CORE MODULES Fifth-century Athens (20 credits) CL1CA Autumn Term Professor Amy Smith The course concentrates on Athens in the fifth century BC, providing an introduction to Greek history and culture for those continuing with Ancient History and Classical Studies, as well as for others. Although lectures provide an outline of the century's history, their structure is primarily thematic, addressing topics such as democracy, Athenian attitudes to outsiders and barbarians, drama, art, gender and sexuality, philosophy, and medicine. The topics are pursued further in seminars which focus on a selection of relevant ancient texts and images. The course represents current thinking and research on the various subjects covered, introducing even those students with prior experience of classical studies to new areas and methods. At the same time no specific knowledge is assumed as a prerequisite for this preliminary module. Ancient Song (20 credits) CL1SO Dr Gill Knight The course covers provides an introduction to ancient song, considering the major themes attendant on the study of lyric (oral performance/written text personal /public; social context; music and rhythm; sources) and looks at some of the principal authors in Greek and Latin: Alcman, Tyrtaeus, Sappho, Alcaeus, Stesichorus, Simonides, Bacchylides, Pindar, Catullus, Horace, and the Hadrianic poets. This material is covered in broad chronological order in lectures, with seminars to reinforce and develop this material with a selection of relevant ancient texts and related sources. The course represents current thinking and research on the various subjects covered, introducing even those students with prior experience of classical studies to new areas and methods. No specific knowledge is expected as a prerequisite for this module, but readiness to do significant preparatory reading is assumed.
Spring Term Rome in the Augustan Age (20 credits) CL1CB Professor Annalisa Marzano The course examines different aspects of the history and culture of Augustan Rome, from imperialism and propaganda to art and literature. Augustus's regime itself provides a focal point for the diverse material considered, so that all the topics are clearly located in their historical context, and the module is a required introductory course for those continuing with Ancient History as well as Classical Studies. Lectures provide an outline of the events of the period as well as their Roman Republican background. Their structure, however, is primarily thematic, addressing topics such as war and civil war, slavery, propaganda, Virgil's Aeneid, the Roman live poets, and Augustan art and architecture. The topics are pursued further in seminars which focus on a selection of relevant ancient texts and images. The course represents current thinking and research on the various subjects covered, introducing even those students with prior experience of classical studies to new areas and methods. At the same time no specific knowledge is assumed as a prerequisite for this preliminary module. Texts, Readers and Writers (20 credits) CL1TR Dr Emma Aston This module explores the history of text, reading, and writing in the Greek and Roman worlds, the development of literature and literary criticism, and its relationship of reading and writing to material culture. No knowledge of Latin or Ancient Greek is required. Topics studied may include the production and circulation of texts in the ancient world; orality and rhetoric; Linear B; the Greek alphabet; material texts including coins and inscriptions; literary genres in the ancient world; ancient scholarship; Greek and Roman cultures of reading and performance; the transmission, translation and reception of Greek and Roman texts.
CORE MODULES Ancient Epic (20 credits) CL2AE Autumn Term Ms Niki Karapanagioti Works to be studied may include the works of Homer and Virgil. Other possible topics are: the Near Eastern epic of Gilgamesh, the Epic Cycle and Homeric Hymns; the poetry of Hesiod, the Argonautica of Apollonius and Latin epyllion. The lectures will discuss some fundamental issues that affect the interpretation of ancient hexameter poetry, such as authorship, the nature and context of performance, intertextuality and cultural borrowing. Topics discussed may include, for example, heroic values, the role of the supernatural and the divine, the relationship between epic and the expression of Greek or Roman identity, the political dimension of Latin epic, and the reception of Classical epic in later cultures. Greek History: Archaic Age to Alexander (20 credits) CL2GH Professor Timothy Duff This module comprises a historical narrative, whose key elements may include the development of the city state, Archaic Athens, Archaic and Classical Sparta, the Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian War and the Athenian Empire, Athenian Democracy, the ascendancy of Thebes, the rise of Macedonia and the conquests of Alexander. Other possible topics of study are Greek politics and economics, cultural changes, inscriptions, and historiography. Themes and Issues in History (20 credits) CL2TIH Professor Barbara Goff This module aims to provide an understanding, through analysis of wide-ranging examples, of historiography and how historical debate has progressed, and historical methodologies. Students will be expected to attend a course of lectures, organised around the topics of historiography and methodology, and given by historians who are active researchers. Armed with this foundation, and supported by relevant bibliographies and a dedicated website with links to selected source material and secondary literature, they will complete a piece of coursework independently. They will be supported in selecting and analysing relevant material, which will include both key debates amongst historians and the evidence drawn upon in those debates.
