Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor
Gil Davis
Contact via 0439817299
Every day except Wednesdays
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit presents a survey of ancient Greek history and culture in the Archaic and Classical periods. It examines colonisation and the emergence of Greek city-states, notably Athens and Sparta, tracing their transformation through conflicts with the Persian empire and one another, down to the rise of Phillip II of Macedon. During these years Greeks were ruled by kings, aristocrats, oligarchs, tyrants, and (some of them) by themselves, in the world's first democratic systems. It examines how literary, archaeological, and epigraphic sources are used to reconstruct the past.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE UNIT
To complete the unit successfully you need a minimum mark of 50% overall. You must attempt every piece of assessment or marks may be deducted (see 'Extensions and Penalties' below).
GRADES:
F: 0-49% P: 50-64% CR: 65-74% D: 75-84% HD: 85-100%
Grade descriptors may be found in a separate document on the unit’s website.
BLOGS
You are required to post five blog entries each of 150 words (+/- 10%) commenting on one significant aspect of the set reading(s) which will be discussed in the relevant tutorials by Saturday, 11 pm of weeks 3, 5, 7, 9 & 11. Each blog entry must include a topic sentence, evidence and argument, and be fully referenced. Each blog is worth 10% of the total mark with only the best four counting, making a total of 40% of your assessment for the unit. You must make a decent effort at all five blogs; a defective blog may not count. Please note that the mark for one blog post will drop irrespective of how many you turn in.
ONLINE QUIZZES
There are short online quizzes in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10, and one major online quiz in week 13. The minor quizzes will test you on material covered in the lectures and tutorials of the current and preceding week. (Tip: you will easily be able to answer the questions if you have listened to the lectures and read the set readings for each tutorial - they are not designed to trick you). Access to each quiz is through the unit’s website. You may take the quizzes at any time during the relevant week but you may take each quiz only once. All answers will be either right or wrong. Each minor quiz consists of 8 questions and is worth 4% of your mark making a total of 20% for all four. The major quiz will comprise 20 questions and will test you on material covered in the whole unit - it is worth 10%.
MAJOR ESSAY
The MAJOR ESSAY is due by 5pm Friday 5 November, 2017. It MUST be submitted through Turnitin. It is worth 30% of your total mark for the unit.
A choice of essay questions will be provided by the mid-semester break. Tutorial 5 is devoted to discussing the requirements for a good essay. Draft answers (on a non-assessed question) will be provided demonstrating the level required to reach each grade.
Your answer to the essay question should demonstrate extensive use of primary and secondary sources. Bibliographies provided give you a starting point for developing a reading list of secondary literature relevant to the essay topic. In order to locate further material on particular issues you should consult the footnotes and indices of modern works.
Your essay should be based on an analysis and discussion of primary (ancient) sources. Secondary literature should be used to aid you in your analysis and interpretation of the ancient sources and to place your interpretation within the context of previous scholarship. All opinions included in the essay, whether quoted directly or paraphrased, MUST be referenced according to the guidelines, Assignment Presentation Style Guide https://www.mq.edu.au/public/download/?id=292059. Do not footnote lectures or include anything in footnotes except citations, and remember to include every reference you have actually used in your bibliography. You must include a word count. Anything beyond the prescribed word limit will not be marked.
Marking criteria:
1. Argument and critical evaluation of evidence - 30% weighting
2. Structure and organisation - 20% weighting
3. Use of primary sources - 15% weighting
4. Use of secondary sources - 15% weighting
5. Grammar, style and spelling - 10% weighting
6. Referencing and bibliography - 10% weighting
RETURN OF WORK
Blogs: I plan to mark the blogs with feedback within a week of submission.
Quizzes: Results will be available as soon as the quiz closes.
Essay: I will mark this on-line through Turnitin and release it when all marking is completed.
EXTENSIONS AND PENALTIES
All due dates are firm. Permission to submit a late piece of work will only be granted in case of illness or other exceptional cases. Special approval for such late submissions must be sought in advance (where circumstances permit it). Late work will otherwise incur a penalty of 2% per day (including weekends). Failure to make a decent attempt on any of the blogs may result in it not being counted and another blog being deducted from the aggregate mark for the blogs, unless there are 'special circumstances' (normally illness or serious misadventure) and an extension of time is granted by the Unit Convenor or the Head of Department. Quizzes cannot be taken after their close-off time. If special circumstances (see above) result in a quiz being missed, an average of marks for the other quizzes will be awarded.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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On-line quizzes | 30% | No | Week 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13 |
Blog Posts | 40% | No | Week 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 |
Major essay | 30% | No | Week 12 |
Due: Week 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13
Weighting: 30%
Do five minor quizzes and one major quiz spaced throughout the semester based on information provided in the lectures and tutorials in the preceding weeks. The minor quizzes will consist of eight multiple-choice or right/wrong questions and will each be worth four percent of the total assessment. The major quiz at the end of the semester will comprise 20 questions and be worth ten percent of the total assessment.
