CL3BBB: Beyond Barbarians and Bishops: Late Antiquity, 300-800 CE

Module code: CL3BBB

Module provider: Classics; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: 6

When you’ll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Tim Penn , email: tim.penn@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 3 April 2025

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module explores the transformational era known today as Late Antiquity (c. 300–800 CE), a period marked by profound cultural, religious, and political change in some regions—and continuity in others. By examining a period spanning the fall of the Roman Empire to the early medieval world, we will analyse the dynamics that shaped Europe, the Mediterranean, and beyond. Topics include the rise of two major world religions (Christianity and Islam), the enduring influence of "barbarian" kingdoms, the persistence of Roman traditions, and the contrasting trajectories between the East, where the Roman Empire endured, and the West, where it did not. We will engage with a range of primary sources—texts, art, and archaeology—and contextualise these within key historiographical debates about “decline and fall” versus “transformation.” By the end of the course, you will have developed an understanding of how Late Antiquity laid the foundations of the medieval world. Late Antiquity is rarely taught at undergraduate level; this course aims to provide an opportunity to study it in depth and move beyond clichés—barbarians and bishops—to reflect on how this period continues to shape our world today. 

Aims and objectives:  

• To offer students an opportunity to engage with key themes and debates in the study of Late Antiquity.  
• To introduce students to selected textual and archaeological sources for the studying Late Antiquity; 
• To investigate the theoretical and historiographical debates which inform the study of Late Antiquity. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. use and assess a variety of evidence in order to understand key trends which characterise the period described as Late Antiquity (300-800 CE); 

2. draw connections between the evidence and key scholarly arguments presented in the lectures and seminars and additional information encountered during their own research; 

3. articulate their arguments effectively and illustrate them with relevant evidence 

Module content

This module will explore current approaches to the transformation of the Roman world in Late Antiquity. Topics may include the fall of the Roman Empire in the West and its survival in the East, continuities and changes across various traditional aspects of the Roman state and culture, the fate of cities, the rise of two major world religions (Christianity and Islam), magic, barbarian invasions, and plague. The course will adopt an interdisciplinary approach, combining textual and archaeological evidence to provide a deeper understanding of the late antique period. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The course will be taught through a one-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar weekly. 

Study hours

At least 20 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs