Ancient History

The core of the study programme is ancient history, with an emphasis on the history of classical antiquity and ancient heritage in administration, law, literacy, and art of the subsequent epochs of European history. The subject of studies is the political organization of ancient states, as well as their economies, religion, and culture; attention is paid to the cultural contribution as well as the history of the Ancient Near East. The student learns to recognize different developmental stages of the oldest history of humankind, their similarities and specific features, the paths taken by culture and knowledge.

The emphasis is on reading source materials, either in the original or in translations into modern languages. The basis of the studies is formed by courses following the timeline from the birth of the first states in the Near East up to the formation of the so-called barbaric states in the transitional period between Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and by the compulsory linguistic training in the area of ancient languages. The studies are complemented by courses necessary for broader orientation in various issues of ancient history and culture.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• explain the progress of ancient history from its beginnings in Mesopotamia and Egypt until the fall of the ancient world
• describe the roots of a specific development of the European and Near Eastern civilizations, ethnicities, and religious systems
• elucidate the genesis of contemporary political systems and the forms of medieval as well as modern states, based on the knowledge of the state and political systems in Antiquity
• be well versed in the ancient world's geography and relevant terminology
• describe the cultural context of the ancient world and explain the share of individual regions of this world and its inhabitants on the creation of a general human culture and moral values
• know the individual stages and specifics of the development of research of the ancient world from Antiquity until present
• competently read sources connected to a selected period of ancient history (according to the area of linguistic specialization)
• work with Czech and foreign literature; be well versed in work with electronic databases and printed information sources (scholarly journals, dictionaries, encyclopaedias); to quote sources and literature properly
• write a short coherent text on specialized topics

The graduates of the Ancient History B.A. programme may find work in the cultural sphere (museums, galleries, libraries, archives, and the education of young people in various interest groups). They will also be able to work in tourism and in public and state service.

A standard scope of a Bachelor's thesis ranges from 70,000 to 90,000 characters including footnotes, content, index, list of literature, and annotations. Student chooses the subject of the thesis according to his/her own preferences, either from the set of subjects already available in the Information system or in discussion with the potential supervisor. The Bachelor's thesis demonstrates the ability of the student to orientate himself/herself in the basic scholarly literature written on the subject both domestic and foreign as well as in relevant historical sources, to evaluate critically the state of scholarship and to formulate and defend his/her own conclusions.

After completion of the Bachelor's studies of Ancient History the graduate can continue in any Master's degree programme (after satisfying the admission requirements), especially in programmes, such as History, Classical Archaeology, Archaeology, Mediterranean Studies, Sociology, Religionistics, Anthropology, Environmental Studies, European Studies. Preferably there is the possibility of the ensuing Master's degree programme in Ancient History.