This course is taught on-site in Italy, and will be offered over the (Australian) summer.  Students will travel to a number of important archaeological sites on the Italian peninsula and in Sicily.  The course will focus on the entry into this region of three major foreign cultures – Greeks, Phoenicians, and Romans – and the subsequent history of contact, conflict and acculturation between locals and outsiders and between the three dominant groups.  A number of major archaeological sites will be visited, including Naples and surrounding area (including Pompeii and Herculaneum), Poseidonia/Paestum, Taras/Tarentum, Metapontion, Sybaris, Kroton/Thourioi, Rhegion, Zankle/Messana, Syracuse, Gela, Akragas/Agrigentum, Segesta, Selinous, Himera, Motya, etc.  The course will also visit key sites associated with the later history of the region.

The course will consider topics such as: the nature of Greek and Phoenician colonisation and its effects on local inhabitants; Magna Graecia as a distinctive contributor to Greek culture; warfare between Greeks and Carthaginians, between Greek cities, between Romans and Carthaginians, and between Romans and Greeks; economic exploitation by Greeks and Romans; and the archaeological history of the region.

Students will come to a better understanding of issues such as:

(1) the factors governing the siting of a Greek polis (or, in Sicily, a Phoenician settlement); the relationship between a city and its hinterland; and transformations in the area resulting from Roman technology and administration
(2) ways in which physical landscape governed agriculture, travel, warfare, and other key aspects of ancient life, and the extent to which topographical examination may enhance our understanding of military history
(3) the use of archaeological and historical evidence together to understand the history of a site or a region
(4) the relationship between colonial and metropolitan culture
(5) the relationship between landscape and cultural memory

•    preliminary paper on topic of final research paper (submitted before departure) (1,500 words): 10%

•    presentation of a research-based seminar to other participants while in Italy: 20%

•    research paper (5,000 words), due approx. 5 weeks after return from Italy: 40%

•    course diary (minimum length 5,000 words): 20%

•    overall course participation, including participation in group discussions: 10%

• 3 weeks' intensive study in Italy/Sicily
• approx. 160 hours' work before and after fieldwork in Italy/Sicily (November, December, February)

Prerequisite: Arts courses to the value of 12 units

Students who have not studied  Greek history will need to undertake extra preliminary reading.

Recommended courses: ANCH1013, ANCH1014

Selected articles and book chapters will be provided, relating to key issues and individual sites.

Good walking boots and cold-weather gear are essential.  Participants will also find a small laptop or tablet computer of advantage during the fieldwork in Italy.