School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry
Faculty of Arts
Department of Classics & Ancient History
ANHS 1600
Foundations for Ancient Greece
Unit Guide
Unit coordinator: Dr. Alastair J.L. Blanshard
Room J605, Main Quad
Email address: alastair.blanshard@sydney.edu.au
Phone: + 61 2 9036 6018
Consultation Hours: Tuesday 4-5, Wednesday 4-5
ANHS 1600: FOUNDATIONS FOR ANCIENT GREECE
UNIT DESCRIPTION
Delphic oracles, epic stories of heroes, graceful temples, radical ideas, tales of lust and tyranny - the
Greek world has much to delight and surprise. This unit of study will introduce you to the study of
ancient Greek history, thought, and culture and provides a springboard for further studies in history,
archaeology, philosophy, and literature. It is informed by a cross-disciplinary approach that
combines a variety of perspectives to achieve a holistic view of the ancient world.
LECTURER'S DETAILS
Dr. Alastair Blanshard (Classics and Ancient History) Quad J6.05
Ph.: 9036 6018; email: alastair.blanshard@sydney.edu.au
Assoc. Prof. Rick Benitez (Philosophy) Quad N496
Ph.: 9351 6658; email: rick.benitez@sydney.edu.au
Prof. Eric Csapo (Classics & Ancient History) MacCallum-Brennan 710
Ph.: 9351 7078; email: eric.csapo@sydney.edu.au
Prof. Margaret Miller (Archaeology) Quad S454
Ph.: 9036 6337; email: margaret.miller@sydney.edu.au
OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES
Learning Objectives
By the end of this unit, students will:
• possess an important body of knowledge about Greek culture;
• contextualize cultural products within an historical framework, and so realise that knowledge is not
„value free‟;
• develop their written and oral communication skills;
• improve time-management and teamwork skills; and
• develop IT skills for the accessing of material and preparation of work.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this Unit of Study, students will:
• have acquired a body of knowledge that is central to their discipline;
• be able to identify, define, investigate, and solve problems, particularly with reference to the
sophisticated handling of ancient sources and material culture;
• be able to evaluate contemporary scholarship and assess methodological practices;
• have developed as independent learners; and
• have experienced the anxieties and concerns of a culture separated from their own by time and place.
LEARNING STRUCTURE
This Unit of Study consists of two one-hour lectures and a one-hour tutorial per week. Lectures are
held at 2pm on Tuesday and Wednesday in Bosch Lecture Theatre 1.
READING REQUIREMENTS
B. Powell and I. Morris, The Greeks: History, Culture and Society. 2nd ed. Prentice Hall 2010
ANHS 1600 Course Reader (available from the University Copy Centre)
Recommended:
The Odyssey of Homer (Penguin Classics)
Sophocles, The Three Theban plays (Penguin Classics)
Aristophanes, Lysistrata and Other Plays (Penguin Classics)
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COURSE STRUCTURE
WEEK
Lec.
Dates
1
1/3
2/3
2
8/3
9/3
3
15/3
16/3
4
22/3
23/3
5
29/3
30/3
6
5/4
6/4
7
12/4
13/4
8
19/4
20/4
LECTURE
The Archaic World
1. Introduction to the Ancient Greek World (AB)
2. The World of Homer (EC)
3 Homeric Archaeology (MM)
4. Epic Cycle and the beginning of Pictorial Narrative (MM)
5. The Myth of Philosophy (RB)
6. Special Lecture: How to write an academic essay (AB)
7. Aristocratic Competitive Display (MM)
8. The Ideology of Greek Aristocracy (EC)
9. Symposium (MM)
10. Rule, Order and Disorder in the Kosmos and the Polis (RB)
Classical Greece
11. Persian Wars and the Rise of Athens (AB)
12. Democracy and Empire (AB)
13. The Physical Face of Imperialism (MM)
14. The Peloponnesian War (AB)
EASTER
BREAK
9
3/5
4/5
10
10/5
11/5
11
17/5
18/5
12
24/5
25/5
13
31/5
1/6
15. Women in Classical Athens (AB)
16. Greek Slavery (AB)
April 22-29
17. Drama I: Athenian Tragedy (EC)
18. Drama II: Attic Comedy (EC)
19. The Crafted Word (RB)
20. Rhetoric and Performance (AB)
The Hellenistic World
21. Alexander the Great and the Hellenisation of the East (AB)
22. Changing Urban Landscapes (MM)
23. East & West (MM)
24. Solace and Apathy in Hellenistic Philosophy (RB)
25. Hellenistic Culture: 320-30 B.C.E. (AB)
26. Epilogue & Exam Preparation (AB)
AB = Dr. Alastair Blanshard
RB = Assoc. Prof. Rick Benitez
EC = Prof. Eric Csapo
MM = Prof. Meg Miller
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TUTORIAL
(+ essential weekly reading from
Morris & Powell)
NO TUTORIAL
Start reading the Odyssey!
TUTORIAL 1: Introduction
Morris & Powell chs 5 & 6
TUTORIAL 2: E-Tutorial on
Library and Research Skills (Online)
Morris & Powell chs 8 & 9
TUTORIAL 3: The World of
Odysseus
Morris & Powell chp 10
TUTORIAL 4: Archaic Greek
Poetry & Performance
TUTORIAL 5: Classical
Archaeology (Venue: Nicholson
Museum)
Morris & Powell chs 11-13
TUTORIAL 6: Attic Tragedy:
Sophocles’ Antigone
Morris & Powell chs 15 & 16
NO TUTORIAL
(MID-SEMESTER BREAK)
TUTORIAL 7: The Melian Dialogue
(Thucydides 5.84-116)
TUTORIAL 8: Attic Comedy:
Aristophanes’ Clouds
Morris & Powell chp 14
NO TUTORIAL
Morris & Powell chp 18
TUTORIAL 9: Alexander the Great
and the “Unity of Mankind”
Morris & Powell chp 19
TUTORIAL 10: From polis to
cosmopolis: the Hellenistic City
ASSESSMENT TASKS AND DUE DATES
Participation (incl. tutorial presentation)
Written Exercise (1000-1500 words)
2 Hour Exam
20%
40%
40%
The participation mark is a measure of the student‟s overall regular contribution to classes and will
be based on depth of discussion, demonstration of prior preparation (reading, notes, attendance at
lectures, etc). In addition, the student will select a tutorial at which an informal presentation will be
given. This will typically take the form of leading the class, raising points of relevance to the reading
and topic and generating further discussion by posing questions for other students to address. The
student will not be required to submit material as part of the presentation. Students are encouraged to
prepare a presentation on a topic not connected with their essay.
