Imperial Babylon, c.627-539 BC, and its reception (HIST0448)

This module focuses on the famous city of Babylon in southern Iraq, during its brief heyday as the centre of a powerful territorial empire ruling most of the Middle East (c.627–539 BC) under kings such as Nebuchadnezzar and Nabonidus. How did such an ephemeral empire leave such a lasting impression, not only on its immediate successors but also on major world cultures right through to today? We shall also consider its powerful legacy in the Biblical and Classical traditions, and consider the extent to which archaeological rediscovery has affected those tropes.

Historiographically, the module will operate at several levels. You will learn to use a range of cuneiform sources (in translation), and to understand their strengths and limitations as texts and as archaeological artefacts. You will also think about how this primary documentary evidence works with, and against, external narrative sources from the Biblical and Classical traditions with which you may be more familiar. Conceptually, the emphasis will be on cultural memory: why has the name ‘Babylon’ resonated so powerfully for so long? What did it come to mean for different communities and polities in the ancient world, and what does it still mean today?

No prior knowledge is required, either of the period or of any ancient Middle Eastern languages. You will be expected to read two or three key works each week (all available on this Moodle), ahead of the seminar, and to be prepared to engage in constructive criticism about them in class.

Imperial Babylon, c.627-539 BC, and its Reception (HIST0445)

This module will enable students to examine major critical debates and issues that have shaped and challenged the discipline of History of Art. Each week will...

Critical Methods and Debates in History of Art (HART0121)

This module will enable students to examine major critical debates and issues that have shaped and challenged the discipline of History of Art. Each week will be devoted to a particular topic, which will first be presented by a staff member and then discussed in depth by the students through assigned readings. An important goal of the module is to locate methodologies and critical perspectives within their own historical moments and in their contested relation to other perspectives.



The module will focus around a set of readings, which students will be expected to have read with care. This is a seminar and not a lecture course and it will be most productive if students come to class with ideas, questions and comments on the readings. Each week a group of students will have the responsibility of leading the discussion of the readings after the presentation by a member of staff.



('MA Core Course'; 30 credits) is taught over 20 weeks with 60+ contact hours. It is assessed by two pieces of written work: an essay of 2000-2500 words, due towards the end of term 1; and a project of 4000-4500 words, due towards the end of term 2.