HIS32720 Frontiers of Empire

Academic Year 2024/2025

The Roman Empire stretched from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic West in the early centuries CE, a period known as Late Antiquity. Ireland’s geography made the island a frontier of this great empire, alongside many others. Late Antiquity was a time of profound change. During the fourth and fifth centuries Roman political influence declined in parts of the West, leading to new opportunities and challenges. Events shaped and reshaped the Roman frontiers, including Ireland, ultimately giving rise to new cultural and political landscapes.

This module will examine these transitions in Ireland. It will consider the island’s status as a Roman frontier, placing this in the wider contexts of the Empire as a whole. We will explore a range of sources from this era, including material evidence and texts. We will ask questions. How was Ireland shaped by the Roman frontier? How did writing first reach the island? In what ways did elites respond to Roman influences? What role did changing patterns of religious belief play? Did distinctively Irish identities emerge by the end of Late Antiquity?

When this module is complete, students will have a new understanding of the origins of Irish history and of the formative role played by the Roman frontier.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this module students will have:
- An understanding of the role of frontiers in Late Antiquity
- A knowledge of the evolution of Irish society on the frontiers between the first and sixth centuries
- A knowledge of the major primary sources, including material and textual evidence
- Familiarity with the relevant major historical debates and how Irish history fits into them
- Developed skills in oral and written analysis
- Developed skills in learning with others


Indicative Module Content:

Frontiers of Empire: Ireland and the Roman World, 100-600 AD
Module Schedule

1. Ireland and the Classical World
2. Frontiers of the Roman Empire
3. Ireland in a Roman Atlantic West
4. The Transformation of the Western Roman Empire
5. The Coming of Christianity I: Empire and Religion
6. The Coming of Christianity II: The British Connection
7. Change and Continuity in Late Antique Ireland 1: Communication and Consolidation
8. Change and Continuity in Late Antique Ireland 2: Pagans and Christians
9. Creating Ireland: Church, Society and Economy
10. Creating Ireland: Law and Learning
11. The End of Late Antiquity?

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

11
Seminar (or Webinar)

22
Specified Learning Activities

95
Autonomous Student Learning

95
Total

223
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module is delivered through weekly lectures and seminars. The lectures provide guidance for weekly topics, introducing sources and debates. The seminars complement these through small-group active learning and peer discussion, focused on primary sources and their interpretation.

Autonomous learning is encouraged through required preparatory reading each week, and a formative and summative written assignment. Research, writing and citation skills are incorporated into seminar work and are assessed in the module's written assignments.
 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Participation in Learning Activities: Students will be graded on their participation in learning activities during seminars. This is not based on attendance but on active discussion and participation both individually and in group work. n/a Graded No

20
Assignment(Including Essay): The first assignment will be a formative learning portfolio, incorporating a reflective journal (focused on the lectures and seminars) and an essay plan incorporating planning and citation. n/a Graded No

30
Assignment(Including Essay): The final assignment is a summative 3000 word essay incorporating the main contents and themes of the module while using the skills of critical reading and analysis. n/a Graded No

50

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be made through two main methods - individual meetings with students (by video link, face-to-face or email) to help plan progress as well as written feedback on specific assignments. This will be supplemented with feedback on drafts of particular assignments.

The following is a short indicative list, covering the broad themes of the module. A longer and more detailed bibliography will accompany the module handbook.

Select Core Readings

Cahill Wilson, Jacqueline, et al. (eds), Late Iron Age and “Roman” Ireland (Dublin, 2014).
Freeman, Philip, Ireland and the Classical World (Austin, 2001).
Heather, Peter, The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarian Peoples (Oxford, 2016).
Ó Cróinín, Dáíbhí, Early Medieval Ireland 400–1200 (2nd Ed, London, 2016).