The written exercise is a formal essay answering one of the questions listed below. The assessment
criteria are listed below as well. Please note that the submission date varies according to the topic
chosen. Written work must be submitted in typewritten hard copy at the SOPHI office (Level 3,
Lobby H, in the Main Quadrangle) by 4pm on the due date. You must complete, sign and attach a
cover sheet to any written work handed in for assessment. The University Policy on Academic
Honesty in Coursework requires that students submit a signed statement of compliance with all work
submitted to the University for assessment, presentation or publication. Essays will not be accepted by
email or by hand without prior agreement with your tutor.
The 2-hour exam will take place in the examination period at a time to be set by the University. It
will consist typically of two or more essay questions based on lecture and tutorial material plus a short
answer section. The last lecture in the course will contain exam preparation information from the UoS
co-ordinator.
TUTORIAL GUIDE
Tutorial 1. Introduction (week beginning 7 March)
Why study the ancient world? Why study ancient Greece? Is ancient history useful? How does
archaeology contribute to our understanding of the ancient world? Should we still learn Greek and
Latin? Why? How important is Greek philosophy? Is an understanding of the ancient world relevant
in the 21st century? Consider some possible answers to these questions and try to bring three
responses to this introductory tutorial.
In this tutorial we will also discuss the approaches taken in the course, methods for studying the
ancient past and the sources of our knowledge about its world. What do we know about ancient
Greece and how do we know it? How do we divide the past into different periods? What do Archaic,
Classical and Hellenistic mean?
Tutorial 2. Online E-tutorial in Library and Research Skills (week beginning 14 March)
ARTS1000 eSearch to Research is an online tutorial that will help you learn the key library research
skills you will need to succeed in your Arts subjects.
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1. Accessing the online tutorial
• Go to MyUni (http://myuni.usyd.edu.au/) and click on „USYD eLearning‟.
• Use your Unikey login name and password to log in.
• Select the link to 2010 Semester One ARTS1000 - eSearch to Research - Library Skills.
• Click on the arrows to begin the tutorial modules.
2. Completing the online tutorial
• Complete all five modules in the online tutorial.
• You can do the modules in any order, and go back to them as many times as you would like to.
• Practise your skills using the self-tests at the end of each module.
• Don‟t try to do the modules all at once – work through them gradually, with breaks in between.
• Complete the final test. If you would like to try to improve your mark, you can do the test one more
time (twice altogether). Your best mark will be counted.
• Make sure you leave yourself time to complete all five modules AND DO THE FINAL TEST
before you have to report your result! Remember: it will take you about two hours to complete the
whole tutorial.
3. Reporting your mark
• Click on the link to „My Grades‟, under „My Tools‟ on the left hand side of the screen.
• Print the „My Grades‟ page.
• Please bring along your printed result to your tutorial in Week 4 so that you discuss the exercise.
Tutorial 3. The World of Odysseus (week beginning 21 March)
The Odyssey and the Iliad of Homer were amongst the most important cultural monuments of Greek
self-identity. These epics embodied great performance, literature, knowledge and wisdom and were
revered as prime texts of morality, ethics and universal truths about man and the gods. The
circumstances of their production and transmission in the Archaic period is one of the great
controversies of modern scholarship. Equally controversial is the nature of the world within the
poems.
Our focus will be on the Odyssey. Who is Odysseus? This question lies at the heart of the epic – in an
unstable and fickle world how does a man convince others of the claims he makes about himself? The
epic is a story about story-telling and social identity in a world where institutions like the State,
money and the written word are absent. We will ask what made the Odyssey so central to later Greek
culture? What does it say about the relationship between different types of speech (lies, stories,
boasts, challenges, myths, spells, epic itself, etc.), self-hood and truth? What kind of “hero” is this
Odysseus? Does the anonymous “man of many turns” from the first line of the epic suggest that we
are all no more than the stories we tell about ourselves or is there something more…?
Required reading:
The Odyssey
Tutorial 4. Archaic Greek Poetry and Performance (week beginning 28 March)
All our direct contemporary sources for early Greece are either complete or fragmentary pieces of
poetry – or what some scholars have recently referred to as song. These 'fragments' come down to us
5
as quotations in later writers, inscriptions of parts of poems written on buildings, and sometimes
literally fragments of papyrus texts. Without exception, these pieces were not composed using the
written word in order to be read privately but rather composed using oral-traditional techniques for
performance on public occasions. Since we are dealing with a world in which writing was still very
rare as a medium of communication when compared to the overwhelming importance of speech and
the act of speaking we must rethink our ideas of the social role of poetry and performance. Poetic
speech – speech which conformed to special modes of public performance for special types of
occasion – was the main formal medium of communication by which communities in archaic Greece
expressed their worlds and represented their beliefs and culture to themselves and others, as well as
managed crisis and civic disturbance. One of the most important tasks in making sense of Greek
history, literature and culture in that period which precedes the invention and development of
“history-writing” (as we understand it) is coming to terms with the manner in which early Greeks
made sense of their world. As such, the poetic compositions of this era in particular cannot be studied
as pieces of literature in isolation from their social and historical context. Instead, we will view them
as the products of a specific moment in the ritual life of a Greek polis (city-state). Studied in this way
they can tell us a great deal about the special performance occasions as well as the societies which
produced them. We will look at three types of poetry and think about the occasions for which they
were produced – poetry of the symposion (aristocratic drinking-party), poetry in honour of athletic
victory and the poetry of Sappho. What do these poems tells us about the world that their singer
inhabits?
Required reading (in the course reader):
Anacreon fragments
Pindar Olympian 1
Sappho fragments 16 and 31
Tutorial 5. Classical Archaeology in the Nicholson Museum (week beginning 4 April)
Please note: this tutorial is held in the Nicholson Museum (located in the Main Quad of the
University). Please gather outside the entrance of the museum where you will be met by your museum
guide.
Tutorial 6. Athenian Tragedy – Sophocles’ Antigone (week beginning 11 April)
At some time in the 2nd half of the 6th century B.C. a new genre of performance was developed in
Athens as part of the city‟s main festival of the god Dionysus. Drama (from the Greek verb drao, “to
enact, perform”) added to a lyric chorus (similar in some respects to Pindar‟s choruses) the novelty of
actors who conduct a dialogue with the chorus and each other. From obscure origins this form of
performance was to become during the 5th century B.C. the most important public performance in the
Athenian calendar. Three poets and their wealthy producers (choregoi) competed for victory every
spring with a trilogy of plays before an audience in theory composed of all Athenian citizens.
