Ancient cultures or History

[m_chellen]

Hi, was just wondering if anyone who has taken these subjects could tell me the difference. Their descriptions seem pretty similar except that ancient history seems broader than medieval and renaissance Europe. I'm interested in studying history of some sort this year in my BA so i'm unsure which to pick. The only problem is if i'm enrolled into Ancient cultures, there's most definitely a clash for me so i'll have to be watching the lecture online. Will that influence my learning? or should i be fine with watching recorded lectures?
Apart from that, any reviews on the units will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[Anotheryear]

AC and H are two different study areas.  Emphasis on STUDY areas.
While you may look at them as both broadly historical the way in which scholars write in each area is vastly different.  Some will overlap, mich won't.
There are a lot more documents for example in early modern or Renaissance than there are in Ancient Egypt.  This means we study these areas differently and a different style of scholarship is developed.

Do what you prefer... Ancient history or history of the last 11-800 years or so.

As for online, really it is individual, some people will do better attending, others won't.  If doing it online you need to make sure you do it each week and not put it off because of other studies (which will eventually keep pushing regardless of time given).
I've HD'd units without attending any lectures, however I know generally people who attend lectures get better marks than those who don't (says lecturers.... a biased source which I'm sure can also account for more keen students).

It's pointless to consider a first year clash as a big thing given that you may encounter a clash in 2nd year or 3rd year or even 2nd semester 1st year anway.

Choose the areas within each study area that you like the most... e.g.  American history, European History, Modern History (some of these overlap obviously), Asian history, Renaissance and Medieval histories, or ancient study areas, etc...

[m_chellen]

Awesome. Yeah i think i have more of an interest in Ancient Cultures so i'l enroll in that. I don't mind watching lectures at home and i'll be okay staying on top of things hopefully. Anyway thank you!

[WonderBunny]

Just to reassure you, I did Ancient Cultures last year without going to any of the lectures and I did well. As long as you keep up with them at home it should be fine.

Another consideration is that ancient history and classics have been combined, so first year Ancient Cultures now leads into both study areas. If you're interested in ancient Greece or Rome (or Egypt and the ancient middle east), Ancient Cultures will lead into 2nd and 3rd year subjects on all these topics.

[m_chellen]

Just to reassure you, I did Ancient Cultures last year without going to any of the lectures and I did well. As long as you keep up with them at home it should be fine.

Another consideration is that ancient history and classics have been combined, so first year Ancient Cultures now leads into both study areas. If you're interested in ancient Greece or Rome (or Egypt and the ancient middle east), Ancient Cultures will lead into 2nd and 3rd year subjects on all these topics.

Thank you  That's heaps reassuring! I'll definitely make an effort to keep consistent with the work and watching lectures but yeah, i feel much more confident about my choice of Unit now. thanks again

[Dallas45]

I'm majoring in both Archaeology (now Ancient Cultures) and history and both are well worth studying.

The lecturers in ancient cultures are really good and are really interesting/easy to listen to/understand on the recordings which makes it all the more easier. As someone else mentioned, it's pretty easy to follow. Colin Hope's lectures are sometimes best attending in person in case there are technical issues with the recordings as his presentation slides are mostly images rather than information, but for first year this isn't a big deal as the information can be found in the text book/weekly readings if there are issues with recordings.

I've previously posted reviews of both first year ancient cultures units (Ancient Civilisations I & II is the old name I reviewed them under in the subject reviews thread) if you're interested in a more detailed overview of the units I definitely recommend Anc. Cultures though