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The heritage of money and coinage: a cross-cultural perspective

Studying money and coinage in an interdisciplinary approach, applying diachronic and cross-cultural perspectives

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CIVIS focus area
Society, culture, heritage
Open to
  • Master's
  • Phd
Field of studies
  • Art, Design and Media
  • Business and Management
  • Social Science and humanities
Type
  • Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP)
Course dates
19 April 2023 - 26 May 2023

Header image © The Moneylender and his Wife by Quinten Metsys, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The heritage and impact of pre-modern coinage and means of exchange is vast and is culturally deeply embedded in today’s global societies: in economy, social life, the arts, cultural heritage, and more. We wish to explore such aspects of pre-modern coinage with CIVIS students by explicitly embracing non-Western perspectives (with particular focus on Asia and Africa) and including expertise from the field of economics and historical science to the study of pre-modern money and coinage and its heritage from a cross-cultural angle.

Maint topics addressed

  • The concepts of money and related materials, including theory and method, with examples from the Classical world up to the virtual one
  • The legacies of money and coinage within social, economic and cultural spheres in global perspectives
  • Minting processes, metal procurement, and the economy of resources
  • Current and traditional research issues, heritage management, outreach and public discourse

Learning outcomes

  • Acquaintance with the pre-modern and global concepts of money and related materials, including theory and method
  • Knowledge of the legacies of money and coinage within social, economic and cultural spheres in global perspectives
  • Understanding of the economy of resources, minting processes, metal procurement etc
  • Knowledge of management (incl. hands-on exercises) as well as of outreach and public discourse
Dates: 19 April 2023 - 26 May 2023 Total workload: 150 hours
Format: Blended ECTS: 6*
Location: Tübingen, Germany Language: English (B2) 
Contact: stefan.krmnicek@uni-tuebingen.de  

*Recognition of ECTS depends on your home university.

Physical mobility 

22 - 26 May The spring school will be held in Tübingen, deemed a particularly suitable place for an academic gathering for being well connected to one of Germany’s main ICE rail hubs at Stuttgart as well as for its geographic position in Central Europe uniting all CIVIS partner universities.

During the 5-days-event, students will expand their theoretical knowledge into practical through hands-on study of various money material from Tübingen’s unique university coin collection at the Institute of Classical Archaeology (c. 20.000 objects) and the renowned collection of the Department of Oriental and Islamic Studies (c. 80.000 objects). The spring school’s course will also include lectures, seminar works, and study visits to the Neubulach Medieval silver mine in the Black Forest, the State Mints of Baden-Wuerttemberg and the Württemberg State Museum at Stuttgart. Public lectures will be organized in conjunction with the study programme, aiming to embrace the wider public and to foster a discourse beyond the borders of academia.

Virtual part

Students will gather in five consecutive Digital Campus video conferences (2hrs each: 19 April, 26 April, 3 May, 10 May, 17 May, 31 May) where theory, methodology and the main topics of the programme will be discussed. This format is also the part of the programme where leading external scholars working on and/or from Asia and Africa will present their public guest lectures. In these sessions, students will acquire a broad range of basic scholarly knowledge to subject matter from which the on-site pillar of the programme will set off.

Requirements

This course is open to Master's and PhD students at CIVIS member universities.

This multidisciplinary course invites students from all subject areas, notably within the arts, humanities and social sciences, but also the natural sciences, as considered relevant for the student. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, Archaeology, History, Classical Studies, Art History, Anthropology, Digital Humanities, Economics, Metallurgy, Education, Political Science, World Heritage studies, Oriental studies, etc. 

Application process

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 30 November 2022 with the following documents:

  • Your motivation letter
  • A short CV including contact details (max. 500 words/2 pages).
  • A motivation letter (max. 250 words/1 page) where you clarify:
  • Your interest in the topic “ The Heritage of Money and Coinage: A Cross-Cultural Perspective”
  • Your previous experience with the subject matter/s
  • How you envisage connecting your ongoing or planned masters- or doctoral work with the theme of the spring school
  • Why the course would help you to achieve your goals within your ongoing or planned masters- or doctoral project.

Applications will be evaluated according to their relevance out from the points above, and the applicant’s general academic qualifications.

Assessment

Students will be assessed out from an individually formulated project (course assignment) relating to their ongoing Master's, PhD or other student work. This will be evaluated in oral (75%) and written (25%) format. The student will present their Individual Project during the Spring School and briefly during a Digital Campus class. This will be evaluated by teachers on site and discussed with teachers and fellow students. A short written paper (c. 3 pages) shall be handed in after the last digital class. The oral and written presentations will be evaluated on the basis of

  • The student’s ability to apply knowledge from the course
  • The ability to relate their own work to the course theme and aims
  • The overall scientific and academic quality of the presentations.

Grading scale: Pass/Fail.

Blended Intensive Programme

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe. Click here to learn more about CIVIS BIPs.

GDPR Consent

The CIVIS alliance and its member universities will treat the information you provide with respect. Please refer to our privacy policy for more information on our privacy practices. By applying to this course you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

  • Stefan Krmnicek is Juniorprofessor of Ancient Numismatics with an interest in the archaeology of money in the Roman world of central Europe
  • Annalisa Polosa is Associate Professor and specialized the methodology of numismatics in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean
  • Nanouschka Myrberg Burström is Associate Professor and working on the social dimension of money in the northern Iron Age and Middle Ages
  • Alexander Jost is Senior Researcher and specialized in the monetary economy in pre-modern China. Single lectures and training sessions will be performed by several additional teachers and museum staff.

Documents