Tragoidia (tragedy) was closely interwoven with Athenian democratic society and was a vehicle for
the expression of civic concerns, conflict and shifting values. The Antigone of Sophocles (performed
c.440 B.C.) is one of most complex tragedies – what is at stake in the scenario constructed by the
poet? How might this play be read against the context of Athenian democratic society of the 5th
century B.C.? What do you think might be particularly “Dionysian” about tragedy?
Required reading:
Sophocles’ Antigone
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Tutorial 7. Thucydides Bk. 5.84-116 – The “Melian Dialogue” (week beginning 2 May)
History – both as a type of knowledge about the past and a genre of written composition – was an
invention of the 5th century B.C. Although we know of many writers, there are two Greek historians
whose works survive and dominate the entire Western historiographic tradition: Herodotus and
Thucydides. Herodotus of Halicarnassus (in Ionia) wrote a vast ethnographic and historical study of
Greeks and Barbarians in an attempt to detemine the origins of the great war with Persia. It is a
masterwork of literature and the first history in the West. Very different in style, method, and
philosophy from Herodotus (and a deliberate challenge to him) was the work of Thucydides, a former
Athenian general, who wrote (c.400 B.C.) a long account of the war between Athens and Sparta. To
Thucydides is often attributed some of the lasting preoccupations of historians – accuracy, the
autonomy of historical facts, the search for underlying human patterns of behaviour, etc. This excerpt,
from book 5, has the historian digress to write an imaginary dialogue between the Athenians and an
ally of their enemies whom they have besieged, the inhabitants of the island of Melos. Their debate
dwells on questions of expedience, pragmatism and common-sense policy in the face of superior
power placed against questions about what is right and ethical, proper before the eyes of man and god
as well as keeping faith with friends and allies. Does the historian invite you to take sides? Do you
accept? What will eventually happen to the Athenians and Melians who make these arguments? What
kind of plot does Thucydides imagine guides the actions of human beings? Is there irony in history? Is
Thucydides a “scientific historian” or a philosopher-poet of the tragedy of human action? Why does
Thucydides say that his work will be a “possession for all-time”?
Required reading (in the course reader):
Thucydides Bk. 5.84-116
Tutorial 8. Attic Comedy – Aristophanes’ Clouds (week beginning 9 May)
Along with the great tragic performances the Great Dionysia also contained komoidia, a dramatic
variant that complemented (and opposed) the horror of tragedy with laughter. Like tragedy, comedy
arose and achieved great acclaim in Athens of the 5th century B.C. and was one of the city‟s
democratic institutions. The plots of comedy are fantastical utopias that provide opportunities for
subtle (and not so subtle) satire, send-ups and ironical critique of contemporary Athens and her
empire. Aristophanes is the only comic poet whose plays survive intact. His Clouds (421 B.C.)
lampoons the radical new intellectual scene in Athens of the late 5th century B.C. and focuses comic
attention on its impact on traditional education. Is there a serious side to comedy? What might be at
stake in comic performance for poet, audience and city? What does comedy tell us about the way
social and political issues were dealt with in the democracy? What is democratic about comedy
generally and Clouds in particular?
Required reading:
Aristophanes’ Clouds
Tutorial 9. Alexander the Great and the Unity of Mankind (week beginning 23 May)
In the course of his epic conquest of the Persian Empire Alexander the Great encountered hundreds of
different ethnic groups. An earlier generation of scholars argued that Alexander deliberately pursued a
policy of integration in attempt to create an ethnic harmony via a mixing of races. Can we find
7
evidence of such a policy? What cultural anachronisms inform early 20th century writing on the
subject? If the ideal of the “unity of mankind” was not Alexander‟s, whose was it?
Required reading (in the course reader):
Ian Worthington (ed.), Alexander the Great: A Reader (Routledge, London 2003) chapter 8.
Tutorial 10. From polis to cosmopolis – the Hellenistic City (week beginning 30 June)
To the Greeks of the Archaic and Classical ages “city” more often meant the self-contained, selfsuffient and autonomous organization of a communitiy of self-governing citizens. The urban centre,
with its public buildings and temples, was not independent of the countryside where the majority of
citizens lived. The polis, or “city-state” physically comprised both khora (“countryside, rural
settlements and farms”) and astu (“urban city-centre”). A citizens‟s life oscillated back and forth
between these two poles. In the Hellenistic period, after the death of Alexander the Great (322 B.C.),
urban communities in the East emerged with a very different character and function. Towns like
Alexandria, Antioch and Pergamum are not poleis in the old sense but they are “cities”. But what is a
city? Is Alexandria a city-state without the “state”? Who lives in them? If political power is not
located at their heart where is it? And what is the relationship of these cities to power? What social
and cultural role do they play in the Hellenized East? What happens to the old poleis like Athens,
Corinth and Sparta in the Hellenistic age? The Alexandrian poet Theocritus gives us a poetic account
of two women attending a festival of Adonis in the city. What insights does this poem give into life in
the city?
Required reading (in the course reader):
Anonymous History of Alexander, FGrH 151 fr.11
Theocritus, Idyll 15.
Peter Green, Alexander to Actium: The Hellenistic Age (Berkeley and Los Angeles 1990),
chapters 6 & 10
ESSAY QUESTIONS
Due Dates: Please note that submission dates for each essay varies according to the topic.
Written work must be submitted in typewritten hard copy at the SOPHI office (Level 3, Lobby H, in
the Main Quadrangle) by 4pm on the due date. You must complete, sign and attach a cover sheet
(available from the SOPHI office) to any written work handed in for assessment. Work submitted
without the cover sheet will not be marked.
Due 31/3/10:
The Odyssey
Archaic Lyric
Due 21/4/10
Funeral Ritual
Popular Musical Instruments
The Drinking Cup
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Due 12/5/10:
Sophocles, Antigone
Aristophanes, Clouds
Comedy & Democracy
Thucydides: Melian Dialogue
Due 3/6/10:
A Dinner Party in Miletus
Educational Choice
An Ancient Philosopher‟s Guide to Happiness
Alexander: “The Great”?
Topic 1. The Odyssey (Due 31/3/10)
Throughout the Odyssey the hero claims to be many different men. In the world of the epic, how does
a man establish an identity? Can he ever prove that he is who he claims to be?
Helpful background reading:
John Peradotto, Man in the Middle Voice, Princeton 1990, esp. chapter 6
C. Segal, Singer, Gods and Heroes in the Odyssey, Ithaca 1994, chapters 7 & 8
S. Goldhill, The Poet’s Voice, Cambridge 1991, chapter 1
P. Vidal-Naquet, “Land and Sacrifice in the Odyssey” in R. L. Gordon, ed., Myth, Religion and
Society, Cambridge 1979, 80-94.
