis that can be documented, you can re-schedule and sit the test at a later time. Please see us as soon as possible to organise a time and place to sit a supplementary test.

Special Consideration Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/special_consideration/policy.html

Applying for Special Consideration Students applying for Special Consideration circumstances of three (3) consecutive days duration, within a study period, and/or prevent completion of a formal examination must submit an on-line application with the Faculty of Arts. For an application to be valid, it must include a completed Application for Special Consideration form and all supporting documentation.

The online Special Consideration application is found at: http://www.arts.mq.edu.au/current_students/undergraduate/admin_central/

Extensions can only be granted in exceptional cases and may only be sought in consultation with the unit convenor and with support of documentary evidence. If you anticipate any difficulty in meeting assigned due dates then it is important that you contact the course’s convenor as early as possible.

Please avoid asking for extensions as missing deadlines complicates the work of markers and puts you behind. If you have to ask for an extension, request it before the deadline, ‘Getting behind with your work’ or 'I had other deadlines' do not count.

Written assessment tasks submitted after the due date without good reasons will be penalised by a deduction of 2% a day (including weekends) of the mark gained. After five days, a mark of 0% will be assigned.

Written assessment tasks submitted that are under or over the word length by more than 10% will be penalised with a 10% deduction. The marker will only read the listed word limit, i.e. if the word limit is 1000 words they will stop reading at 1000 words (plus or minus up to 100 words).

Written assessment tasks submitted without proper referencing, i.e. little or no page numbers or no bibliography will receive an automatic fail.

Marking Rubric

Major assessments will be graded using a rubric, which can be found on the iLearn unit site.

Assessments

Quizzes

Due: Fortnightly (Weeks 2-13) Weighting: 20%

Every second week there will be an on-line quizz. This will present questions related to the preceding two lectures.

Tutorial Participation

Due: Weekly (Weeks 1-13) Weighting: 10%

Students will be assessed on tutorial preparation (completion of all readings; review of lecture materials), and through thoughtful, active participation in tutorial activities each week.

Tutorial Assignments

Due: Weekly (Weeks 2-13) Weighting: 30%

These assignments will vary from week to week. Please see the program in iLearn. Among the exercises are writing assignments supporting tutorial discussion, completed in or out of class. Such assignments may include formal short writing ('mini-essays'), the completion of writing templates, or less formal writing such as reading reflections or guided free writing.

Research Essay

Due: Week 13 Weighting: 40%

Possible essay topics will deal with themes which were covered in lectures on the Minoans and Mycenaeans. The topics will be discussed and developed in tutorials. 2000-2500 words.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Quizzes	20%	No	Every second week
Tutorial Assignments	30%	No	Weekly from Week 2
Tutorial Participation	10%	No	Weekly from Week 1
Research Essay	40%	No	Week 13

Quizzes

Due: Every second week
Weighting: 20%

Fortnightly online quizzes. These will begin at the end of week 2.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Recognise key elements of the material culture of the Greek Bronze Age.
Explain the chronology and geography of the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age world.
Summarise the cultural, social, and political evolution of the Greek Bronze Age in its broader Mediterranean context.
Outline the history of Greek Bronze Age archaeology, identifying key approaches used by archaeologists in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
Assess and apply selected theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the Greek Bronze Age.

Tutorial Assignments

Due: Weekly from Week 2
Weighting: 30%

On successful completion you will be able to:

Recognise key elements of the material culture of the Greek Bronze Age.
Explain the chronology and geography of the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age world.
Summarise the cultural, social, and political evolution of the Greek Bronze Age in its broader Mediterranean context.
Outline the history of Greek Bronze Age archaeology, identifying key approaches used by archaeologists in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
Assess and apply selected theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the Greek Bronze Age.

Tutorial Participation

Due: Weekly from Week 1
Weighting: 10%

Preparation and participation. Students will be assessed on tutorial preparation (completion of all readings; review of lecture materials), and through thoughtful, active participation in tutorial activities each week.

On successful completion you will be able to:

Assess and apply selected theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the Greek Bronze Age.
Locate and analyse a range of primary and secondary source materials related to the study of the Greek Bronze Age, including material evidence, ancient texts, and modern scholarship.
Combine and synthesise material evidence, textual primary sources (where available), and secondary sources to compose original written and oral arguments.

Research Essay

Due: Week 13
Weighting: 40%

At the end of the unit you will be expected to submit an essay on a topic from the list presented in the first tutorials. These essay topics will deal with themes which were covered in lectures on the Minoans and Mycenaeans. Tutorial exercises will help prepare for this essay. 2000-2500 words

On successful completion you will be able to:

Assess and apply selected theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the Greek Bronze Age.
Locate and analyse a range of primary and secondary source materials related to the study of the Greek Bronze Age, including material evidence, ancient texts, and modern scholarship.
Combine and synthesise material evidence, textual primary sources (where available), and secondary sources to compose original written and oral arguments.

Delivery and Resources

Required texts (both available online through the Library):

Shelmerdine, C. (ed.). 2008, The Cambridge companion to the Aegean Bronze Age. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge ; New York.