OPTIONAL MODULES Egypt & Greece Hellenic Origins (10 credits) CL2EY1 Professor Ian Rutherford A module examining relationships between Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt. Aims: to gain an understanding of the evolution of Egyptian culture in the Late to Ptolemaic periods. to explore the Greeks ambivalent relationship with Egyptians and their culture; to study cases of interaction between Greek and Egyptian literature be it cultic texts or stories. Assessable learning outcomes: By the end of the module it is expected that the student will: be able to identify and describe the range of sources that may be employed to study cultural interaction between Egypt and Greece from the Late to Ptolemaic periods; be able to discuss the key stereotypes pertaining to Egyptians found in Greek literature; be able to evaluate the impact of Greek culture upon Egypt during the Ptolemaic period. Greek Comedy (10 credits) CL2GC Dr David Carter The module provides a detailed study of Greek comedy, and of important themes in scholarship. The module traces the origins of Attic old comedy and its development into new comedy in the fourth century BC. Detailed reference will be made to specific plays. By the end of the module it is expected that students will be able to: show detailed knowledge and appreciation of some of the surviving plays demonstrate a critical awareness of the development of the genre have some command of important trends in modern scholarship on the subject complement the evidence and arguments presented in the lectures with additional information assembled by their own research articulate their arguments effectively and illustrate them with relevant evidence My Mother s Sins and other Stories (10 credits) CL2MSI Dr Dimitra Tzanidaki Since its emergence in 1821 the Modern Greek State has had a dramatic history with rapid political, economic and social change but also an unprecedented output of creative literature of all kinds. This course introduces the work of some of the most important Greek writers since the late 19th century. Greek novelists and poets exploiting Greek language and culture in all their age-long richness as well as being often influenced by other European literary movements have, in these last two centuries, created a national literature which has, through translation, gained its
distinct place in a European and global context. The course begins with the collected stories of Vizyinos. A survey of Cavafy's collected poems follows as well as some selected poems from the 1930s generation (Seferis' Mythistorima, Ritsos' Moonlight Sonata, some poems from the large oeuvre of Elytis). CORE MODULES Ancient Drama (20 credits) CL2DR Spring Term Professor Barbara Goff Topics covered in this module may include the ritual and political context of ancient drama, the relationship between drama and the epic and lyric tradition, and the use of Greek models by writers of Latin tragedy. Ancient dramas to be discussed will be drawn from the works of such authors as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Seneca, Plautus and Terence. The interpretation of different plays is used to highlight different methodological approaches to the texts. Ancient Persuasion (20 credits) CL2PE Dr Gill Knight This module has at its heart works of rhetoric such as the epideictic speeches of Gorgias and the legal and political speeches of Demosthenes and Cicero; however, it also assesses the role of persuasion in ancient literature more widely, as well as examining what the ancients themselves thought and said about the power of language to move audiences and to affect decision-making processes. Roman History: From Republic to Empire (20 credits) CL2RO Professor Annalisa Marzano This module treats key historical phases of Roman history spanning from the late 1st c. BC to the late 2nd c. AD. Topics examined will include political, social, cultural and economic history, such as the social structure, the political relationship between emperor and senate, the aims of the building programmes promoted by emperors in the capital and across the empire, the role of the army in the Romanization process. Throughout, the emphasis will be on the historiography of the period and close reading of key primary sources, so that students are encouraged to acquire the skills central to the study of antiquity.
OPTIONAL MODULES Ancient World on Film (10 credits) CL2AF Dr Kim Shahabudin This module aims to introduce students to a selection of the ways the ancient world has been represented in cinema and to the techniques and contextual knowledge essential for the study of such films. Following an introduction to issues in the study of cineantiquity, we will consider how these work in practice in a selection of films representing three key narratives from antiquity: Cleopatra, Hercules and the Persian Wars. Seminars will facilitate more interactive discussion of theoretical frameworks, specific films, and their reception as re-presentations of the ancient world. Egypt & Greece: Roman Revelations (10 credits) CL2EY2 A module examining Roman Egypt. Aims: Professor Ian Rutherford to gain an understanding of the evolution of Egyptian culture during the Roman period and Late Antiquity; to explore the Greeks (and Romans ) ambivalent relationship with Egyptians and their culture; to study cases of interaction between Graeco-Roman and Egyptian literature be it cultic texts or stories; to follow the evolution of Egyptian culture beyond the Roman period and assess how modern views in the West are descended from ancient ones. Assessable learning outcomes: By the end of the module it is expected that students will: be able to identify and describe the range of sources that may be employed to study cultural interaction between Egypt and Greece between the Roman period and Late Antiquity; be able to discuss the key stereotypes pertaining to Egyptians found in Greek (and Latin) literature and observe how these stereotypes evolved from the Roman period onwards; be able to evaluate the impact of Greek culture upon Egypt during the Roman period onwards; display awareness of the influence of ancient stereotypes upon the modern era. Roman Love Poetry (10 credits) CL2LV Dr Gill Knight This module aims to introduce students to the dominant themes and concerns of Roman love poetry with a view to establishing its norms and tracing its development over the course of the first century BC. The module will study the love poetry of Catullus, Propertius, Tibullus and Ovid.