Topic 2. Archaic Lyric Poetry (Due 31/3/10)
What are the different contexts in which poems given in the course reader were performed? What is
the relationship between content and occasion? Should we interpret these pieces in this light?
Helpful background reading:
L. Kurke, “The strangeness of „song culture‟: Archaic Greek Poetry” in O.Taplin, ed., Literature in
the Greek and Roman Worlds, Oxford 2000, 58-87
L. Kurke. “Archaic Greek Poetry” in H.A. Shapiro, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Archaic
Greece, Cambridge 2007, 141-68.
(On Pindar) D. S. Carne-Ross, Pindar, New Haven 1985, 1-40
(On the symposion) Essays in O. Murray, ed., Sympotica. Oxford 1990, especially chs 1 and 12
(On Sappho) E. Greene, ed., Reading Sappho. Contemporary Approaches, 1996
Topic 3: Funerary Ritual in the “Age of Homer”: An archaeological perspective (Due 21/4/10)
The “Nicholson Krater” (NM 46.41), a large mid-eighth century (Geometric period) krater, probably
served itself as a funerary marker over the burial of a male member of the Athenian elite. From your
study of the krater (shape, scale, figural decoration), assess the contribution of this vessel to our
understanding of Athenian funerary practice at the date of its manufacture. Does it (within the
limitations of its silhouette painting technique) convey actual funerary practice? A mythological
subject matter? A mixture of reality and fantasy?
When writing an essay that discusses material evidence like this, always include an illustration
(photograph or sketch) of the object(s) discussed: they constitute your evidence. At some point in
your essay (usually when you first refer to an artefact) you should get in the habit of giving in a
footnote the museum inventory number of the artefact. This should be indicated on the label in the
case. You can thereafter refer to the artefact in any way you like; this pot is usually called the
9
“Nicholson krater” because we do not have many intact / nearly intact Athenian Geometric vessels of
this scale extant in the world today.
Helpful background reading:
M. Robertson, Greek Painting. Geneva, 1959, 1979: 34-40, with figure on p. 41
J. Boardman, Early Greek Vase Painting (London 1998). p. 23-28.
H. A. Shapiro, “The Iconography of Mourning in Athenian Art,” AJA 95 (1991) 629-656. (discusses
useful evidence of a later date).
A. M. Snodgrass, Homer and the Artists: Text and Picture in early Greek art (New York/Cambridge
1998).
Topic 4. Musical Instruments on Vases in the Nicholson Museum (Due 21/4/10)
String, wind, and percussion instruments played an important role in ancient Greek life but they were
usually made of perishable material so that, like the melodies they played, they rarely survive. An
important source of information about the instruments and their playing contexts is representations on
Greek vases. Using the imagery of Greek vases in the Nicholson Museum, discuss musical
instruments and their performance contexts in the ancient Greek world. Try to find at least three types
of instruments, and preferably two examples of each type to serve as the basis for your discussion.
When writing an essay that discusses material evidence like this, always include an illustration
(photograph or sketch) of any objects discussed: they constitute your evidence. At some point in your
essay (usually when you first refer to an artefact) you should get in the habit of giving in a footnote
the museum inventory number of the artefact. This should be indicated on the label in the case. You
can thereafter refer to the artefact in any way you like, so long as the reader easily understands what
you discuss. With the help of the museum labels and your reading, you should also note the shape
(e.g. pelike, lekythos, amphora), place of manufacture (e.g. Corinth, Athens, Apulia), technique
(black- or red-figured), and the date of each vase..
Helpful background reading:
D. Creese, “Music” in E. Bispham, T. Harrison and B.A. Sparkes (eds) The Edinburgh Companion to
Ancient Greece and Rome. Edinburgh, 2006: 413-22.
Ceramic reference works:
J. Boardman, Early Greek Vase Painting (London 1998). (for non-Attic ceramic)
J. Boardman, Athenian Black Figure Vases: a Handbook (London 1974).
J. Boardman, Athenian Red Figure Vases, The Archaic Period (London 1979).
J. Boardman, Athenian Red Figure Vases, The Classical Period (London 1989).
A. Trendall, The Red-Figure Vases of South Italy and Sicily (New York 1989).
Topic 5. The Drinking Cup: A Ceramic Typology (Due 21/4/10)
This topic is intended to serve as an exercise in close ceramic analysis, focusing on fineware drinking
vessels. Within the Nicholson‟s collection, identify five drinking vessels, preferably from more than
one region and period so that you have a good contrasting basis to work with. First, describe the
range of cup shapes (resting surface, means of holding, relative volume of liquid containable,
simplicity or complexity of profile). Then discuss the variety of approaches to decoration to be seen.
Can you ever observe a clear correlation between decoration and function? Can you observe
significant variation between location of manufacture and placement of decoration on the cups? Can
you track developments over time in pot shape or manner of decoration? (do use the dates indicated
on the label as a guide to chronology).
When writing an essay that discusses material evidence like this, always include an illustration
(photograph or sketch) of objects discussed: they constitute your evidence. At some point in your
essay (usually when you first refer to an artefact) you should get in the habit of giving in a footnote
the museum inventory number of the artefact. This should be indicated on the label in the case. You
10
can thereafter refer to the artefact in any way you like, so long as the reader easily understands what
you discuss. With the help of the museum labels and your reading, you should also note the place of
manufacture (e.g. Corinth, Athens, Apulia), technique (black- or red-figured), and the date of each
vase.
Helpful background reading:
Sparkes, B. „Pottery & Metalwork‟, Edinburgh Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome (in Unit of
Study reader for Tutorial 5); the shape chart he provides (fig. 28.1) will assist with terminology.
Ceramic reference works:
J. Boardman, Early Greek Vase Painting (London 1998). (for non-Attic ceramic)
J. Boardman, Athenian Black Figure Vases: a Handbook (London 1974).
J. Boardman, Athenian Red Figure Vases, The Archaic Period (London 1979).
A. D. Trendall, The Red-Figure Vases of South Italy and Sicily (New York 1989).
Topic 6. Athenian Tragedy: Sophocles’ Antigone (Due 12/5/10)
How might we interpret this drama as a part of the Athenian democratic experience in the mid-5th
century B.C. What themes, issues and anxieties does it bring to the fore?
