PROS - Some of the lecture content is interesting. Since there’s no exam, there’s no need to memorise details, so you can just enjoy listening. As others have noted, the staff are very enthusiastic about their field, and encouraging of students pursuing further study in this area. - There is so much choice when it comes to essay topics, to the extent that you can completely skip the lectures that aren’t relevant to your focus. For essays, remember to paraphrase (rather than directly quote) texts, and do not use sub-headings. Don’t worry if you’ve not used AJA before, as it’s a super simple referencing style. Some of the topics focus on analysis of ancient art so, if you’re interested in art history, this is an additional perk. - You definitely do not need to have studied ancient history previously to appreciate and perform well in this subject. I hadn’t completed any prior learning, and received a H1. CONS - Some of the content can be disturbing/distasteful, and this content is not presented through a critical lens, as you might be accustomed to in other history subjects. For example, you learn about how Mesopotamian elites buried people alive, but there is no acknowledgement or discussion of the ethics surrounding this practice. Be aware that these are obscenely hierarchical and materialistic societies, that associate wealth and status with divinity. I personally found it confronting to see what I would describe as my tutor’s personal reverence for societies that had oppressed, enslaved and murdered so many. - The tutorials are quite boring and unstructured, but 80% attendance is compulsory. You essentially wander around different stations and handle various artifacts and replicas, which you are supposed to discuss with those around you. However, because it's most people’s first semester, dialogue and debate is limited and there ends up being way too much time allotted for this. If you like more interactive/collaborative tutorials, this may not be the subject for you. - Since the tutorials are mainly spent on object handling, there is limited time spent exploring what is expected of the essays. It’s best to go into this subject already comfortable with essay-writing. Moreover, because there are so many people enrolled in the subject, it is common that your tutor may not even mark your essay. For example, neither of my essays were marked by my tutor. This may impact you negatively if you like to seek out assessment guidance and feedback from your tutor. 

OVERALL This subject is fairly easy to perform well in if you are confident in essay-writing, and there is a lot of scope to tailor the assessments to your personal interests and strengths. Consider whether you can tolerate a passive style of learning (lectures, readings, tutorials mainly spent looking and listening). Also consider whether you want to spend 12 weeks immersed in societies characterised by brutal subjugation, without the opportunity to explore this from an ethical/critical perspective.

Took the subject as discipline, very interesting introduction into Ancient World History covering a bunch of ground. Each lecture focused on a different aspect of both Ancient Mesopotamian/Ancient Egyptian societies interacting with primary sources, keeping it fresh every week. Tutorials included handling of genuine artifacts and replicas, very engaging. Assessment was 2 essays + take home exam, fairly straightforward but not a lot of guidelines/criteria available. Overall great choice for discipline or breadth.

Really great introduction to Ancient History! Becky was the best tutor, and Andrew was a super fun lecturer. Overall, loved it!

An amazing introduction to Ancient World History, with fascinating content. The lectures were always engaging and the topics were always really interesting, an excellent overview of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. However, sometimes the tutorials were a little dry and boring, in saying that, a really cool feature of the tutorials was the archaeological aspect (being able to handle historical artefacts in the object labs was really cool and provided hands-on engagement). There is a lot of reading required for this subject and while mostly it is interesting, sometimes it's a bit boring and can get repetitive or confusing. The assessments were pretty good though. Overall, you will thoroughly enjoy this subject if you have an interest in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Amazing subjects! Really enjoyable with awesome lecturers, not a single dud among them even the clearly new ones. A great intro into Egypt and Mesopotamia. Every aspect of it was fun and enjoyable.

An easy, research-based subject, with a focus on giving an overview of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, which sets you up really nicely if you know you're interested in the topic, but not exactly sure which parts of it you want to go into. It's useful to develop researching skills and essay writing skills. It's pretty easy to get an H1 if you can structure an essay well. It also offers some pretty cool opportunities to get involved in the archeological/more practical side of things and there are (some) really great lecturers that are very passionate and engaging.

Really interesting content. The tutes can be a bit boring and some of the guest lecturers weren't that good - the two main ones were great though. Probably more of a 3.5 stars.

lecturers were really exciting and the assignments weren't too stressful, the markers weren't very strict. also a super interesting topic so if you're into ancient stuff then you should enjoy it.

Really interesting to listen to, the lectures were kind of like Ancient Egypt Story Time that you could just sit back and enjoy. The tutes were fairly guided, it is a first year subject after all so they seem to expect you to want a more school-like experience. Take the opportunity to learn how to research an Arts paper while you have the chance- I believe there is a tute devoted just to this process, and it is easy marks once you have it down.