Module manager: Dr Maroula Perisanidi
Email: m.perisanidi@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This Special Subject explores Byzantine history (c. 1000-1200) through an animal perspective. Although often overlooked as historical actors, animals played a vital role in Byzantine life, working, hunting, and fighting alongside people, while also shaping their imagination and metaphors. This module examines sources from fables and zoological treatises to histories and saints' lives, revealing how animals helped construct human identity and reconstructing, as much as possible, the agency and sensory experiences of the animals themselves. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The aim of this module is for you to develop an understanding of the diversity of roles that animals played in Byzantine history. You will be expected to evaluate the historiography of Animal Studies, critically examine primary sources, and utilise effective written and verbal communication skills to convey complex historical and theoretical ideas in a clear and engaging way. The module is taught by weekly 2-hour seminars over both semesters, which will provide space for critical discussion and primary and secondary source analysis.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Engage with and evaluate key debates on animals in Byzantium.
2. Critically evaluate primary sources about Byzantine animals.
3. Analyse how the animal and the human were co-constituted in Byzantium, comparing pre-modern and modern ideas about animals and speciesism.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Apply theoretical concepts from Animal Studies to historical research, such as theories about animal agency and animal voices.
5. Combine sources from a variety of different genres to explore human/animal interactions.
6. Present research findings clearly and persuasively in a recorded format.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Practical | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Seminar | 20 | 2 | 40 |
| Private study hours | 355.6 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 44.4 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 400 | ||
Class discussions will serve as a means to gauge your participation and understanding. For the essay, you will develop a plan and review it with the tutor in an individual meeting towards the end of semester 1. Regarding the presentation, you will be offered an individual meeting to get feedback on a draft of your presentation outline.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 50 |
| Coursework | Presentation | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 02/06/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team