Helpful background reading:
J.-P. Vernant, “The Historical Moment of Tragedy in Greece” in J.-P. Vernant and P. Vidal-Naquet,
Myth and Tragedy in Ancient Greece, New York 1988, 23-8
P. J. Wilson, “Powers of Horror and Laughter: The Great Age of Drama” in O.Taplin, ed., Literature
in the Greek and Roman Worlds, Oxford 2000.
C. Sourvinou-Inwood, “Assumptions and The Creation of Meaning: Reading Sophocles‟ Antigone”
Journal of Hellenic Studies 108 (1988) 134-48
L. J Bennett & W.M. Blake-Tyrrell, “Sophocles‟ Antigone and Funeral Oratory”, American Journal of
Philology 111 (1990) 441-56.
R. Seaford, “Tragic Tyranny” in K. A. Morgan, ed., Popular Tyranny: Sovereignty and its
Discontents in Ancient Greece, Austin 2003, 95-116.
Topic 7. Athenian Old Comedy: Aristophanes’ Clouds (Due 12/5/10)
In Aristophanes‟ Clouds there is a clash between the old and the new education, personified in the
battle between the Right and the Wrong Argument. In lines 934-938 the Leader seeks to negotiate
between their positions:
Leader: No more fighting and wrangling please. You (to Right) explain the way you taught
the boys in the olden days, and you (to Wrong) explain the New Education, and then he can
hear both of you, make up his mind, and choose which will be his teacher.
What different models of knowledge and education are at stake here?
Helpful background reading:
R.K. Fisher, “The Relevance of Aristophanes: A New Look at Aristophanes‟ Clouds” Greece &
Rome, Second Series, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Apr., 1988), pp. 23-28
K.J. Dover, Introduction to his edition: Aristophanes’ Clouds, Oxford 1968.
K.J. Dover, Aristophanic Comedy, London 1972, 101-20
J. Henderson, “The Demos and the Comic Competition” in J.J. Winkler and F. Zeitlin, eds., Nothing
to do with Dionysus, Princeton 1990, 271-313
J. Redfield “Drama and Community: Aristophanes and Some of his Rivals” in J.J. Winkler and F.
Zeitlin, eds., Nothing to do with Dionysus, Princeton 1990, 314-335
J. Peter Euben, Corrupting Youth. Political Education, Democratic Culture and Political Theory,
Princeton 1997,109-38
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Topic 8. Attic Comedy and Athenian Democracy (Due 12/5/10)
When the tyrant Dionysius of Syracuse wanted to learn about Athenian politics, Plato is said to have
given him a text of the plays of Aristophanes. What do the general form and contents of Aristophanic
comedy tell us about the nature of Athenian democracy? Can Old Comedy be called a “democratic
genre”? Use the Clouds as an example.
Suggested Reading: as for Topic 7 above
Topic 9. Thucydides: The Melian Dialogue (Due 12/5/10)
Judging from the points made by the Athenian delegates what kinds of considerations are driving
Athenian power politics? How effective are the counter-arguments of the Melians? What is the
historian saying about power?
Helpful background reading:
W. Liebeschuetz, “The Structure and Function of the Melian Dialogue”, Journal of Hellenic Studies
Vol. 88 (1968) 73-77
C. W. Macleod, “Form and Meaning in the Melian Dialogue” Historia 23 (1974) 385-400 W. R.
Connor, Thucydides, Princeton 1988, 147-57.
S. Hornblower, Thucydides, London 1987.
A. B. Bosworth, “The Humanitarian Aspect of the Melian Dialogue” Journal of Hellenic Studies 113
(1993) 30-44.
James V. Morrison, “Historical Lessons in the Melian Episode” Transactions of the American
Philological Association130 (2000) 119-148.
L. Tritle, “Thucydides and Power Politics” in A. Rengakos & A Tsamakis, eds., Brill’s Companion to
Thucydides, Leiden 2006, 469-91.
Topic 10. At a Dinner Party in Miletus (Due 3/6/10)
Imagine you are living in Miletus in the 6th Century BCE. At a dinner party attended by distinguished
guests from Egypt, Babylon, and Boeotia, you find yourself having to defend your view that your
countrymen Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes are unique and novel 'thinkers' compared to the
poets and mythmakers of their lands. What arguments will you use to show your guests that you are
right? How successful do you think your arguments really are? (Base your view on specific evidence
in the readings given in the course reader.)
Topic 11. Educational Choice? (Due 3/6/10)
If you were Hippocrates in Plato's Protagoras, and you had to decide at the end of the dialogue to take
up with either Socrates or Protagoras for your future education, who would you choose and why?
(Base your view on specific evidence from Plato's Protagoras.)
Topic 12. An Ancient Philosophers’ Guide to Happiness (Due 3/6/10)
Which of the three schools of Hellenistic philosophy offers the best recipe for a trouble-free life?
(Base your view on specific evidence in the readings given in the course reader.)
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Topic 13. Alexander: “The Great”? (Due 3/6/10)
Was Alexander “great”? Can his era be explained by answering this question? Can any era be
explained by focussing only on its “great men”?
Helpful background reading:
Ian Worthington, ed., Alexander the Great: A Reader, London 2003, chap. 8. with further
bibliography
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The final grade a student receives is based on the standard of his or her own performance across all
the tasks set for a unit. Assessment tasks are designed so students can demonstrate how well they have
achieved a unit‟s outcomes. While marks for individual assessment tasks may give a good indication
of the likely final mark or grade for the unit, they do not guarantee a specific grade or final mark.
From time to time, final results for a unit may need to be adjusted or scaled. This can happen, for
example, if it is found that the marking process has not accurately represented the actual standards
achieved by students. If adjustment to raw scores is needed, this is always done with care and
attention to individual students‟ work. The marking process involves consultation and cross-checking
to ensure that results faithfully reflect standards expected in the Faculty of Arts at the University of
Sydney.
For policies on assessment and grading criteria, see the SoPHI document 'Information for Students on
assessment of course work' which is attached below.
SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHICAL AND HISTORICAL INQUIRY
INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS ON ASSESSMENT OF COURSEWORK
Assessment
Students are required to:
 attend lectures and tutorials (or seminars);
 participate in class discussion;
 complete satisfactorily such written work, presentations and examinations as may be
prescribed; and
 meet the standards required by the University for academic honesty
Attendance requirements
The Department of Classics and Ancient History requires satisfactory class attendance as part of
participation in a unit of study. Attendance below 80% of tutorials/seminars without written evidence
of illness or misadventure may be penalised with loss of marks. Students should be aware that nonattendance at 50% or more of classes without due cause is likely to result in them being deemed not to
have fulfilled requirements for the unit of study; they thus run the risk of an Absent Fail result being
returned. Attendance at less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons for the absences, will
automatically result in the student‟s case being referred to the Department examiners‟ meeting for a
determination as to whether the student should pass or fail the unit of study, or, if a pass is awarded,
the level of penalty that should be applied. The University does not recognise employment as
excusing unsatisfactory performance, nor are timetable clashes a valid excuse. Students should not
take a unit of study unless they can meet the above attendance requirement.
