Students

AHIS8221 – Caravan Cities

2022 – Session 1, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Bronwen Neil
bronwen.neil@mq.edu.au
Contact via By email
B160
By appointment
Rachel Yuen-Collingridge
rachel.yuen@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MAncHist or GradCertAncHist or MA in (Ancient History or Coptic Studies)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
AHIX8221 - Caravan Cities
Unit description Unit description
The unit aims to combine archaeology with history in the study of a number of key cities of the Roman Near East. The Silk Road and the Frankincense Road brought great prosperity to a number of cities of the Roman East, especially Petra, Palmyra and Dura Europos. Much of the history of these cities is written from a combination of archaeological reports and literary sources. Students will be given the opportunity to learn how to evaluate archaeological evidence against extant literary sources and also to study the architectural history of the Roman Near East.

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:

  • ULO1: Analyse and express judgement about the development of trade in the Roman Near East and specific features of the main cities involved in this trade in oral and written form.
  • ULO2: Interpret written and archaeological evidence and express appreciation and understanding of their context and modern interpretations of them.
  • ULO3: Work with and respond to the views of staff and other students in the unit in both oral and written form
  • ULO4: Demonstrate the ability to draw together and judge pre-selected and self-located evidence to provide an analysis of trade in the Roman Near East and an important element of the cities involved in this trade.

General Assessment Information

Lateness Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 10 marks out of 100 credit will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline.

See the Study Guide in the Resources folder for further information on Assessment.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Discussion Paper 20% No 23:59 08/04/2022
Blog 10% No 23:59 29/04/2022
Weekly written contributions to online discussions. 20% No 23:59 Friday weekly
Research Essay 50% No 23:59 03/06/2022

Discussion Paper

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 23:59 08/04/2022
Weighting: 20%

 

1,500 word essay from a selection of questions.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse and express judgement about the development of trade in the Roman Near East and specific features of the main cities involved in this trade in oral and written form.
  • Interpret written and archaeological evidence and express appreciation and understanding of their context and modern interpretations of them.
  • Work with and respond to the views of staff and other students in the unit in both oral and written form
  • Demonstrate the ability to draw together and judge pre-selected and self-located evidence to provide an analysis of trade in the Roman Near East and an important element of the cities involved in this trade.

Blog

Assessment Type 1: Non-academic writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 23:59 29/04/2022
Weighting: 10%

 

A blog focusing on the impact of modern human activity on ancient archaeological sites.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Interpret written and archaeological evidence and express appreciation and understanding of their context and modern interpretations of them.

Weekly written contributions to online discussions.

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 23:59 Friday weekly
Weighting: 20%

 

Weekly written contributions to online discussions.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse and express judgement about the development of trade in the Roman Near East and specific features of the main cities involved in this trade in oral and written form.

Research Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: 23:59 03/06/2022
Weighting: 50%

 

3,000 word research essay focussing a broad question related to the material covered across the entire unit.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse and express judgement about the development of trade in the Roman Near East and specific features of the main cities involved in this trade in oral and written form.
  • Interpret written and archaeological evidence and express appreciation and understanding of their context and modern interpretations of them.
  • Work with and respond to the views of staff and other students in the unit in both oral and written form
  • Demonstrate the ability to draw together and judge pre-selected and self-located evidence to provide an analysis of trade in the Roman Near East and an important element of the cities involved in this trade.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

This unit is fully online and flexible. See the Resources folder for further information.

Unit Schedule

1 Introduction 

2 History and economics 

3 Dura Europos Seleucid & Parthian Periods

4 Dura Europos Roman Period 1

5 Dura Europos Roman Period 2  

6 Archaeology & Civil War 2

7 Palmyra - History & Architecture

8 Palmyra - Relationship with Rome

9 Palmyra - Religion

10 Petra - History

11 Petra - Architecture  

12 Petra - Religion

13 Summary

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Lateness Penalty

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – 10 marks out of 100 credit will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline.

Student Support

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

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

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.

Unit information based on version 2022.02 of the Handbook