EUH 5935 (U02) The Age of Alexander 

Course Outline Fall 2009  

Course Provider: Prof. Gwyn Davies

DM 388A (Tel. 305 348 2974)

(e-mail – daviesg@fiu.edu )

Office Hours: TTR 15.30-16.30

Summary

This course will trace the rise of the Macedonian Kingdom and the overshadowing of the polis system by a new dynastic superstructure. The extraordinary achievements of Philip of Macedon will be discussed and the wide-ranging political and military reforms instituted by Alexander the Great’s father will be explored. The overthrow of Persia and its replacement by a new Macedonian empire as a result of the extraordinary campaigns of Alexander leading to the dawn of a new Hellenistic world order will be outlined. Thematic issues that will be traversed will include inter alia: Macedonian military achievements in the context of ancient warfare; the adoption of autocratic governance and the erosion of local independence; the forging of a Hellenistic cultural overlay in the conquered territories and the mechanisms envisaged to achieve a Greco-Persian synthesis.

Course Details : EUH 4408/5935 will be taught be means of two weekly lectures on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 17.00–18.15 in Room PC 428. Attendance at class is compulsory and attendance will be monitored throughout the semester. If you are unable to attend for any reason, please advise the course provider in advance. Absenteeism is likely to mean that your grade in the assessed work and in the examination will be adversely affected and regular absenteeism may result in the award of a lesser grade overall. Also, as this course is intended to act as the starting point for research of an independent nature to be carried out by the graduate students, each student will attend a supplementary ‘tutorial’ with the course provider to be scheduled every third week at a mutually convenient time. In order for these tutorial sessions to be productive, the course provider will expect the student to have carried out extra readings to be agreed with the course provider and with the aim of improving that student’s depth of knowledge so as to prepare that individual better for the task of writing his or her assessed essay.

Course Assessment : For EUH 5935 – This course will be examined by means of one assessed essay of 3,000 words worth 50% and a final written examination worth the balancing 50% of the available marks. Candidates will discuss essay topics individually with the course provider.

Please NOTE that any failure to complete either of these component elements will result in the awarding of an automatic F grade for the course as a whole. The deadlines (to be announced) for essay submission are absolute. Late submissions (defined as any work submitted to the course provider after 5pm on the due date) will be penalized with an automatic deduction of 5% per day (so, for example, if you hand in an essay 3 days late, 15% will be subtracted from your grade). NOTE: no work will be accepted for marking more than 7 days after the due date. Requests for extensions based on legitimate medical/other grounds must be made in advance of the submission date and must be supported by appropriate documentation. NO ‘make ups’ NOR ‘re-writes’ will be permitted. ALL essays must be submitted through BOTH Turnitin.com and a hard copy to the course provider.

Plagiarism : Written work should be properly referenced throughout. Please ensure that you restrict yourself to the quotation where relevant of single sentences or short passages only as these are relatively short assignments. Any work that is not the result of your own thought processes should be credited to the original source and any failure to observe this basic rule of academic discipline will be treated as plagiarism. Any student undertaking plagiarism of this nature will receive an automatic FAIL and will be reported to the appropriate authorities for further sanctions which may include the option of expulsion. Do not take a chance of copying another’s work…it is likely that you will be discovered and dealt with appropriately.

Required Reading :

Heckel, W & Yardley, J.C. 2004. Alexander the Great – Blackwell’s Historical Sources in Translation. Blackwell.

Pomeroy, S, Burnstein, S.M., Donlan, W. & Roberts, J.T. 1999. Ancient Greece. Oxford University Press.

Renault, M. 1979. The Nature of Alexander. Random House.

Morkot, R. 1996. The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece

Wood, M. 2001. In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great.