For further details see the Faculty of Arts Attendance Policy at:
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/policies.shtml
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Grade distribution
Departments within the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry follow Academic Board and
Faculty of Arts guidelines in awarding a determined percentage of each grade. Departments may scale
marks in order to fit these grade guidelines.
A. General philosophies of assessment practice
1. The School favours „deep learning‟ over „shallow learning‟. In other words, we are more
interested in evidence that students have made conceptual developments in their ways of
understanding and interpreting the world than in their familiarity with 'facts', figures and
dates.
2. Original and thoughtful argument is valued more highly than polished regurgitations of
lectures or set reading.
3. Evidence of a thoughtful response to the conceptual framework of any individual unit is
valued more highly than pre-existing skills of, for example, debate and expression.
4. Students are encouraged to explore areas of particular interest to themselves, and will be
rewarded for initiative and ingenuity in discovering relevant material.
5. An idea that cannot be expressed clearly probably has not been understood clearly. We
therefore value evidence of logical, coherent thought, argument and expression in essays.
6. While recognising that the political and ethical values of students vary widely, the School
does not reward or condone unreasoned polemic or racism or sexism.
B. Marking criteria
In assessing written work, academic staff within the School look for demonstrated effort, abilities and
skills in the following areas. Note that individual units are likely to have additional and more specific
requirements and criteria. These should be made clear to students by the coordinator in each unit.
1. Content
 extent of reading
 accuracy of knowledge
 breadth and depth of knowledge
 relevance of information
 sufficiency of evidence and documentation
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Understanding
understanding of problem or project
judgement of significance of material
awareness/understanding of different arguments in reading
recognition of implications of evidence
ability to think critically
grasp of relevant theory
understanding of ethics and values relevant to reading and subject matter
3.
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Independence
judgement and initiative in reading and research
originality in use and interpretation of evidence
development of argument
independence in use of concepts and language
4.
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Style
correctness of grammar and scholarly documentation
organisation and presentation of material
clarity of writing style
originality and creativity of writing style
C. Guide to interpretation of grades
This guide indicates broadly the qualitative judgements implied by the various grades which may be
awarded. A more precise evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of individual essays will be
provided in examiners‟ comments. Evaluation is made with due consideration of the different
standards likely to be achieved by students in junior and senior units.
Below 50% (Fail)
Work not of an acceptable standard. Work may fail for any or all of the following reasons:
unacceptable levels of paraphrasing; irrelevance of content; presentation, grammar or structure so
sloppy it cannot be understood; submitted very late without extension.
50-54% (Low Pass)
Work of an acceptable standard. Written work contains evidence of minimal reading and some
understanding of subject matter, offers descriptive summary of material relevant to the question, but
may have a tendency to paraphrase; makes a reasonable attempt to organise material logically and
comprehensibly and to provide scholarly documentation. There may be gaps in any or all of these
areas.
55-59% (Medium Pass)
Work of a satisfactory standard. Written work meets basic requirements in terms of reading and
research, and demonstrates a reasonable understanding of subject matter. Offers a synthesis of
relevant material and shows a genuine effort to avoid paraphrasing, has a logical and comprehensible
structure and acceptable documentation, and attempts to mount an argument, though there may be
weaknesses in particular areas.
60-64% (High Pass)
Work has considerable merit, though Honours is not automatically recommended. Written work
contains evidence of a broad and reasonably accurate command of the subject matter and some sense
of its broader significance, offers synthesis and some evaluation of material, demonstrates an effort to
go beyond the essential reading, contains clear focus on the principal issues, understanding of relevant
arguments and diverse interpretations, and a coherent argument grounded in relevant evidence, though
there may be some weaknesses of clarity or structure. Articulate, properly documented.
Note that roughly 45-50% of students in junior levels of study and 25-50% of students in senior level
units of study will receive marks within the Pass range each semester.
65-69% (Low Credit)
Competent work, demonstrating potential to complete Honours work, though further development
needed to do so successfully. Written work contains evidence of comprehensive reading, offers
synthesis and critical evaluation of material on its own terms, takes a position in relation to various
interpretations. In addition, it shows some extra spark of insight or analysis. Demonstrates
understanding of broad historical significance, good selection of evidence, coherent and sustainable
argument, some evidence of independent thought.
70-74% (High Credit)
Highly competent work, demonstrating clear capacity to complete Honours successfully. Evidence of
extensive reading and initiative in research, sound grasp of subject matter and appreciation of key
issues and context. Engages critically and creatively with the question, and attempts an analytical
evaluation of material. Makes a good attempt to critique various interpretations, and offers a pointed
and thoughtful contribution to an existing debate. Some evidence of ability to think theoretically as
well as empirically, and to conceptualise and problematise issues. Well written and documented.
75-84% (Distinction)
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Work of a superior standard. Written work demonstrates initiative in research and reading, complex
understanding and original analysis of subject matter and its context, both empirical and theoretical;
makes good attempt to „get behind‟ the evidence and engage with its underlying assumptions, takes a
critical, interrogative stance in relation to argument and interpretation, shows critical understanding of
the principles and values underlying the unit. Properly documented; writing characterised by style,
clarity, and some creativity.
85%+ (High Distinction)
Work of exceptional standard. Written work demonstrates initiative and ingenuity in research and
reading, pointed and critical analysis of material, innovative interpretation of evidence, makes an
insightful contribution to debate, engages with values, assumptions and contested meanings contained
within original evidence, develops abstract or theoretical arguments on the strength of detailed
research and interpretation. Properly documented; writing characterised by creativity, style, and
precision.
Academic dishonesty
SOPHI departments are committed to the principles of academic honesty as set out in the Academic
Board Policy: Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism. Students have a responsibility to familiarise
themselves with these principles.
