CODE | ANT3082 | ||||||
TITLE | Anthropology and the Hellenic World | ||||||
UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||
DEPARTMENT | Anthropological Sciences | ||||||
DESCRIPTION | Greece and the Greek world have occupied a privileged but ambiguous position in anthropological thought: the origins of ‘rational thought’ in contrast to myth, the emergence of the polis and political life, of tragedy, money, and of writing., etc. This course examines how anthropological insights and theories have been applied to the study of the Greek world and society. These include Structuralism (Vernant, Detienne, etc), science (GER Lloyd), the ancient economy (Polanyi, Mauss, Graeber, Derrida), gender relations, the origins of money (‘State’ vs ‘Barter’ theories), Gifts and Commodities, Tragedy, ancient Globalization, etc. Study-Unit Aims: - To introduce the study of Ancient Greek society from an anthropological perspective; - To explore the parallelisms between ancient Greek society and other societies, whilst also recognising its distinctiveness; - To apply anthropological approaches to the economy, politics, religion, sex and food to the ancient Greek world; - To show that certain characteristics of the ancient classical world as prototypically “Western” were the product of European Romanticism and thus served an important ideological function. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge and Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - introduce the study of Ancient Greek society from an anthropological perspective; - explore the parallelisms between ancient Greek society and other societies, whilst also recognising its distinctiveness; - apply anthropological approaches to the economy, politics, religion, sex and food to the ancient Greek world; - show that certain characteristics of the ancient classical world as prototypically “Western” were the product of European Romanticism and thus served an important ideological function. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - introduce the study of Ancient Greek society from an anthropological perspective; - explore the parallelisms between ancient Greek society and other societies, whilst also recognising its distinctiveness; - apply anthropological approaches to the economy, politics, religion, sex and food to the ancient Greek world; - show that certain characteristics of the ancient classical world as prototypically “Western” were the product of European Romanticism and thus served an important ideological function. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - Mirko Canevaro, Andrew Erskine, Benjamin Gray, and Josiah Ober: Ancient Greek History and Contemporary Social Science . University Press Scholarship Online. 2019. - James N. Davidson: Courtesans and Fishcakes. The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens. Chicago University Press 2011. - Leslie Kurke: Coins, bodies, games, and gold: the politics of meaning in archaic Greece, Princeton University Press, 1999. - Seaford, R.: Money and the Early Greek Mind. Homer, Philosophy, Tragedy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2004. - David M. Schaps: The Invention Of Coinage And The Monetization Of Ancient Greece. The University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor. 2007. Other readings will be posted on VLE. |
||||||
STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||
LECTURER/S | Paul Sant Cassia |
||||||
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |