Crime and the Courts in the Ancient World (ANCH3590)

Course overview

This course takes an in-depth look at the workings of the law courts and some of the most important trials that took place in ancient Greece and Rome. The course spans archaic Greece to the high Roman empire, with particular attention to Classical Athens and the late Roman republic. Each lecture examines a different area of ancient law and its historical development, followed by close study of a particular trial speech in the linked tutorial. These texts include allegations of murder, treason, and magic, and high-powered oratory by two of the ancient world’s most famous speakers: Demosthenes and Cicero. In the process, the course will explore issues and themes that have helped to shape modern legal systems, including the use of trial by jury, the idea of equality before the law, and the relationship between law and politics.

Course requirements

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

ANCH1240, ANCH1250

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

ANCH3560 (if completed in 2024 only)

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Aims and outcomes

This course aims to introduce students to:

• Greek and Roman law and procedure in the courts, including trials for murder, violence, and treason;
• The nature of forensic oratory (speeches delivered in court) and some of its leading practitioners, such as Demosthenes and Cicero;
• Some important trials and the events and people involved;
• The historical and political significance of the courts in ancient Greece and Rome;
• The impact of ancient legal systems on contemporary law and society.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Video Podcast

• Hurdle

Mode

Product/ Artefact/ Multimedia, Written

Category

Essay/ Critique, Presentation

Weight

40%

Due date

The podcast must be submitted by 2pm Friday in the week after the tutorial at which that topic was discussed. For example, if you choose the topic for Week 3, you must submit your podcast by 2pm (14:00) on Friday in Week 4. The exact due date for each topic can be found in the Tutorial Programme. Please take account of the due date when choosing a podcast topic and plan your time accordingly.

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L06, L07

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Tutorial participation

• Hurdle
• In-person

Mode

Activity/ Performance

Category

Participation/ Student contribution

Weight

20%

Due date

2/03/2026 - 18/05/2026

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L07

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Exam

• Hurdle
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

40%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

6/06/2026 - 20/06/2026

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L07

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Video Podcast Assessment Criteria

Your podcast or video documentary will be assessed according to the following criteria:

1. Communication of a well-reasoned argument;

2. Demonstration of a depth and breadth of knowledge and understanding of the central issues;

3. Clarity of structure;

4. Engagement with academic sources and evidence;

5. Demonstration of insight and creativity in constructing a point of view or argument;

6. Capacity to produce a coherent and clearly-spoken podcast or documentary.

7. Appropriate referencing, as per discipline conventions, in an accompanying script.

To achieve a grade of 7 (High Distinction, 85-100%), your podcast or video documentary should communicate an exceptionally well-reasoned argument, demonstrate a deep understanding of the central issues, be clearly structured, deeply engage with the academic sources and evidence, display great insight and creativity, be extremely coherent and clearly-spoken, and be flawlessly referenced according to discipline conventions.

To achieve a grade of 6 (Distinction, 75-84%) your podcast or video documentary should communicate a very well-reasoned argument, demonstrate a strong understanding of the central issues, be very well structured, engage with the academic sources and evidence, display good insight and creativity, be highly coherent and clearly-spoken, and be very well referenced according to discipline conventions.

To achieve a grade of 5 (Credit, 65 – 74%), your podcast or video documentary should communicate a well-reasoned argument, demonstrate an adequate understanding of the central issues, be sufficiently well structured, engage with the academic sources and evidence, display some insight and creativity, be coherent and clearly-spoken, and be well referenced according to discipline conventions.

To achieve a grade of 4 (Pass, 50 – 64%), your podcast or video documentary should communicate an identifiable argument, demonstrate some understanding of the central issues, have a basic structure, demonstrate a basic level of engagement with the academic sources and evidence, display some insight and creativity, show basic coherency and be clearly-spoken, and be adequately referenced according to discipline conventions.

To achieve a grade of 3 (Marginal Fail, 45 – 49%), your podcast or video documentary will have communicated a poorly-reasoned argument, have a weak understanding of the central issues, lack structure, demonstrated limited engagement with the academic sources and evidence, shown poor insight and creativity, lacked coherency and clear articulation, and failed to follow the basic discipline conventions on referencing.

To achieve a grade of 2 (Fail, 25-44%), your podcast or video documentary will have communicated a very weak argument, demonstrated little understanding of the central issues, shown a severe lack of structure, shown little engagement with the academic sources and evidence, displayed little insight or creativity, is incoherent and poorly spoken, and will have major flaws in the referencing based on discipline conventions.

To achieve a grade of 1 (Low Fail, 0-24%), your podcast or video documentary will have failed to communicate an argument, demonstrated no understanding of the central issues, lacked any structure, shown no engagement with the academic sources and evidence, displayed no insight or creativity, is incoherent and very poorly spoken, and the referencing will have failed to follow the basic disciplinary conventions.

Failing Criteria and Academic Misconduct

Fabrication or misrepresentation of sources will result in an automatic maximum grade of 2 for this assessment, regardless of performance in other criteria. This includes but is not limited to: citing non-existent sources or attributing false quotes to real sources. Such issues demonstrate failure to meet the core learning outcomes for the course and may also be referred for academic misconduct.

Tutorial Participation Assessment Criteria

Your tutorial participation will be assessed according to the following criteria: 

1.    Evidence of participation in discussions.

2.    Evidence of preparation for the tutorial, most notably through completing the set readings.

3.    Quality of contributions to discussions.

4.    Fostering of group discussions, through courteous and respectful interactions with staff and students.

5.    Attendance is necessary to fulfill the above criteria, as per the course requirements, but marks cannot be awarded for attendance alone.

To achieve a grade of 7 (High Distinction, 85-100%), your attendance will be flawless and your participation exceptional. This grade reflects exceptional levels of preparation, mastery of course materials, and very high quality contributions to, and fostering of, group discussions. You should be able to engage with your peers very effectively. 

To achieve a grade of 6 (Distinction, 75-84) your attendance will be excellent and your participation very substantial. This grade reflects excellent levels of preparation, knowledge of course materials, and high quality contributions to, and fostering of, group discussions. You should be able to engage with your peers effectively.

To achieve a grade of 5 (Credit, 65 – 74%), your attendance and participation will be good. This grade reflects proficient levels of preparation, good knowledge of course materials, and good quality contributions to, and fostering of, group discussions.

To achieve a grade of 4 (Pass, 50 – 64%) your attendance and participation will be satisfactory. This grade reflects adequate levels of preparation and knowledge of course materials, and an acceptable quality of contributions to, and fostering of, group discussions. 

To achieve a grade of 3 (Marginal Fail, 45 – 49%) your attendance and participation will be unsatisfactory. This grade reflects irregular attendance and/or participation and superficial knowledge of course materials and basic levels of preparation. However, when in attendance, there is evidence of your ability to demonstrate developing achievement in contributions to, and fostering of, group discussions. 

To achieve a grade of 2 (Fail, 25-44%), your attendance and participation will be very unsatisfactory. This grade reflects irregular attendance and/or participation, minimal knowledge of course materials, little evidence of preparation, and mixed to low quality of contributions to, and fostering of, group discussions.

To achieve a grade of 1 (Low Fail, 0-24%), your attendance and participation will be unsatisfactory. This grade reflects irregular attendance and/or participation, an no evidence of preparation, and little or no evidence of quality of contributions to, and fostering of, group discussions.

Examination Assessment Criteria

Your exam responses will be assessed according to the following criteria:

Multiple–Choice/One-Word Answer Questions

Students will be assessed on:

1.             Ability to recall terminology and factual knowledge.

2.             Ability to recognise the correct contexts for the application of factual knowledge.

Short Answer Questions

Students will be assessed on:

1.             Ability to produce a succinct response to a directed question.

2.             Knowledge of key themes or ideas.

3.             Ability to employ relevant terminology, as required.

4.             Clear and concise written expression, well presented.

Gobbets/Textual/Object Analyses

Students will be assessed on:

1.             Ability to identify author and/or creator of the item.

2.             Ability to explain the context of the item.

3.             Ability to identify the key components, themes or features that allow critical appreciation.

4.             Ability to explain the significance of the item.

5.             Clear and concise written expression, well presented.

Essay Questions

Students will be assessed on:

1.             Ability to recognize key issues in the question.

2.             Ability to structure an argument.

3.             Use of evidence.

4.             Engagement with academic scholarship and/or debates.

5.             Clear and concise written expression, well presented.

Unlike formative assessments undertaken during your course (such as book reviews and essays), exam answers are typically marked on right or wrong basis for multiple choice, single word and short answer questions. Individual exam essays and other exam questions are not awarded grades, but are assessed numerically (such as a mark out of five, or a mark out of ten). The overall grade achieved for an exam is arrived at by totalling the marks for the constituent elements of the exam.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

• Failure to submit all major assessment items (those worth 15% and above) will result in a maximum grade of 2 (Fail).
• By submitting work through Turnitin you are deemed to have accepted the following declaration:‘I certify that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted, either previously or concurrently, in whole or in part, to this University or any other educational institution, for marking or assessment’.
• All students must ensure that they receive their Turnitin receipt on every submission of assessment items. YOU MUST CHECK THAT THE RECEIPT CONFIRMS THAT SUBMISSION HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
• A valid Turnitin receipt will be the only evidence accepted if assessments are missing.ﾠWithout evidence, the assessment will receive the standard late penalty, or after 7 calendar days, will receive zero. In the case of a Blackboard outage, please contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible so that they can confirm the outage with ITS.
• It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they are submitting assessment items on a device that is capable of the task, and that appropriate internet bandwidth and speed is available. If you cannot be sure that your device or internet will enable you to complete or submit an assessment task, you must come onto campus and use one of the University Computers in the Library or Computer Labs.
• Plagiarism, and asking or paying someone else to do your work is cheating and constitutes academic misconduct. See ECP Section 6.1
• Feedback against the assessment criteria in the form of comments on your script will be provided through Turnitin or on your script directly.
• For information on assessment remarks see: https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/querying-result

In the event of disruption during the end of semester exam period that prevents the scheduled assessment occurring as planned, the assessment will be changed to an alternative form of assessment. The timing of the assessment may also be impacted.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure
• AI for Assessment Guide

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.