Admission requirements
This course is open to and compulsory for Research Master students in Classics and Ancient Civilizations (all specializations).
Description
Where are those who have died? What is their destiny? Can they influence the lives of the living, and if yes, can the living in turn influence the dead and use their power for their own purposes? Ancient societies have come up with various scenarios about the fate of the dead (“afterlife”) and the kind of abode they dwell in (“underworld”). Though maybe not the most exciting place in the eyes of our cultural ancestors, the underworld was certainly not empty. This seminar will approach afterlife and underworld from several angles – anthropological, material and textual, all on the basis of an interdisciplinary awareness that Mediterranean cultures have been and still are in contact with each other across regions and periods. Special attention will be given to Greeks and Romans as well as Hebrews, Egyptians and Anatolian / Mespotamian cultures, but we will also take the liberty to have a look at how cultures not usually in our academic focus like Phoenicians, Etruscans, Celts or Germanics may have pictured afterlife and underworld and how they have prepared their dead for their last jouney.
Course objectives
Students will gain:
Knowledge of core texts and objects related to key ancient Medioterranean cultures;
Knowledge of the history of scholarship of the various relevant disciplines, of techniques of retrieving, documenting and publishing key material and textual sources;
Knowledge of some theoretical concepts and paradigms that help us modern researchers to understand how ancient cultures pictured the underworld.
Students will develop:
Research skills: formulation of a complex research question, collecting materials, analyzing results, constructing arguments, formulating conclusions; developing an approach within an interdisciplinary context;
Critical awareness of how to assess secondary literature according to the standards of academic debate;
Reading skills: reading and interpreting primary sources in at least one ancient language (Akkadian, Sumerian, Hittite, Egyptian, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek or Latin).
Communication skills:
communicating a complex research question and a discipline’s discourse to a multidisciplinary audience;
orally presenting a clear and well-argued interpretation, making effective use of a handout or other presentation devices;
developing a clear and well-structured written presentation of original research;
demonstrating the ability to assess recent scholarly contributions by confronting them with the original source material.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
Oral presentation (30%)
Active participation in class (20%)
Written term paper (5000 words) (50%)
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by (i) determination of the weighted average combined with (ii) the additional requirement that the end-of-term paper must be a pass.
Resit
If the overall mark is unsatisfactory, the student can revise the end-of-term paper (after consultation with the instructor). The exact form of the resit of an unsufficient oral presentation must be agreed upon with the instructors. There is no resit for the participation. Resit is only possible for grades lower than a 5.5.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
A full list of relevant study literature can be found in the detailed syllabus which will be made available on Brightspace shortly before the start of the semester.
To prepare for the class beforehand students are invited, but not required, to read:
M. Parker Pearson, The Archaeology of Death and Burial, Stroud 1999 (from and archaeological perspective, maybe a bit outdated, but still a very good read!),
B.D. Ehrman, Heaven and Hell. A History of the Afterlife, London 2021 (from an Ancient Judaism / Early Christianity standpoint, but very comprehensive and inspiring).
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
Not applicable.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the coordinator and lecturers listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal
Remarks
Participation at all classes is compulsory.