Ancient History: Empires, Societies and Cultures (MA)

About the programme

The one-year History specialisation in Ancient History offers an attractive mix of theoretical knowledge and practical experience.

The study programme includes a literature seminar, a research seminar and workshop, an academic skills and thesis preparatory seminar, one or two electives and the final Master's thesis. For a more detailed programme and an overview of all the possible electives, please check the Prospectus.

Please bear in mind that this guide applies to the current academic year, which means that the curriculum for next year may differ slightly.

Detailed programme

Ancient History
Course	EC
Debating Ancient Slavery	10
Rome and the Northern Barbarians	10
Society, Culture and Religion in Roman Asia Minor	10
Enslavement and Culture in the Roman Empire	10
Research Workshop: Roman Numismatics	5
Material Culture of Ancient Religion	5
Academic Skills and Thesis Seminar	5
Academic Skills and Thesis Seminar	5
MA Thesis History	20

Electives
Course	EC
Comparing and Connecting: Medieval and Early Modern Worlds	10
Debating Ancient Slavery	10
Literature Seminar CMGI: History of Inequality	10
Navigating History: New Perspectives on Maritime History	10
Objects of Heritage, Archives and Knowledge. Critical Approaches	10
Politics, Culture and National Identities, 1789 to the present	10
Colonial Knowledge, the ‘Third World’, and Countercultural Activism in the 1960s-70s	10
Gender and Political Culture in Medieval and Early Modern Europe	10
(In)Equalizers! Social and Economic Histories of Inequality(ies) and Difference(s), 1500-2000	10
New Approaches to the Holocaust in Central and Eastern Europe	10
Sailing the Dutch Atlantic	10
Shifting Statehood: Britain and the World since 1900	10
Society, Culture and Religion in Roman Asia Minor	10
The Urban Allure: Leisure and Consumption in the Modern Metropole, 1850-1950	10
Research Workshop: Historical Sources and Questions in the Urban Arena	5
Research Workshop: Roman Numismatics	5
Research Workshop: Roman Numismatics	10
Research Workshop: Sources in Global History	5
Research Workshop: Unequal Citizenship and Emancipation in the Dutch Atlantic	5
Sources in Intellectual History : Intellectuals and the State in Contemporary Culture Wars	5
Stuff: Histories of Material Culture	5
Colonial Citizenship and Empire in Asia, 1780-1900	10
Comparing and Connecting: Medieval and Early Modern Worlds	10
Literature seminar CMGI: History of Inequality	10
Politics, Culture and National Identities, 1789 to the present	10
Rome and the Northern Barbarians	10
Arsenal of Democracy?: The United States and the World since 1945	10
Asian Events in Early Modern European Sources	10
Culture and Conquest: the Impact of the Mongols and their Descendants	10
Dangerous Cities? The Risks of the Urban Environment (1750-2000)	10
Enslavement and Culture in the Roman Empire	10
RS: Religious Conflict in Premodern Europe	10
Russia Revisited in War and Revolution, 1914-1921	10
The Rise of Banal Nationalism	10
Through Dutch Soldiers’ Eyes: Diaries and Memoires on the Indonesian War of Independence, 1945-1949	10
Research Workshop: Historical Sources and Questions in the Urban Arena	5
Material Culture of Ancient Religion	5
Material Culture of Ancient Religion (10EC)	10
Research Workshop: Reform and Anti-Reform	5
Research Workshop: Sources in Global History	5

Programme structure

Literature Seminar, 10 EC
Research Seminar, 10 EC
Research Workshop, 5 EC
Academic Skills and Thesis Seminar, 5 EC
Optional Courses, 10 EC
Thesis and Exam, 20 EC

Learn from the latest research on Roman amulets by PhD Patricia Kret

Research on the Greek and Roman times often focuses on important leaders, writers or politicians. However, PhD student Patricia Kret is more interested in the normal people living in these times, an important line of research at the Ancient History section. Her research focuses on amulets which were often used, for example to cure diseases. Why did people believe so strongly in the power of these amulets? And what did they hoped the amulets would help protect them from? That's what Patricia is hoping to find out. Watch the video (in Dutch) to learn more about her research.

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Latest knowledge

All courses are taught by academics who are active researchers. The curriculum is regularly updated to reflect contemporary academic debates and the very latest insights. Regular seminars are held presenting students with our researchers' latest findings. Your research thesis is often linked to one of the research projects of our faculty members, who play an active role in every individual's education, acting as mentors and community builders.

Admission and Application

Do you want to find out if you are eligible for this Master's Programme?

Check the entry requirements