Course Details in 2026/27 Session

Module Title	LH Special Subject A: Ritual and Religion: performance, materiality and belief
School	History and Cultures
Department	Classics, AH and Archaeology
Module Code	09 37462
Module Lead	Paul Garwood
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites	LH Special Subject B: Ritual and Religion: performance, materiality and belief - (09 37463)
Restrictions	None
Exclusions
Description	This module and its co-requisite (Special Subject B: Ritual and Religion: performance, materiality and belief) will allow students to engage in in-depth research and study on a topic in Classics, Byzantine Studies, Egyptology, Ancient History, or Archaeology. Working in a small group format under the guidance of the module co-ordinator, students will engage with key primary material and with research findings, interpretative approaches, and methodologies associated with the module topic. The module will help students to develop and exercise advanced research skills and to learn through critique and discussion, as well as to acquire knowledge and expertise in their chosen topic. This module explores ritual and religion from an inter-disciplinary perspective, focusing on current approaches to ritual agency, performance, materiality and belief in Archaeology, Anthropology and History. Introductory sessions on key theoretical and interpretative frameworks are combined with thematic seminars, relevant to all past cultural worlds, focusing on particular kinds of practices and representations relating to beliefs in supernatural beings, forces and sacred domains. The approach is comparative and cross-cultural, drawing on a wide range of case studies ranging from prehistoric Europe (e.g. Iron Age human sacrifice), ancient Greece, the Roman world, medieval and modern Europe to Aztec Mesoamerica. These are combined with ethnographic case studies from Africa, India, Polynesia, Australia, Siberia and the Americas. Specific topics include: rites of passage; ritual drama and theatre; sacrifice; ritualized violence; magic and witchcraft; pilgrimage; festival and masquerade.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: analyse and appraise key findings, interpretative approaches, and methodologies relevant to the material under discussion analyse and evaluate a wide range of relevant primary source material critically evaluate the scholarly context and trends of the subject under exploration summarise and evaluate the subject material with clarity and confidence, in writing and in oral presentation
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	Assessment: 1 x 2,000-word essay (50%) and 1 x 10-minute individual presentations (50%) Reassessment: Resubmission of failed component(s)
Other
Reading List