Students are expected to participate in the online Discussion forum on the Unit page on the basis of listening to the lecture and their weekly readings. This means they are required to post to the web discussion tool in reference to the weekly theme and the questions posted by the lecturer each week after the first which will be an introductory discussion.
 
Students must contribute to at least 9 discussions to receive a mark for this assessment task. The mark for participation will be based on the following:

• 5% will be awarded for posting anything at all to 8 online tutorials without regard to the quality of the contribution, and can thus be very easily earned
• 15% will be based on the quality of the online postings, which will be evaluated according to the instructions below.

Discussion postings should have about 75-100 words. Try not to make them much longer. Please do not send them as an attachment to an e-mail, but e-mail directly to the discussions tools of the website. As well as addressing the weekly theme in general questions raised by the lecturer, you are also welcome to address other issues, as long as they have arisen from the week’s reading. You do not have to wait for the lecturer to pose questions each week, but may start the discussion yourselves on the basis of the lecture and your readings.
 
Strive to be clear and consistent in your thoughts, use standard spelling and punctuation (so as not to detract from the contents of your contribution), use paragraphs if necessary, and check one final time before hitting the "send" button.

Students are to submit a short (800 words) review of a major article in the field on Friday of Week 3 (16.8.13). This will help familiarise students with the field, and will also function as a low risk diagnostic task which will be used to provide early feedback for students and enable the convener to identify potential learning challenges.
 
The work to be reviewed (available on e-reserve) is:
E.G. Turner, ‘Ptolemaic Egypt’, in Frank A. Walbank et al.(edd.), The Cambridge Ancient History, Second Edition, Volume VII. Part 1 (Cambridge 1984) 118–174.
 
The review should start with the full bibliographical details of the work under review. Students should address the following:
    •    What is the main historical and chronological focus of the article?
    •    What are major types of sources used in the article? What issues related to them does the author raise?
    •    What are major historical issues raised? What does author consider to be the major issues in the study of Ptolemaic Egypt?
    •    What is the author’s overall view of Ptolemaic Egypt?
    •    How successful you think the article is as an overview of the period? What could have been done differently, and why?
    •    How well does it serve as an introduction? What else would you have wanted to know?
 
Despite the range of issues to be covered and the short word-length, students must stick to the word limit: this is an exercise in summerizing and writing to word length as well as assessing a work, and over-length essays will attract penalties as noted above.

The Document Study will be due on by 5 pm on the Friday of week 7, 13.9.13. It must be 1000 words in length, and include a bibliography of primary sources and modern works, and footnotes (or an acceptable alternative form of referencing). All the documents will be available on E-Reserve or in Austin, The Hellenistic World (available electronically through the MU Library catalogue)
You must pick one of the following documents listed below and write a 1000-word study which explains the historical significance of the document(s) and relates it to other sources which bear on the questions or issues raised by the document.
You must, among other things:
    •    set the document(s) in its historical context.
    •    explain who the principal historical figures are who composed and featured in it.
    •    explain why it is important and significant.
    •    explain what it tells us that we would not otherwise have known.
 
You should also assemble a modern bibliography on the text, and assess in brief modern opinion on it. In short, you should provide an historical commentary on the text: this should take the form of a close analysis, not a summary of its contents.
 
Chose one of the following documents:
1. Theocritus, Idyll 17, in Praise of Ptolemy II
A. Verity, Theocritus, Idylls. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), pp. 54-58 (also Austin, The Hellenistic World, no. 255)
2. The ‘Satrap Stele’ Translation by Ritner in Simpson, Literature of Ancient Egypt. Earlier translation online at http://reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/texts/lagides.htm

The Major Essay will be due on by 5 pm on the Friday of week 12, 1.11.13. It must be 2500 words in length. Students should pick one of the following essay topics. Alternatively, you may devise a question related to the theme of the unit in which they are interested. It may be a focused analysis of a particular aspect of the course, or a broad thematic essay. It must, however, address a question (not just: 'write everything about X in 2500 words'). This question should be formulated and shown to the lecturer before you begin writing.
 
(a) Egyptian society was manifestly to some extent ‘Hellenised’ under the Ptolemies. To what extent was Greek society in Ptolemaic Egypt 'Egyptianised'?
Discuss with reference either one or two of the following; that is, a detailed discussion of one area, or two shorter discussions. If the latter option is chosen, the results should be compared and general conclusions drawn.
 
A: Language
B: Religion
C: Administration & Law
D: Ideology of Rule
E: Foreign Policy
 
(b) How did relations with Rome affect the last decades of Ptolemaic Egypt? What agenda did the last Ptolemaic rulers have in their contacts with Rome?
 
(c) To what extent were the revolts against the Ptolemies expressions of Egyptian nationalism? What other agendas, if any, were present?
 
(d) To what extent was Egypt under the Ptolemies a bilingual society? What roles did the Greek and Egyptian languages play in public and private life?
 
(e) To what extent did Ptolemy I Soter look back towards Alexander? How did he craft a new empire with its own identity?
 
(f) How important was the library of Alexandria and Alexandrian scholarship for the preservation and transmission of the Classical heritage of Greece? How has the activity of the Alexandrians affected our knowledge of the Archaic and Classical Greek world and its literature?
 
(h) To what extent is the account of the production of the Septuagint in the Letter of Aristeas believable? What were the likely reasons for the translation, and why does the writer of the letter of Aristeas present events the way he does?
 
(i) Was Ptolemaic Egypt a ‘colonial’ society? To what extent do modern perceptions and theoretical understandings of ‘colonialism’ help us understand Ptolemaic society?
 
It is important to base your essay on primary sources, and to compile your own list of up to date secondary reading. Do not hesitate to approach the convener for guidance on your essay at any stage.
 
Essays must be accompanied by a bibliography of the primary sources and modern works used. They must be referenced according to one of the accepted conventions, that is, footnotes, endnotes, or ‘in-text’ referencing. In general, footnotes are the preferred and usual method for such work.
Material downloaded or cited from the Web (other than the Website of this unit) should always be cited with reference to its full Web address. NB: Be very careful when using material from the web. Only use material from reputable websites set up by universities, museums/galleries, reputable scholars/associations etc. The use of material from unscholarly and uncritical websites will result in the deduction of marks.
 
NB: Contributions must be posted by the end of the Sunday following the week in question to count towards this assessment task. Please also note well that the online discussion forum participation will count for 20% of your total mark. Non-participation may result in a difference of an entire letter grade. If you have technical problems with participating in online discussion group, please let the convener know as early as possible.