Ancient and Modern History: Course Structure

Ancient and Modern History: Course Structure

This course enables you to extend the options of the Modern History course which begins in AD 285 to include the more important parts of Greek and Roman history. Not only does the course get rid of the arbitrary dividing line of AD 284, but it also enables students to tackle questions in Modern History which are incomprehensible without some awareness of the Greek and Roman background. You only need to think about the role played by classical examples in the French Revolution or the importance of classical thinkers to the thought of such major political theorists as Machiavelli and Hobbes to appreciate the fertile nature of this joint degree.

First Year (The Preliminary Examination

Students study four papers, on which they are examined at the end of the first year.
1.	General History (primarily European). A choice of four options is available: 370–900: The Transformation of the Ancient World 1000–1300 Medieval Christendom and its neighbours 1400–1650: Renaissance, Recovery and Reform 1815–1914: Society, Nation and Empire These papers are studied thematically.
2.	Either Greek History c.650–479 BC or Roman History 241–146 BC.
3.	An Optional Subject involving the use of primary sources. You may study any one of those listed under History Course Structure including The World of Homer and Hesiod or Augustan Rome, which are specifically directed at ancient historians.
4.	Either Approaches to History involving an examination of interdisciplinary ways of studying history; or Historiography: Tacitus to Weber; or a paper on a classical historian (Herodotus or Sallust) studied in the original languages; or Beginning or Intermediate-level language papers in Ancient Greek or Latin (aimed at those with Language qualifications ranging from nothing to AS-level).

The Second and Third Years

The following options are available.
1.	A paper on a period of ancient history, chosen from: Greek History 478–403 BC Greek History 403–336 BC Roman History 146–46 BC Roman History 46 BC–AD 54.
2.	Either A paper of General History (European or World History), of the History of the United States, or of the History of European Expansion overseas. There are eighteen options to choose from, the periods being chronologically shorter than those studied in the first year, and the topics more specialist. Or A paper on British History chosen from seven options: I c.300–1087 II 1042–1330 III 1330–1550 IV 1500–1700 V 1685–1830 VI 1815–1924 VII Since 1900
3.	A Further Subject, in which a historical problem is studied with the use of documents. Students may choose from among the list of History Further Subjects under History: Course Structure, with the addition of the following Ancient History options: Athenian Democracy in the Classical Age Politics, Society and Culture from Nero to Hadrian Religions in the Greek and Roman World c. 31 BC– AD 312 The Greeks and the Mediterranean World 950–500 BC Art under the Roman Empire, AD 14–337
4.	A Special Subject involving the in-depth study of a historical problem, usually covering a shorter period than the Further Subject and studied intensively with the use of primary sources in set documents. Students may choose from among the list of History Special Subjects under History: Course Structure, with the addition of the following: Alexander the Great and his Early Successors (336 BC–302 BC) Cicero: Politics and Thought in the Late Republic. Either the Further or the Special Subject (or both) must be ancient.
5.	Disciplines of History. This paper enables you to study comparative history, how to approach the different sources of history and different traditions in historiography – and to examine the ways in which historians have tackled the writing of history.
6.	A compulsory thesis in either Ancient or Modern history. By doing theses students are able to undertake independent research with guidance from their tutors. Theses will usually be based on the study of original sources. Writing a thesis can be an exciting and intellectually invigorating experience.
7.	An optional Intermediate-level language paper in either Ancient Greek or Latin

The choice of papers means that students can adopt a variety of strategies for combining the two sides of the subject. Thus the study of periods of ancient history might be combined with Special and Further Subjects (such as the Carolingian Renaissance, Venice and Florence in the Renaissance: Civic Cultures in the Age of Titian, or Architecture in England 1660–1720, or Literature and Politics in Early Modern England) which look (among other things) at the influence of the classical heritage.

Another strategy for integrating the two parts of the subject is to combine early medieval options with ancient history periods. So, Roman History, 46 BC– AD 54 might be combined with Early British History, General History 285–476, the Further Subject on the Archaeology and Art of Roman Italy, and the Special Subject St Augustine and the Last Days of Rome. Students need not study anything later than 1330! But others make their choices more eclectically: there is nothing to prevent you from combining the study of Inter-War World History with that of Ancient Greece.

Further information is available on the Oxford University Admissions Website.