In the fifth century BC, the ancient Greeks developed a new way of understanding the world. This breakthrough inspired art, science, religion and philosophy that changed the world and laid the foundations of the modern era. This course studies both the intellectual revolution and the extraordinary society which produced it.
Course Dates
Course details
Academic team
Key Features
Aims of the course
This course will take you step-by-step through the major developments of the fifth century. Unlike many online courses which passively present the material to the student, those on this course are expected to learn mainly by discussion; with the tutor and with fellow students. Reading material is provided, and links are given to online resources for each week's topic, but most of the student's work will entail analysing these topics in forums and live tutorials, as well as the completion of an optional assignment at the end of the course.
Course content overview
Every week sees the introduction of a new aspect of the fifth-century revolution, and your tutor will suggest one or two topics for investigation and discussion. Resources are provided to equip you with the knowledge you will need to participate, and each week starts with a quiz to allow you to measure your familiarity with the topic and how much reading you will need to do. You will also be able to meet regularly with your tutor online in group chats and can request one-to-one discussions to discuss your work on the course.
Target audience
No knowledge of ancient Greece is assumed, but even those who have some background in the subject will find the experience of online learning both exciting and challenging. We also offers a number of other courses on the ancient world, so you may want to keep an eye on future opportunities which we offer for online study offered in this same format.
Welcome week (Week 0)
Purpose:
- personal introductions
- introducing the course
- useful reading
- personal objectives
Learning outcomes:
By studying this week, the students should have:
- become familiar with navigating around the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and from VLE to links and back
- test your ability to access files and the web conferencing software and sort out any problems with the help of the Technology Enhanced Learning team
- learn how to look for, assess and reference internet resources
- contribute to a discussion forum to introduce yourself to other students and discuss why you are interested in the course and what you hope to get out of your studies
Teaching Week 1: Gods & Heroes
Teaching Week 2: Warfare
Teaching Week 3: Democracy
Teaching Week 4: Theatre
Teaching Week 5: Architecture
Week 6 - what next?
- assessment of student learning
- assessment of student satisfaction
- encouragement of further study
This course is open to everyone, and you don’t need any previous knowledge or experience of the subject to attend.
Our short courses are designed especially for adult learners who want to advance their personal or professional development. They are taught by tutors who are expert in both their subjects and in teaching students of all ages and experiences.
Please note that all teaching is in English. You should have near-native command of the English language to get the maximum benefit from the course.
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours of self-study time, for example, reading materials, although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the VLE so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (using discussion boards etc).
Fees
The course fee includes access to the course on our VLE, personal feedback on your work from an expert tutor, a certificate of participation (if you complete work and take part in discussions), and access to the class resources for two years after your course finishes.
Concessions
For more information, please see our concessions information page.
Alison Fordham Bursary
University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education is proud to offer the Alison Fordham bursary, which is awarded to students who wish to study on one of our short online courses via our VLE, reducing the fee paid by 50%. The bursary is limited to a single award for each set of online courses.
Application criteria:
- applicants should set out their personal learning motivations since priority will be given to those who are returning to learning after an extended break, or have not previously engaged with fully online learning, or are seeking to use the online short course as a bridge towards undergraduate award-bearing study
- applicants who can demonstrate financial need
For more information, please see our bursaries information page.
A certificate of participation and a digital credential will be awarded to those who contribute constructively to weekly discussions, exercises and assignments for the duration of the course.
