Students

AHIS2210 – From Alexander the Great to Augustus: The Hellenistic Age

2022 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Ian Worthington
ian.worthington@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
B170 Arts Precinct
Tuesdays 8.00-9.30am and by appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Alexander the Great's extraordinary conquests (towards the end of the fourth century BCE) opened up vast areas of the ancient Near-East to Greek influences. This unit deals with the political and cultural history of the eastern Mediterranean area, beginning with Alexander's invasion of the Persian Empire, dealing in some detail with his personality and policies. It follows the fortunes of his successors in the third and second centuries BCE, treating the Hellenisation of native peoples and reactions to cultural change, down to and including the early first century CE, under the Roman Empire. Consideration will also be given to the place of Alexander the Great as a historical figure in the modern world.

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: illustrate a broad knowledge of historical developments in the Hellenistic Age and a broad understanding of the approach of historians to the study of the period.
  • ULO2: examine and critically evaluate historical evidence with initiative and judgement and illustrate competency through devising and sustaining arguments and solving problems with reference to the Hellenistic Age.
  • ULO3: appreciate the larger issues that engage historians of the Hellenistic Age and to understand connections between the ancient world and the modern, as well as the on-going significance of this period of the past within the modern world

General Assessment Information

1) There are three assignments geared to the CLOs, ULOs, and relevant TSFs: a qualitative assessment, a poster, and a major essay; see iLearn site under 'Assessments and Guides' for details. All work should be submitted on turnitin.

2) LATE 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.

3) IMPORTANT NOTE ON FINAL MARKS: Grading decisions for each assessment task will be moderated against the set criteria and standards before task results are released.

4) Do not plagiarise: plagiarism will not be tolerated; see the Academic Integrity Policy link in the 'Policies and Procedures' section below.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Essay 25% No 18/03/2022 by 11pm
Poster 25% No 29/04/2022 by 11pm
Essay 50% No 03/06/2022 by 11pm

Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 18/03/2022 by 11pm
Weighting: 25%

 

Qualitative assessment on a topic to do with ancient sources

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • illustrate a broad knowledge of historical developments in the Hellenistic Age and a broad understanding of the approach of historians to the study of the period.
  • examine and critically evaluate historical evidence with initiative and judgement and illustrate competency through devising and sustaining arguments and solving problems with reference to the Hellenistic Age.
  • appreciate the larger issues that engage historians of the Hellenistic Age and to understand connections between the ancient world and the modern, as well as the on-going significance of this period of the past within the modern world

Poster

Assessment Type 1: Poster
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 29/04/2022 by 11pm
Weighting: 25%

 

One slide only of text and 2-3 illustrations arranged and put together by students as they wish as long as on only one slide on a topic to do with Alexander the Great

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • illustrate a broad knowledge of historical developments in the Hellenistic Age and a broad understanding of the approach of historians to the study of the period.
  • examine and critically evaluate historical evidence with initiative and judgement and illustrate competency through devising and sustaining arguments and solving problems with reference to the Hellenistic Age.
  • appreciate the larger issues that engage historians of the Hellenistic Age and to understand connections between the ancient world and the modern, as well as the on-going significance of this period of the past within the modern world

Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: 03/06/2022 by 11pm
Weighting: 50%

 

2,000 words on a topic to do with the Hellenistic era

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • illustrate a broad knowledge of historical developments in the Hellenistic Age and a broad understanding of the approach of historians to the study of the period.
  • examine and critically evaluate historical evidence with initiative and judgement and illustrate competency through devising and sustaining arguments and solving problems with reference to the Hellenistic Age.
  • appreciate the larger issues that engage historians of the Hellenistic Age and to understand connections between the ancient world and the modern, as well as the on-going significance of this period of the past within the modern world

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

Schedule: There are no face-to-face lectures; all weekly lectures are recorded and uploaded onto the Echo 360 site by 3.00pm Monday each week. There will be face-to-face tutorials in most weeks for internal students and any external student able to attend them: see iLearn Syllabus for details. In addition, a recorded  'definitive' tutorial will be uploaded onto the Echo 360 site after the tutorial in question.  

Method: AHIS2210 is delivered in blended mode as a Macquarie University unit of study.

Webpage: Online units can be accessed at: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/

Technology used and skills required: PC and Internet access are required. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement.

Please contact IT staff for any further, more specific, requirements, to do with technology.

Required and recommended resources

No required purchase books.

eReserve readings on leganto (see 'Unit Readings' in iLearn Syllabus and weekly lecture and tutorial readings for information)

Unit Schedule

Week 1: Macedonia and Greece before Philip II; Macedonian Society; Sources

Week 2: Philip II of Macedonia – A 'Great' King?

Week 3: Alexander’s Invasion of Persia (1)

Week 4: Alexander’s Invasion of Persia (2)

Week 5: Alexander, Central Asia, and Modern-era Warfare

Week 6: Alexander, India and Final Years; Generalship & Leadership Skills and 'Greatness'

Week 7: The Wars of the Successors and the Hellenistic Kingdoms to 281

Week 8: Macedonia, Thrace, Galatia, Bithynia

Week 9: Pergamum, Rhodes

Week 10: Egypt. Cyprus, Cyrene

Week 11: The Seleucid Kingdom and its Successor States

Week 12: Rome's Macedonian Wars

Week 13: The Wash-up of the Hellenistic Age

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.

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.

Changes from Previous Offering

The lectures are no longer face-to-face but recorded and uploaded onto the Echo 360 site every Monday.

The assignments and weightings have changed to a qualitative assessment (25%), a poster (25%), and a major essay (50%), all geared more explciitly to the CLOs, ULOs and TSFs.

The due dates of the first two assignments have changed to permit marked work to be returned to students in a more timely fashion. (Because of the nature of the major essay the due date cannot be moved from Week 13.)

New rubrics have been created, to include weightings and TSFs, for each assessment.

A General Discussion Forum + Link and Communciate Directly with Staff Dropbox + Link have been added to the iLearn sites.

An externals' discussion forum has been revamped with moderated postings linked to the tutorial topcis.questions – the time for postings = about the same as the time internals would be attending and participating in face-to-face tutorials, s o there is no impact to students' study time.

There will be at least one special guest class presentation – currently one by Cpt Michael Ferguson, US Army, on Alexander's military legacy, is scehduled for Week 7, replacing a tutorial so that no additional study time by students will be taken up.