Required Text:

Susan Raven, Rome in Africa (Routledge Press)

Course Description:

This course introduces students to the archaeology of Carthage and places the ancient city within its historical and cultural contexts. It interprets archaeology in its broadest sense, from briefly describing some of the mechanics of archaeology, to considering how archaeological research impacts our understanding of the past and creates our images of the past. The course includes a variety of writing assignments which are designed to focus student thinking about antiquity, sharpen critical thinking skills, reinforce classroom discussion, and improve writing skills.

Course Objectives:

• to instruct you in the archaeology, art, history, and literature of ancient Carthage
• to instruct you in the nature of archaeological evidence and how to interpret it
• to improve your critical thinking skills
• to improve your writing in classics

No background knowledge of archaeology is necessary, but familiarity with Roman and/or Greek history and culture is required. The prerequisite for this course is CLAS 1000 or 100H, CLAS 1010 or 1010H or CLAS / ANTH 2000 or permission of the instructor.

Workshops:

Periodically, throughout the semester, I will prepare packets of primary evidence (e.g., literary sources, inscriptions, works of art, archaeological data etc.) for workshops. Everyone will examine the material and come to class on the assigned day prepared to discuss and analyze it, without doing any outside reading or research on the material. The idea is to approach the material with a fresh perspective, to think deeply and critically about it, and thereby to develop strategies for interpreting archaeological data. For example, first ask yourself what kinds of information you have been given and then determine what kinds of questions you can legitimately ask of this material, and only then try to interpret it. The idea is to train you in how to analyze material and develop hypotheses about it, not to ask you to memorize established interpretations of that material.

Writing Intensive Program:

This section of CLAS 4140 may be part of the Writing Intensive Program (WIP); consult the syllabus to find out if this is the case. If it is part of the WIP, we will have a WIP TA who has been trained by the Writing Intensive Program to help you improve your writing in Classics.

The WIP is designed to improve your writing and to help you master the special characteristics of writing within the discipline of Classics. Equally important is that fact that writing within a discipline helps you learn within that discipline. The writing assignments for this class are designed to help you master the content of the course, as well as the mechanics of good writing.

Writing Assignments:

There are two major writing assignments for this course:

1. Workshop Postmortems (PMs): very short (e.g., 400-500 words) discussions of workshops. Because I find that writing improves my thinking and my learning, I am requiring that you write a postmortem for each workshop. These postmortems are meant to help you capture information / ideas / perspectives discussed during our workshops and thus to capitalize on the progress made in these sessions, to collect your thoughts about the exercise, and to articulate what ideas you want to carry away from it. If the course is part of the WIP, email your postmortems to the WIP TA as Word or WordPerfect attachments before the next class meeting after the workshop; if the course is not part of the WIP, email your postmortems to me. These assignments will be graded on a S-U scale. Several will be posted on this site after each workshop.

2. A research paper (e.g., 4000-5000 words; 7000-8000 words for Honors-option students or students enrolled at the 6000-level) on some aspect of ancient Carthage. All topics must first be approved by me. Additional information will be distributed later in the semester. Consult the schedule for deadlines for submitting your prospectus, bibliography and rough draft; failure to submit a thesis paragraph, bibliography or rough draft on time will negatively impact your grade. Writing is a process and going over drafts of your paper will significantly improve your final product. Consult the syllabus for the due date. No more than 25% of your bibliographic sources may be web resources. This assignment will be graded on a 0-100 point (A-F) scale.

See the Writing section of this website for important information about formatting these assignments and for other guidelines for all writing assignments. Failure to follow the guidelines and instructions given in class and posted on this website will have a negative impact on your grade.

If the course is offered as part of the WIP, I strongly encourage you to work with the WIP TA on your research paper.

Testing:

There will be a midterm and a final exam; consult the syllabus for the specific days. Each test will consist of slide identification and short answer; the final will also include a comprehensive essay question. Make-up tests will be given only in the event of an approved absence from class and require an excuse signed by a doctor, etc. or university official.

Grading:

Your final grade for this course will be based on your performance on the writing assignments, the tests, and the final exam and will be weighted as follows:

* poor performance on the prospectus, bibliography, and rough draft of the research paper or failure to turn in these assignments on the assigned due dates will have a negative impact on this grade

I grade on a 100 point scale, as follows:

Attendance Policy:

Excessive absences (more than two un-excused absences) may result in your being dropped from the course. Please note that if you decide to withdraw from the course and are, at the time you withdraw, failing the course, I reserve the right to assign a grade of WF even if you withdraw before the official UGA withdrawal deadline. If you enroll in this class, you have made a commitment to attend and to do the work. If you are not prepared to do that, drop the course now.

Honors Option Students or Students Enrolled at the 6000-level:

Honors Option students or students enrolled at the 6000-level will present their research to the class in an oral presentation using PowerPoint; their presentation will be posted on the course website.

Important Additional Information for this Course:

The requirements for this course are really quite simple: Preparation and Participation! (Do not confuse attendance with participation.) It is imperative that you do the reading when it is assigned and that you come to class prepared to discuss what you have read.

Additional comments: do not be late for class and do not leave early; come to class prepared; do all of the assigned homework on time; turn off your cell phone when you enter the classroom and keep it off.

University Honor Code and Academic Honesty Policy:

All academic work must meet the standards contained in “A Culture of Honesty.” Students are responsible for informing themselves about those standards before performing any academic work. The link to more detailed information about academic honesty can be found at: http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/acadhon.htm.