Ancient and Medieval History
This course focuses on pre-modern European - including Norwegian - History from antiquity to the Reformation processes of the sixteenth century.
The course begins by depicting the main cities and empires of antiquity and their political, societal and economic development. The growth and fall of the Greek city-states and the Roman Empire are also explored, as is the transition period from antiquity to the Middle Ages.
The growth and development of Christianity and Islam are presented from a comparative viewpoint. Throughout the course, long-term demographic and economic developments provide a common thread; in this context, the background, character and development of feudalism and feudal societies occupy a central place in the course. Urban development and trade during the Middle Ages are also explored in depth. Important - and similar - processes and developments in Norway, such as unification, state formation or the effects of the Agrarian Crisis are also problematised in the course, and these processes are presented and problematised from an integral part of wider European changes and events.
The historical development of the Sámi peoples, including their changing relationship with the expanding Nordic crowns, will also be treated from the same broader perspective.
On successful completion of the course:
Knowledge:
- The student should acquire basic knowledge of central events and processes within European and Norwegian economic, social and political History up to c. 1530.
- This will include knowledge of major societal and cultural institutions and the relationships between them during this period.
- The student should have broad knowledge about the interplay between Norway and Europe, and be able to understand historical changes in Norway from an European perspective.
Skills:
- The student should be able to discuss and compare different historical perspectives and approaches.
- The student should be able to reflect on their academic output and modify this through supervision.
- The student should be able to find, consider and refer to relevant subject matters in the curriculum, and use them when developing and dealing with certain research questions.
General competence:
- The student should be able to access relevant scientific literature.
- The student should be able to review relevant knowledge from the literature.
- The student should be able to discuss central theories and perspectives from the curriculum in written work.
Compulsory assignment: Written assignment of about 1200 words, comprises 0/100 of the grade. Graded pass/no pass
Compulsory participation in seminars or colloquia, comprises 0/100 of the grade. Graded approved/not approved.
Written off-campus exam, 6 hours. Graded A-F
The exam can be answered either in Norwegian or in English.
