CAAH Mods 2011 - Balliol College - University of Oxford

2. Introduction to Classical Archaeology and Ancient History
This honours degree is for anyone interested in the challenge of studying the history,
archaeology, and art of the 'classical world' in an integrated way, and is designed to make
study of that world more widely accessible.
The course is concerned with the study of the societies and cultures of the ancient
Mediterranean world through material, visual, and written evidence and has at its centre the
cultures of Greece and Rome. Among the central themes are the dialogue of the Greek and
Roman cultures with other Mediterranean and European societies and the endurance and
transformation of classical cultural forms in new contexts far beyond their points of origin. The
extensive choice of further subject options encourages wide-ranging study of neighbouring
cultures, from the Bronze Age to the Early Middle Ages, from the Near East to Northwest
Europe. The course does not require the study of ancient languages, but offers opportunities
to use and learn them.
The University's resources for this combined subject are excellent, in terms both of library
facilities – much of the Sackler Library collections are built around ancient history and classical
archaeology – and in the range and number of faculty members in the two fields.
The degree is unique in offering parallel and integrated courses in both archaeological and
historical approaches to classical Mediterranean cultures. While still deploying distinctive skills
and bodies of evidence, the two disciplines have come increasingly to converge and to
complement each other. Studied together, the two registers of evidence produce a richer, more
broad-based account of ancient cultures and societies and of their distinctive characteristics. A
novel feature of the degree's teaching is the 'knitted' classes led by two Faculty members, one
archaeologist and one historian, designed to ensure a thorough interdisciplinary integration in
papers that deliberately combine archaeological and historical questions and evidence –
something of real value from the points of view both of the students and of the teachers.
The degree is administered from the Classics Office (66 St Giles’, OX1 3LU) and is overseen
by a Standing Committee composed of members from both the Committee for the School of
Archaeology and the Faculty Board of Classics.
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