In accordance with Academic Board policy, the School‟s definition of academic dishonesty includes
but is not limited to:
 plagiarism: for full details see below;
 recycling: the resubmission for assessment of work that is the same or substantially the same,
as work previously submitted for assessment in the same or in a different unit of study;
 fabrication of data;
 the engagement of another person to complete or contribute to an assessment or examination
in place of the student, whether for payment or otherwise;
 communication, whether by speaking or some other means, to other candidates during an
examination;
 bringing into an examination forbidden material such as textbooks, notes, calculators or
computers;
 attempting to read other student‟s work during an examination; and/or
 writing an examination or test paper, or consulting with another person about the examination
or test, outside the confines of the examination room without permission.
 copying from other students during examinations
 inappropriate use of electronic devices to access information during examinations.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property. SOPHI departments are opposed to and will not
tolerate plagiarism. Students have a responsibility to understand the full details of the Academic
Board Policy: Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism which can be downloaded from the University‟s
Policy online website.
All students are required to include a signed statement of compliance with work submitted for
assessment, presentation or publication certifying that no part of the work constitutes a breach of the
University‟s policy on plagiarism. This statement of compliance is printed on all assignment/essay
cover sheets and written work will not be marked if the compliance statement is unsigned.
In accordance with Academic Board policy, the School defines plagiarism as presenting another
person‟s work (ideas, findings or written and/or published material) as one‟s own by presenting,
copying or reproducing the work without acknowledgment of the source. Common forms of
plagiarism include but are not limited to:
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presenting written work that contains sentences, paragraphs or longer extracts from published
work without attribution of the source;
presenting written work that reproduces significant portions of the work of another student;
and/or
using the structure of another person‟s argument, even if the wording is changed.
Legitimate cooperation between students is permitted and encouraged but students should be aware of
the difference between cooperation and collusion. Discussion of general themes and concepts is
allowed but students are not permitted to read each other‟s work prior to submission or cooperate so
closely that they are jointly selecting quotes, planning essay structure or copying each other‟s ideas.
While plagiarism is never acceptable, there is a distinction between negligent plagiarism and
plagiarism that involves dishonest intent.
Negligent plagiarism is defined in Academic Board policy as “innocently, recklessly or carelessly
presenting another person‟s work as one‟s own work without acknowledgement of the source‟. Where
negligent plagiarism is proven, students will be counselled and referred to appropriate services for
assistance. They will also be issued with a written warning explaining the consequences of any
subsequent breaches of the University‟s policy prohibiting plagiarism. Further action may be taken
including requiring the student to resubmit or undertake another assessment task, undertake remedial
action, or in some cases a fail grade may be applied to the work or part of the work.
Dishonest plagiarism is defined in Academic Board policy as „knowingly presenting another person‟s
work as one‟s own work without acknowledgement of the source‟. Where academic dishonesty or
dishonest plagiarism is proven as not serious enough to constitute potential student misconduct under
Chapter 8 of the University of Sydney By-Law 1999 the student will be counselled and referred to
appropriate services for assistance. They will also be issued with a written warning explaining the
consequences of any subsequent breaches of the University‟s policy prohibiting plagiarism. Further
action may be taken including requiring the student to resubmit or undertake another assessment task,
undertake remedial action, or in some cases a fail grade may be applied to the work or part of the
work.
In cases where academic dishonesty or dishonest plagiarism is proven as serious enough to constitute
potential student misconduct under Chapter 8 of the University of Sydney By-Law 1999 the case will
be referred to the Registrar.
Students are encouraged to think for themselves. In assessing students‟ work academic staff look for
evidence of understanding and capacity for independent thought; it is always disappointing to
discover plagiarism. Written work containing plagiarism will be assessed according to its academic
merit, but may fail because it does not meet the minimum standard required.
Submission of written work
Essays and assignments must be submitted in typewritten hard copy by 4.00pm on the due date
through the School (SOPHI) office, located on Level 3, Lobby H, in the Main Quadrangle. Students
may not hand essays or assignments directly to their lecturer or tutor.
A completed and signed cover sheet must be attached to the front of all written work submitted
through the School office. Written work will not be marked if the plagiarism policy compliance
statement on the cover sheet is unsigned. All incoming essays and assignments are date stamped.
Students submitting work through WebCT must read and accept the plagiarism policy compliance
statement for their work to be submitted.
Students must retain a copy of all written work submitted.
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Late submission and extensions
Essays and assignments not submitted on or before the due date are subject to penalty. SOPHI
departments conform to the Faculty‟s Policy on Late Work for undergraduate units of study which
states that late work is penalised at the rate of two marks (out of 100) per working day (i.e. week day).
In this instance, „two marks‟ means two full points off the awarded mark, not two percent of the
awarded mark. For assignments marked out of a maximum total other than 100, the penalty will apply
pro rata. For example, for assignments marked out of 40, the penalty will be 0.8 marks per working
day.
Only coordinators, either of individual units or of the junior and/or senior curricula have the authority
to grant extensions. Requests for extension must be made via the Faculty‟s online assessment
consideration system at http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/online_application.shtml
Late essays or assignments will not be accepted (except where applications for special consideration
are lodged) beyond the designated return date for the relevant written work. In cases where
documented misadventure or serious illness prevents students from submitting work before the
designated return date an alternative assessment task will be set.
For further details see the Faculty of Arts Late Work Policy at:
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/policies.shtml
Special consideration: illness or misadventure
Student requests for special consideration are assessed in accordance with the principles set out in Part
5 of the Academic Board policy on Assessment and Examination of Coursework. Students intending
to submit an application for special consideration should make themselves familiar with the full
details of this policy.
Applications for Special Consideration must be made as soon as possible and within five working
days of the due date of the assessment. Where circumstances prevent this, a student may still apply
but must provide a reasonable case for the delay in submitting their application.
Only illness or misadventure during a semester or occurring at the time of an examination will
warrant Special Consideration for academic performance. The academic judgement as to whether
Special Consideration will be granted will depend upon both the nature of the illness or misadventure
and its timing with respect to the assessment. For instance a short acute illness supported by a
Professional Practitioner Certificate the day of the examination would normally be accepted as
grounds for Special Consideration, but the same illness occurring several weeks before an assessment
would be unlikely to be considered acceptable grounds.
All applications for Special Consideration must be made via an online system. To access this system
please go to:
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/online_application.shtml
If students miss an exam because of illness or misadventure they should first notify the department
concerned and then apply for Special Consideration using the online system.
Requests for Simple Extensions of less than five working days for non-examination based assessment
are also covered by the online system.
Special arrangements
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Special Arrangements may be made available to any student enrolled in a Faculty of Arts and Social
Sciences unit of study, who is unable to meet assessment requirements or attend examinations,
because of one or more of the following situations:
1. essential religious commitments or essential beliefs (including cultural and ceremonial
commitments)
2. compulsory legal absence (e.g. jury duty, court summons, etc),
3. sporting or cultural commitments, including political/union commitments, where the student
is representing the University, state or nation,
4. birth or adoption of a child,
5. Australian Defence Force or emergency service commitments (including Army Reserve), and
6. Where the Faculty can form the view that employment of an essential nature to the student
would be jeopardise and that the student has little or no discretion with respect to the
employment demand
Applications for special arrangements are also handled through the same online system as Special
Consideration (see above).