Due: Week 3, 5, 7, 9, 11
Weighting: 40%
You are required to post five blog entries each of 150 words (+/- 10%) commenting on one significant aspect of the set reading(s) which will be discussed in the relevant tutorials by Saturday, 11 pm of weeks 3, 5, 7, 9 & 11. Each blog entry must include a topic sentence, evidence and argument, and be fully referenced. Each blog is worth 10% of the total mark with only the best four counting, making a total of 40% of your assessment for the unit. You must make a decent attempt at all five blogs. Please note that the mark for one blog post will drop irrespective of how many you turn in.
Due: Week 12
Weighting: 30%
Write a full-length essay (2,000 words +/- 10% excluding footnotes and bibliography ) and submit it through Turnitin. Topics will be provided before the mid-semester break.
Delivery modes
Internal (Day) and External
Lectures and tutorials
UNIT WEBPAGE AND ONLINE TEACHING
READING LIST
The required course textbook is Terry Buckley’s Aspects of Greek History: A Source-Based Approach, 2nd edition, (London 2010), copies available in the university bookshop (some also available in the library).
You are also required to become familiar with the ancient literary source material which will be the basis of much of what we discuss. The most necessary are conveniently found in the following reasonably-priced editions:
Better versions with indices and explanatory appendices are the Landmark editions of both Herodotus and Thucydides edited by Robert B. Strassler:
Versions of Herodotus and Thucydides are also freely available on-line.
Week no. /dates |
Lecture no. |
Lecture title |
Tutorial no. |
Tutorial title/Assessment |
1 31 Jul-6 Aug |
1 |
Introduction: why study Greek history |
1 |
Understanding history |
2 |
Mycenaean and ‘Dark Age’ antecedents |
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2 7-13 Aug |
3 |
Homer, Hesiod, and the rise of the polis |
2 |
Using sources – old & new On-line quiz
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4 |
Colonies across the seas |
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3 14-20 Aug |
5 |
Greek tyrants |
3 |
The Spartan mirage Blog
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6 |
The expansion of Sparta, and the Spartan way of life |
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4 21-27 Aug |
7 |
Athens: Theseus to Solon |
4 |
Kleisthenes – father of democracy? On-line quiz |
8 |
Athens: Peisistratos to Kleisthenes |
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5 28 Aug-3 Sept |
9 |
Warfare by land and sea |
5 |
How to write a good essay Blog
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10 |
From Persian imperialism to the Battle of Marathon |
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6 4-10 Sept |
11 |
Dating Early Attic coins from literary, numismatic & scientific evidence |
6 |
Barbarians? On-line quiz
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12 |
Xerxes and the grand invasion of Greece |
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7 11-17 Sept |
13 |
After the Persian Wars – Spartan politics & the Delian League |
7 |
Great men – Themistokles Blog
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14 |
Allies become enemies, amid power struggles at Athens |
Session break
Week no. /dates |
Lecture no. |
Lecture title |
Tutorial no. |
Tutorial title |
8 2-8 Oct |
15 |
Thucydides – the man & his writings; the pentekontaetia |
8 |
How far can we rely on Thucydides? On-line quiz
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16 |
The first phase of the Peloponnesian War |
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9 9-15 Oct |
17 |
Change of strategy – Perikles and his successors |
9 |
The Sicilian expedition Blog
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18 |
Syracuse & the Sicilian expedition |
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10 16-22 Oct |
19 |
The Ionian War, and political turmoil at Athens |
10 |
Understanding epigraphic material On-line quiz |
20 |
The bitter end for Athens |
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11 23-29 Oct |
21 |
Post-war Athens: general amnesty, trial of Socrates |
Blog
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22 |
Law and judicial process |
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12 30 Oct-5 Nov |
23 |
Spartan hegemony 1 |
Major essay due
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24 |
Spartan hegemony 2, Theban hegemony |
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13 6-12 Nov |
25 |
Athens resurrected/2nd Naval Confederacy to 359; rise of Macedonia |
Major quiz |
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26 |
Unit review for major quiz |
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.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
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.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
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.
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The time period covered in this unit has been extended into the 4th century down to the rise of Phillip II of Macedon.