Humanities (HUMN) 309

Ancient Greece (Revision 2)

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Delivery Mode: Individualized study online

Credits: 3

Area of Study: Humanities

Prerequisite: None. HUMN 201/HIST 201 or similar course is recommended.

Precluded Courses: HUMN 309 is a cross-listed course—a course listed under three different disciplines—with CLAS 309 and HIST 309. (HUMN 309 may not be taken for credit by students who have obtained credit for CLAS 309, HIST 309 or HUMN 248.)

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences

Humanities Home Page

HUMN 309 has a Challenge for Credit option.

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Overview

CLAS/HIST/HUMN 309: Ancient Greece is a three-credit, senior-level course that surveys the political, military, social, and cultural history of one of the most influential civilizations of the ancient world. This chronological survey briefly examines the mysterious Bronze Age civilizations and their fall, and the achievements of the Archaic Age. The core units of the course focus on classical Greek civilization. The final units survey the Hellenistic period that came after. Modern western thought, art, and culture finds its roots in ancient Greece. From across the centuries, the ancient Greeks speak to us through translated sources and images of their art. Students will study a topic in greater depth through a research project.

Course Learning Outcomes

After successfully studying the course materials and completing the course assignments, students should be able to:

  • Summarize major political developments among the ancient Greeks;
  • Summarize the major philosophical developments of the ancient Greeks;
  • Summarize the achievements of the ancient Greeks in architecture and theatre;
  • Locate and select scholarly writings relevant to the study of ancient Greece;
  • Report on a scholarly article;
  • Write a research paper on an approved topic using secondary sources and relevant primary sources in translation.

Outline

  • Unit 1: Introduction to Studying the Ancient Greeks
  • Unit 2: The Greek Bronze Age, Dark Age, and Renaissance
  • Unit 3: The Iliad of Homer, Part 1
  • Unit 4: The Iliad of Homer, Part 2
  • Unit 5: Archaic Greece (ca. 750–ca. 480 BCE) and the Rise of Sparta
  • Unit 6: The Persian Wars, Athens, and Herodotus
  • Unit 7: Imperial Athens 479-431 BCE
  • Unit 8: The Peloponnesian Wars and Thucydides
  • Unit 9: Classical Theatre
  • Unit 10: Early Greek Philosophy
  • Unit 11: Plato and Aristotle
  • Unit 12: Alexander the Great
  • Unit 13: Hellenistic Kingdoms and the Rise of Rome
  • Unit 14: Hellenistic Culture

Evaluation

To receive credit for CLAS 309, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent) and a grade of at least 50 percent or better on the final examination.

The chart below summarizes the course activities and the credit weight associated with each and shows the order in which you should complete them, because each builds on the previous assignments:

Activity Description Value (% of final grade) Suggested Week for Completion in 15-Week Schedule
Quiz 1 Library Research Skills (Based on Module 1) 2% 1
Quiz 2 Chicago Style Documentation (Based on Module 2) 2% 2
Assignment 1 Research Plan and Preliminary Bibliography 5% 5
Assignment 2 Review of Scholarly Article or Essay 20% 7
Quiz 3 Using Evidence (Based on Module 3) 1% 10
Assignment 3 Research Paper 30% 14
Final Exam Invigilated Exam 40% Scheduled by student in advance.
Total   100%  

The final examination for this course must be taken online with an AU-approved exam invigilator at an approved invigilation centre. It is your responsibility to ensure your chosen invigilation centre can accommodate online exams. For a list of invigilators who can accommodate online exams, visit the Exam Invigilation Network.

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Pomeroy, Sarah B., Stanley M. Burstein, Walter Donlan, Jennifer Tolbert Roberts, and David W. Tandy. A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

Homer. The Iliad of Homer. Translated by Richmond Lattimore. Rev. ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.

Other Materials

The following materials are available online:

Cels, Marc B. CLASSICS/HISTORY/HUMANITIES 309: Ancient Greece, Study Guide. Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University, 2018.

Cels, Marc B. CLASSICS/HISTORY/HUMANITIES 309: Ancient Greece, Course Information. Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University, 2018.

Online readings from e-books and e-journals.

Challenge for Credit Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.

Full information about Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

Challenge Evaluation

To receive credit for the HUMN 309 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least “D” (50 percent) on each of the three challenge components and a composite grade of at least 50 percent.

Activity Weighting
Exam 1 30%
Exam 2 30%
Research Essay 40%
Total 100%

Exam 1

  • Three-hour invigilated exam testing student’s knowledge of course concepts, events, people, and texts. This exam consists of briefly explaining five out of 15 major concepts from the first half of the course, and answering two out of six essay questions related to the first half of the course.

Exam 2

  • Three-hour invigilated exam testing student’s knowledge of course concepts, events, people, and texts. This exam consists of briefly explaining five out of 15 major concepts from the second half of the course, and answering two out of six essay questions related to the second half of the course.

Research Essay

  • In consultation with the Course Coordinator, the student will research and write a report on a primary source assigned in this course. The student may submit before or after sitting the exams, but before his or her course contract expires.

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.

Opened in Revision 2, Feb 7, 2018.