Applications for Special Arrangements should be made at the beginning of semester with regard to
religious beliefs or commitments relating to moveable feasts, prayer or worship times, or with regard
to other requirements of a student‟s religion. Applications for other types of commitment should be
made as soon as possible after being notified of a requirement to be absent from the University. With
regard to examinations held during University-wide examination periods, applications should be
submitted within two weeks of the examination timetable.
Appeals
The Department stands behind its marking process. All care is taken to ensure that marking is
consistent and fair and that markers adhere to the assessment criteria as advertised. Marking is
regarded as an important part of the teaching and learning experience and markers provide
constructive feedback to assist student progress.
In some rare cases, a student may be of the opinion that the mark does not reflect the quality of his/her
work. In pursuance of the University of Sydney 'Student Appeals Against Academic Decisions' Rule
2006, if a student wishes to lodge an appeal against the grade awarded, the Faculty resolves to adhere
to the guiding principles of that document as follows.
The first step is for the student to contact the Unit of Study Coordinator in writing to arrange for a
time to discuss the mark. This should happen within fifteen working days of marks being made
available to students.
If the Unit of Study Coordinator is not available, the student should contact the Chair of Department
or Undergraduate Coordinator. Normally this consultative process is productive and the student is
satisfied with the outcome achieved at this point.
If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of the discussion with the coordinator or chair, then
he/she may appeal formally against the grade awarded.
Before beginning a formal appeal at the Faculty level the student should first read the University of
Sydney 'Student Appeals Against Academic Decisions' Rule 2006. Students are advised to lodge the
appeal within 15 working days of the outcome of discussions at department level as outlined above.
The appeal must be lodged through the Faculty Office (attention Dean of the Faculty of Arts) and
include the following:
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A completed results appeal form (which can be found at
http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/undergraduate_forms.shtml )
A written statement outlining the reasons for appeal. The written statement should draw
attention to such matters as perceived injustice in terms of bias or inconsistent application of
the grade descriptors published by the Department;
Any additional supporting documentation.
For more information please download the Faculty of Arts policy on Student Appeal and Remarking
of Written Work (available at http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/undergraduate_forms.shtml)
and the University of Sydney (Student Appeals against Academic Decisions) Rule 2006.
Learning Assistance
Students experiencing difficulties with their written expression, including essay writing style or
structure can seek assistance from the Learning Centre, which runs workshops on a range of subjects
including study skills, academic reading and writing, oral communication, and examination skills. The
centre offers programs specifically designed for students from a non-English speaking background.
The Learning Centre is located on Level 7 of the Education Building A35 (beside Manning House);
contact them on 9351 3853 or email learning.centre@sydney.edu.au . For further information visit
the Learning Centre website at http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/learning_centre/ .
Online learning assistance is available via the Write Site, which offers modules on grammar, sources
and structure to help students develop their academic and professional writing skills. Each module
provides descriptions of common problems in academic and professional writing and strategies for
addressing them. Students can view samples of good writing and also do some practice activities in
error correction. For further information visit the Write Site at http://writesite.elearn.usyd.edu.au .
Learning assistance is also available to Indigenous Australian students via the Koori Centre and
includes academic skills group workshops covering topics such as concentration strategies, writing for
specific disciplines, time management, research and reading strategies, academic writing styles and
referencing. The Koori Centre is located on Level 2 of Old Teachers College A22; contact 9351 2046
or 1800 622 742 (toll free) or email koori.centre@sydney.edu.au. For further information visit the
Koori Centre website at http://sydney.edu.au/koori .
Other support services
Disability Services is located on Level 5, Jane Foss Russell Building G20; contact 8627 8422 or email
disability.services@sydney.edu.au . For further information visit their website at
http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/disability/ .
The Counselling Service is located on Level 5, Jane Foss Russell Building G20; contact 8627 8433 or
email counsell@stuserv.usyd.edu.au. For further information visit their website at
http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/counselling/ .
Note: All Academic Board policies referred to above are available online at
http://sydney.edu.au/policy .
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Faculty of Arts
GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES
Research and Inquiry. Graduates of the Faculty of Arts will be able to build upon and extend their knowledge
and understanding through research, inquiry and creativity.
They will:
•
possess a body of knowledge relevant to their fields of study, and a firm grasp of the principles,
practices, and boundaries of their discipline;
•
be able to acquire and evaluate new knowledge through independent research;
•
be able to identify, define, investigate, and solve problems;
•
think independently, analytically and creatively; and
•
exercise critical judgement and critical thinking to create new modes of understanding.
Information Literacy. Graduates of the Faculty of Arts will be able to use information effectively in a range
of contexts.
They will:
•
recognise pertinent information needs;
•
use appropriate media, tools and methodologies to locate, access and use information;
•
critically evaluate the sources, values, validity and currency of information; and
•
use information in critical and creative thinking.
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy. Graduates of the Faculty of Arts will be able to work independently
and in ways informed by openness, curiosity and a desire to meet new challenges.
They will:
•
be independent learners who take responsibility for their own learning;
•
set appropriate goals for ongoing intellectual and professional development, and evaluate their own
performance effectively;
•
be intellectually curious, open to new ideas, methods and ways of thinking, and able to sustain
intellectual interest;
•
respond effectively to unfamiliar problems in unfamiliar contexts; and
•
work effectively in teams and other collaborative contexts.
Ethical, Social and Professional Understanding. Graduates of the Faculty of Arts will hold values and
beliefs consistent with their role as responsible members of local, national, international and professional
communities.
They will:
•
understand and practise the highest standards of ethical behaviour associate with their discipline or
profession;
•
be informed and open-minded about social, cultural and linguistic diversity in Australia and the world;
•
appreciate their ethical responsibilities towards colleagues, research subjects, the wider community, and
the environment;
•
be aware that knowledge is not value-free.
Communication. Graduates of the Faculty of Arts will value and employ communication as a tool for
negotiating and creating new understanding, interacting with others, and furthering their own learning.
They will:
•
possess a high standard of oral, visual and written communication relevant to their fields of study,
including where applicable the possession of these skills in languages other than English;
•
recognise the importance of continuing to develop their oral, visual, and written communication skills;
•
be able to use appropriate communication technologies.
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