Cline, E. H. (ed.). 2010. The Oxford handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000-1000 BC). Oxford University Press, Oxford ; New York.

Supplemental readings:

Students may be asked to complete supplemental readings as part of tutorial writing and preparation.

NB: All readings for class must be completed before Lecture.

Unit Schedule

Unit Schedule

Part I: Cycladic and Minoan Culture
Week	Date	Lecture / Tutorial Topics	Readings	Assignments
1	27 Feb	Introducing the Greek Bronze Age. The Minoan Palace. A student’s guide. *Tutorials commence in Week 1*	Shelmerdine, Ch. 1 Cline, 'Background and Definitions': -'History of Research' -'Chronology and Terminology'	First Tutorial.
2	6 March	The Early Bronze Age in the Aegean: the Cyclades	Shelmerdine, Ch. 3. Cline, Ch. 6.	Online quiz. Tutorial Exercise
3.	13 March	Urbanization: from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age in Crete	Shelmerdine, Ch. 4. Cline, Ch. 5.	Tutorial Exercise
4	20 March	The Rise of the Palaces. The Middle Bronze Age in Crete	Shelmerdine, Ch. 5-7 Cline, Ch 8, 14, 17, 19.	Online quiz Tutorial Exercise
5	27 March	Minoan Santorini/Thera. The Santorini Eruption and the Problem of Chronology.	Shelmerdine, Ch. 8 Cline, Ch. 34, 56.	Tutorial Exercise
6	3 April	The Destructions of the Late Bronze Age palaces and the Mycenaean hegemony. LMII-III: a different world?	Shelmerdine, Ch.12b. Cline, Ch. 11.	Online quiz Tutorial Exercise
7	10 April	The Scripts of the Aegean Bronze Age.	Shelmerdine, Ch. 7. Cline, Ch 26, 27.
Break	17-30 April	Enjoy your mid-session Break

Part II: Mycenaean Culture
Week	Date	Lecture / Tutorial Topics	Readings	Assignments
8	01 May	The Late Bronze Age World: Orientation and overview. Mycenaean antecedents (Early and Middle Helladic Greece).	Cline, 'Chronology and Geography': -EBA: Mainland Greece -MBA: Mainland Greece 'Specific Sites and Regions': -Mainland Greece: Mycenae Review Shelmerdine, Ch. 1 Cline, 'Background and Definitions': -History of Research -Chronology and Terminology	Online quiz
9	08 May	Early Mycenaean Greece. The rise of complexity	Cline, 'Chronology and Geography': -LBA: Mainland Greece 'Thematic Topics': -Art and Architecture: Mycenaean Architecture 'Specific Sites and Regions': -Mainland Greece: The Argolid Shelmerdine, Ch. 10-11	Tutorial writing: Origins of Mycenaean Greece
10	15 May	Mycenaean states and administration. Linear B. Mycenaean kingship and legitimacy.	Cline, 'Thematic Topics': -Society and Culture: State and Society, Weapons and Warfare -Seals and Writing: Linear B 'Specific Sites and Regions': -Mainland Greece: one that you have not read before, prioritising Tiryns, Pylos, Central and Southern Peloponnese. Shelmerdine, Ch. 12a	Online quiz Tutorial writing: Mycenaean kingship
11	22 May	Mycenaean religion, society, and culture. Mainland traditions and Minoan influence: Imitation and innovation in Mycenaean material culture.	Cline, 'Thematic Topics' -Society and Culture: Mycenaean Religion, Death and Burial -Material Crafts: Mycenaean Pottery -Material Crafts: Materials and Industries AND ONE of the following sections -Art and Architecture: Figurines -Art and Architecture: Frescoes -Material Crafts: Textiles -Material Crafts: Jewelry 'Specific Sites and Regions': 'Mainland Greece': One or more you have not read before, prioritising Boeotia, Central and Southern Peloponnese, Pylos, Thebes, Tiryns, Northern Aegean. Shelmerdine, Ch. 13	Tutorial writing: Material culture and society
12	29 June	Mycenaean Greece in the wider Mediterranean world. An LBA 'world system'?	Cline, 'Thematic Topics': -Society and Culture: Trade 'Specific Sites and Regions': -Wider Mediterranean: Uluburun Shipwreck -Mainland Greece: One or more that you have not read before. Aim to read all of the 'Mainland Greece' sites. Shelmerdine, Ch. 14	Online quiz Tutorial writing: Mycenae and the Mediterranean world
13	05 June	The end of the Bronze Age. The collapse of complex societies.	Cline, 'Thematic Topics': -Events: The Collapse at the End of the Bronze Age 'Specific Sites and Regions': 'Mainland Greece': One or more that you have not read before. Aim to have read all of the 'Mainland Greece' sites by this week. Shelmerdine, Ch. 15	Final essay due

Learning and Teaching Activities

Lectures

Lectures delivered by unit instructors.

Readings

Required and recommended readings, plus individual readings students complete as they prepare their essays. All readings for class must be completed before the relevant lecture.

In-class activities

Discussions, debates, role-plays, in-class writing, and similar activities, taking place in small groups or plenary sessions. These activities will usually occur during Tutorials, but may also take place during Lectures.

