Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Senior Lecturer & Unit Convenor
Karin Sowada
Contact via Email
Room 167, 25B WW, Arts Precinct
By appointment
Associate Professor
Peter Edwell
Contact via Email
Level 1, 25B WW, Arts Precinct
By appointment
Professor
Javier Alvarez-Mon
Contact via Email
Level 1, 25B WW, Arts Precinct
By appointment
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above or (20cp in AHIS or AHST units at 2000 level)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
AHIX3251
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit examines the origin and development of the "state" in the ancient world, from the earliest states in Egypt and the ancient Near East to the foundation of the medieval world, via investigation of the archaeological, historical, textual, and artistic evidence. Particular attention is paid to the processes involved in the formation of the first states in Egypt and Mesopotamia, with theoretical models for understanding what a state is and does forming the foundation upon which the ancient evidence is overlaid. |
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 to pass this Unit. In accordance with Clause 129 of the University Assessment Policy, non-submission of an Assessment Task will result in a FA grade - Fail Absent.
GRADES F / FA: 0-49% P: 50-64% CR: 65-74% D: 75-84% HD: 85-100%
LATE ASSESSMENT SUBMISSION PENALTY Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special Consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON FINAL MARKS Please note with respect to the marks you receive for work during the session: grading decisions for each assessment task will be moderated against the set criteria and standards before task results are released. See further the note on Results in the Policies and Procedures section below. It is highly recommended that you come to all classes. Further, you should complete the readings and any other work for any given week before that week's meeting.
The use of AI (eg. Chat GPT) for assessment completion in AHIS3251 / AHIX3251 is discouraged. Choosing to use AI in your writing will result in lower marks.
In scraping the internet to generate a result, AI can miss material, make up references, and provide incorrect information or content that is too general or wrong. It may even plagarise its source material. The style and cadence of the language produced by AI is also obvious to the reader. Assignments will be scrutinised for signs of AI use and this will be taken into consideration to a higher degree in the marking process accordingly.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Annotated Bibliography | 25% | No | 2355 hrs Sunday 18 August 2024 |
Written essay | 40% | No | 2355 hrs Sunday 29 September 2024 |
Group Oral Presentation | 35% | No | 2355 hrs Monday 4 November 2024 |
Assessment Type 1: Annotated bibliography
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 2355 hrs Sunday 18 August 2024
Weighting: 25%
Produce an annotated bibliography (min. 10 references) from a list of topic choices.
Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: 2355 hrs Sunday 29 September 2024
Weighting: 40%
Written essay of 2500 words on a topic from a list of topic choices.
Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 2355 hrs Monday 4 November 2024
Weighting: 35%
Short group oral presentation (15 min.) on a topic from a list of topic choices
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Access to the internet and various online databases will be necessary for successful completion of this Unit. Ability to work with word processing programs and powerpoint (or comparable programs) will also be necessary to complete Unit assessments.
There is no textbook; readings will be drawn from a number of sources via the Unit's Leganto page or on our iLearn page.
External / on-line students will have access to lecture recordings and other content via iLearn. Several face-to-face zoom calls will be scheduled during the Semester for external students to meet with the Unit lecturers. See the iLearn page for more details.
The Unit will commence with introductory lectures and class discussions on the emergence of social complexity, the nature of the state, and theories of state formation in ancient world studies. This will be followed by a focus on the early pristine states of Mesopotamia and Egypt, applying theoretical concepts to archaeologial, environmental and textual data. From Weeks 8 to 13, the unit content will move onto theories of societal collapse, followed by an assessment of later empires from the Hellenistic period to Late Antiquity.
For further information, consult the Unit's iLearn site for the Unit Schedule and weekly updates.
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.
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 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 connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
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.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
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.
Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:
Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.
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 2024.02 of the Handbook