• Offered for Year: 2025/26

• Module Leader(s): Dr Marta Garcia Morcillo

• Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Aims

Was full economic independence possible for women in antiquity? The aim of this module is to explore the social and cultural context of a wide range of business sectors, industries and economic activities in which women actively participated and to which they significantly contributed. It will also discuss the numerous legal and social obstacles and limitations, as well as moral taboos that women from different ancient cultures faced. A critical insight into the history of gender studies, the history of mentalities as well as economic history will be instrumental in rethinking ancient and modern assumptions about the marginal role traditionally attributed to women as economic agents and entrepreneurs. A comparative look at modern societies will provide a valuable framework of analysis to better understand the deep impact of gender and social inequalities throughout history and up to the present time, including the famous glass ceiling and the pay-gap.

Outline Of Syllabus

An itinerary through the history of modern feminism and gender studies, as well as of main trends in economic history will guide students to a critical insight of traditional and alternative interpretations of the “silent women” of antiquity and the problem of the “source gap” that affects above all literary sources. The importance of incorporating epigraphic, papyrological and material evidence, as well as theoretical approaches for the study of this topic will be assessed. We will also try to understand why gender tends to be studied as a niche or marginal subject in broader economic histories of pre-modern societies. The core of the module will focus on Ancient Greece and Rome, whilst it will also provide comparative insights into case studies from ancient cultures from Africa and Eurasia. The course will look at the ideologies, mentalities and motivations underpinning the establishment and continuity of traditions, social and legal norms, institutions and power mechanisms that limited and conditioned the autonomous life of women as economic agents and managers beyond the domestic sphere. We will also discuss the complex relationship between patriarchy, patrimony, wealth and money, and the extent to which gender inequality impacted both private and public life. The extraordinary lives and stories of named and anonymous women from different social orders and origins who challenged prohibitions and moral taboos will lead to an exploration of professional occupations and enterprises through which they attempted to gain independence: from artisans, to prostitutes, innkeepers and retailers, from doctors to teachers, from farmers to shippers, from real estate entrepreneurs to moneylenders. Beyond female figures from the upper-class, the module will pay particular attention to bottom-up stories of women from marginalised contexts, and to the enduring intertwining between unfree labour, gender and race over time.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures will introduce the students to the main themes, methodological issues and theories related to the topic. They will also incorporate in-class debates that contribute to consolidate knowledge and enhance historical comparative views. The lectures will further provide the students with relevant overarching tools and ideas that help them develop their own projects and independent research for the summative assessment. Weekly canvas quizzes will contribute to the process of continuous learning.
Seminars will engage in in-depth analyses and discussions of specific topics and primary evidence and will be designed to prioritise and encourage students’ participation, inclusion and creative thinking. During the seminars, students will be able to get actively involved in activities that will train them for the assessed components.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The individual poster/oral presentations/video will allow the students to develop creative skills (e.g. design, video editing), improve visual/oral communicative skills, engage in scholarly and modern debates as well as theory. This assignment will also expect students to discuss critically ancient as well as comparative historical materials.

The essay will assess the students’ capacity to conduct independent research and develop critical arguments based on different categories of ancient evidence and modern scholarship. The topics for the essays will be jointly agreed between the student and the lecturer.

Reading Lists

• CAH3043's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• CAH3043's Timetable