Writing

This unit adopts a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) approach, where writing is used throughout the unit to engage students with content and foster critical thinking.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

Combine and synthesise material evidence, textual primary sources (where available), and secondary sources to compose original written and oral arguments.

Assessment tasks

Quizzes
Tutorial Assignments
Tutorial Participation
Research Essay

Learning and teaching activities

Discussions, debates, role-plays, in-class writing, and similar activities, taking place in small groups or plenary sessions. These activities will usually occur during Tutorials, but may also take place during Lectures.
This unit adopts a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) approach, where writing is used throughout the unit to engage students with content and foster critical thinking.

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Locate and analyse a range of primary and secondary source materials related to the study of the Greek Bronze Age, including material evidence, ancient texts, and modern scholarship.
Combine and synthesise material evidence, textual primary sources (where available), and secondary sources to compose original written and oral arguments.

Assessment tasks

Tutorial Participation
Research Essay

Learning and teaching activities

This unit adopts a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) approach, where writing is used throughout the unit to engage students with content and foster critical thinking.

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Recognise key elements of the material culture of the Greek Bronze Age.
Explain the chronology and geography of the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age world.
Summarise the cultural, social, and political evolution of the Greek Bronze Age in its broader Mediterranean context.
Outline the history of Greek Bronze Age archaeology, identifying key approaches used by archaeologists in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
Assess and apply selected theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the Greek Bronze Age.
Locate and analyse a range of primary and secondary source materials related to the study of the Greek Bronze Age, including material evidence, ancient texts, and modern scholarship.
Combine and synthesise material evidence, textual primary sources (where available), and secondary sources to compose original written and oral arguments.

Assessment tasks

Quizzes
Tutorial Assignments
Tutorial Participation
Research Essay

Learning and teaching activities

Lectures delivered by unit instructors.
Required and recommended readings, plus individual readings students complete as they prepare their essays. All readings for class must be completed before the relevant lecture.
Discussions, debates, role-plays, in-class writing, and similar activities, taking place in small groups or plenary sessions. These activities will usually occur during Tutorials, but may also take place during Lectures.
This unit adopts a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) approach, where writing is used throughout the unit to engage students with content and foster critical thinking.

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Outline the history of Greek Bronze Age archaeology, identifying key approaches used by archaeologists in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
Assess and apply selected theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the Greek Bronze Age.
Locate and analyse a range of primary and secondary source materials related to the study of the Greek Bronze Age, including material evidence, ancient texts, and modern scholarship.
Combine and synthesise material evidence, textual primary sources (where available), and secondary sources to compose original written and oral arguments.

Assessment tasks

Quizzes
Tutorial Assignments
Tutorial Participation
Research Essay

Learning and teaching activities

Required and recommended readings, plus individual readings students complete as they prepare their essays. All readings for class must be completed before the relevant lecture.
Discussions, debates, role-plays, in-class writing, and similar activities, taking place in small groups or plenary sessions. These activities will usually occur during Tutorials, but may also take place during Lectures.
This unit adopts a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) approach, where writing is used throughout the unit to engage students with content and foster critical thinking.

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Summarise the cultural, social, and political evolution of the Greek Bronze Age in its broader Mediterranean context.
Assess and apply selected theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the Greek Bronze Age.
Locate and analyse a range of primary and secondary source materials related to the study of the Greek Bronze Age, including material evidence, ancient texts, and modern scholarship.
Combine and synthesise material evidence, textual primary sources (where available), and secondary sources to compose original written and oral arguments.

Assessment tasks

Quizzes
Tutorial Assignments
Tutorial Participation
Research Essay

Learning and teaching activities

Required and recommended readings, plus individual readings students complete as they prepare their essays. All readings for class must be completed before the relevant lecture.
Discussions, debates, role-plays, in-class writing, and similar activities, taking place in small groups or plenary sessions. These activities will usually occur during Tutorials, but may also take place during Lectures.
This unit adopts a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) approach, where writing is used throughout the unit to engage students with content and foster critical thinking.

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

Explain the chronology and geography of the eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age world.
Summarise the cultural, social, and political evolution of the Greek Bronze Age in its broader Mediterranean context.
Outline the history of Greek Bronze Age archaeology, identifying key approaches used by archaeologists in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
Combine and synthesise material evidence, textual primary sources (where available), and secondary sources to compose original written and oral arguments.

Assessment tasks

Quizzes
Tutorial Assignments
Tutorial Participation
Research Essay

Learning and teaching activities

Discussions, debates, role-plays, in-class writing, and similar activities, taking place in small groups or plenary sessions. These activities will usually occur during Tutorials, but may also take place during Lectures.
This unit adopts a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) approach, where writing is used throughout the unit to engage students with content and foster critical thinking.

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

Recognise key elements of the material culture of the Greek Bronze Age.

Learning and teaching activities

This unit adopts a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) approach, where writing is used throughout the unit to engage students with content and foster critical thinking.

Changes from Previous Offering

Assessment was simplified in 2017 in response to feedback received from students.