Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

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Co Requisite Comment

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Aims

The early medieval period saw a radical realignment in the economic, social and political structures of Europe, the Mediterranean and western Asia which remain fundamental for understanding many of the tensions in the modern world. Byzantium was a unique state located between the new, dynamic Islamic world and the early medieval kingdoms of continental Europe. The course examines the material culture and structures of Byzantium and its neighbours from the beginning of Justinian’s reign in the 6th century to AD 850. The study will begin by considering Justinian’s empire and in particular by reviewing the recent debate on the end of urbanism in late antiquity. We will consider the debates which have been put forward for the end of Antiquity in both the east and the west but we will focus on urbanism in the Eastern provinces. We will look at the rise of Islam and consider the impact the Arab invasions had on the Byzantine world as well as on religion and transport in the eastern Mediterranean. Orthodox Christianity was crucial for the survival of the Byzantine state and the crisis concerning the worship of religious images known as Iconoclasm, raises issues relevant for understanding the significance of images and belief in the medieval and the modern worlds. Other themes include methodological problems in the use of historical and archaeological sources and the contested nature of many medieval buildings in the recent past because of their significance for different people today.

The aim of this module is to understand the transformation of the Classical world and the emergence of new and diverse material cultures, institutions and ideologies in the Byzantine Empire and its neighbours, including the Islamic world as well as to consider how these buildings and places continue to be places of significance and contention in contemporary society.

Outline Of Syllabus

The course examines the material culture and structures of Byzantium and its neighbours from late
antiquity to the middle Byzantine period.

The following are topics typically included in the module to be explored using a combination of lectures, workshops and non-synchronous materials:
The strategic geography of the Near East;
The Byzantine worldview;
Hagiography and archaeology;
Byzantine magic and superstition;
Ethnography of modern traditional rural settlement and households;
Byzantine rural settlement and households;
Byzantine cities: Early medieval Constantinople;
Byzantine cities in Anatolia, Syria and Jordan;
The transition of urban life and rural settlement in Asia Minor and Syria;
Anatolia and the Arab invasions;
Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture, burial and decoration;
The period of Iconoclasm;
Transport and trade in the eastern Mediterranean;
The rise of Islam; and the development of early Islamic architecture and decoration;
Pilgrimage in Byzantium and Islam;
Specific themes include methodological problems in the use of historical and archaeological sources;
Byzantine and early Islamic Archaeology and colonialism;
The management and monitoring of endangered heritage (e.g. by UNESCO);
Contested religious and secular space and intentional destruction or appropriation of Byzantine and early Islamic buildings in recent times.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the module you will have:
1. an outline of the history of the eastern Mediterranean region from the 6th century to the 10th century AD;
2. a familiarity with the major monuments in the Byzantine and early Islamic worlds;
3. a knowledge of the changing forms of religious and secular representation in Byzantine Orthodoxy and Islam;
4. an understanding of the material and written evidence for selected major excavated sites within the region;
5. an understanding of the differing interpretations and definitions of urbanism in late antiquity and the early middle ages;
6. an awareness of nationalist, religious and ethnic interpretations, preservation and conservation of early medieval material culture in the Near East.

Intended Skill Outcomes

1. Subject-specific skills for the understanding and developing research in Byzantine and Islamic archaeology;
2. Cognitive skills for critical interpretation and analysis of the material and textual sources for urban transformation;
3. Visual intelligence in studying archaeological, art historical and architectural evidence;
4. Interdisciplinary skills of relating archaeological, art historical evidence and textual evidence;
5. Communication Skills: presentation skills in workshops and seminars, as well as using written text;
6. Personal confidence of working within a small group;
7. Independence to develop skills in research and in the evaluation of published research.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures will provide a historical overview and introduce major written sources, material culture and monuments of Byzantine and Islamic art and archaeology. Lectures will also present subject-specific information relating especially to the ways in which sources can be interpreted and will highlight critically ways that sources have been misinterpreted in the past. Lecture materials will direct students to reading to explore ideas and concepts further. Workshops will build students' research and communication skills as well as their personal confidence and will prepare students for written assessments. Structured guided research, assessments and reading together with independent learning will be needed by students to embed and to build on information from lectures. This independent work will enable students to become familiar with the wide range of visual and structural evidence and its critical interpretation.

In the event that on-campus sessions need to be reduced, there is the capacity to present recorded materials asynchronously and retain timetabled slots for live discussion of these materials.

In the event that on-campus sessions need to be reduced, there is the capacity to hold live workshop discussions online and retain timetabled slots.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Formative Workshop
Workshops give students the opportunity for independent study and for team working. All students should prepare by reading in advance of all workshops. Each student will be expected to jointly lead a workshop by giving a group presentation as a recorded video during the semester for their formative assessment. Other students will give feedback on others' presentations so students must ensure they have uploaded the video by the Friday in advance of the class. These formative presentations will enable all students to reflect on the content and skills that make effective presentations. Research for the presentations will enable students to investigate their topics in good time for the essay submission.

Summative Essay
Each student will develop a research question with the module leader for a 1500-word essay on the theme of their presentation for a workshop. The essay tests knowledge outcomes and develops skills in research, reading and writing. This piece of work should be aimed at to a specialist and up-to-date academic-research audience.

Creative Project
The creative project will test acquisition of a clear general knowledge of themes from the module. It will enable students to demonstrate their ability to apply both the general knowledge and detailed knowledge of aspects of the subject to new questions in a creative way. The project will involve problem-solving skills, adaptability, the ability to work unaided and to write clearly and concisely for an intelligent but non-specialist audience.

Both Formative and summative work tests intended knowledge and skills outcomes, develops key skills in research, reading, writing and communication.

The assessment deadlines are scheduled so that students are able to develop key skills of time and project management.

All of the summative assessments for this module will be submitted and marked online.

This module can be made available to Erasmus students only with the agreement of the Head of Subject and of the Module Leader. This option must be discussed in person at the beginning of your exchange period. No restrictions apply to study-abroad, exchange and Loyola students.



Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending semester 1 only are required to finish their assessment while in Newcastle. Where an exam is present, an alternative form of assessment will be set and where coursework is present, an alternative deadline will be set. Details of the alternative assessment will be provided by the module leader.

General Notes

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