Sexuality and Gender in the Ancient World (10 credits) CL2SG Professor Barbara Goff This module examines ancient constructions of sexuality and gender and introduces students to modern controversies surrounding them. Lecture and discussion of key ancient texts such as Hesiod, lyric poetry, courtroom speeches, comedy, Latin love poetry, satire, the ancient novel, and visual sources such as statues, vases, and wall paintings. Summer Term Preparation for Dissertation in Classics (10 credits) CL3DP Ms Niki Karapanagioti Students will prepare for their dissertation by completing a series of workshops and an assessed proposal, which will include an annotated bibliography. Students will attend a series of workshops on research skills, and will submit a dissertation proposal of 500 words, and an annotated bibliography of 5-10 items, by the end of the summer term preceding Part 3.
Autumn Term Anatolia & The Aegean (20 credits) CL3AA Professor Ian Rutherford The sessions will cover the material culture by culture (Anatolia, Minoan, Mycenaean), culminating in the issues of the Trojan War, and the end of the Bronze Age. By the end of the module it is expected that the student will be able to: Understand the history and the political and religious structures of the culture Aegean and Anatolia in the Late Bronze Age Appraise critically the sources and interpretations of these cultures; Locate and assess the secondary literature relevant to these civilisations Assess the issue of the historicity of the later Greek traditions about the Late Bronze Age Alexander to Cleopatra: History & Culture of the Hellenistic World (20 credits) CL3HW Dr Rachel Mairs This module aims to allow students to gain an understanding of the history of the Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean, from Alexander s conquests, to the rise of Rome and to explore questions of cultural interaction and ethnic identity in the Hellenistic world. Independent Third Year Project (20 credits) CL3IP Ms Niki Karapanagioti An alternative to the traditional dissertation, which is geared to developing the skills of students with a learning disability. Digital Silchester (runs over two terms Autumn and Spring) (20 credits) CL3SIL Dr Matthew Nicholls This module aims to give students an understanding of the history and archaeology of the Roman town of Silchester. By the end of the module it is expected that the student will be able to understand the layout of Silchester, its development over time, the appearance and function of its principal buildings, and the means of creating digital reconstructions of at least some of these, marshalling the various sorts of available evidence and coming up with credible and useful digital content.
Technology in the Ancient World (20 credits) CL3TE Professor Annalisa Marzano This module will examine the nature of ancient technological knowledge and the practical applications which affected everyday life. Examples span from technology applied to food production to ensuring an effective water delivery system for Roman baths. The module will be organized thematically; discussion of the Hellenistic period and the studies carried out at the Museum of Alexandria will be important, although not all the discoveries (such as steam power) found practical applications in antiquity. One of the challenges of this topic is that it requires the combination of literary sources (which are not really systematic on this topic) with the study of archaeological finds and the results of the analysis of the archaeological sciences. Topics of study will include mining technology, pottery production, engineering, and modes of transmission of technical knowledge. Transformations of Helen (20 credits) CL3TH Professor Barbara Goff This module aims to familiarise students with different versions of Helen of Troy and to examine some of the literary and theoretical debates that this figure has generated. Participants on the module will read excerpts from a variety of texts which investigate the figure of Helen of Troy. Texts will include Homer, tragedy, philosophy, Vergil, Ovid, and modern plays and poems. Spring Term Ancient Biography (20 credits) CL3AB Professor Timothy Duff This module aims to introduce students to the genres of ancient biographical writing from its beginnings to its developed form as seen in Plutarch, and to teach students to evaluate biographical texts relating to Pericles, Alcibiades, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Greek Art & Drama (20 credits) CL3AD Professor Amy Smith This module comprises a survey of the stories (mostly myths) encountered in Greek drama and the variety of ways in which they have been presented through tragedy, comedy, and visual arts. The presentation of these stories as tragedies is but one stage in the long evolution of ancient myth. In the heydey of Athenian drama (the mid-fifth century B.C.) a number of authors competed with each other in presenting their own individual treatments of the same age-old myths at dramatic festivals. Many of these stories were also popular themes treated in the visual arts, particularly painted pots (in Archaic and Classical Athens and Corinth, as well as South Italy) and mosaics and paintings in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds. The material is surveyed thematically, and will focus on a core group of stories that illustrate a range of Greek ideas. Particular
attention will be given to questions concerning how and why visual and literary representations of the same stories differed. How did artists alter the stories in response to the medium in which they worked? To what degree did artists in different media respond to treatments in other media? And how did representations in each medium reflect attitudes and concerns of Classical society? Non-Athenian sources for Athenian dramatic presentations will also be considered, with a view to understanding how artists presented stories differently in a variety of media and for different audiences. Xenophon s Anabasis (20 credits) CL3ANX Emma Aston In his Anabasis, the Classical author Xenophon describes the tortuous journey of a group of Greek mercenaries, periodically unemployed and often at risk of extermination, from Asia Minor to Babylonia and back again via Armenia and the Black Sea. This module will examine the literary and historical significance of this work, and its contribution to our understanding of a neglected aspect of ancient life: that of travel beyond the traditional confines of the city-state. This module aims to give participants a really detailed knowledge of a single ancient text. The work will be studied both as a piece of literature and as evidence for a range of ancient events, customs and attitudes: it will therefore allow students to explore the interface between history and historiography. Carthage The Rise and Fall (20 credits) CL3CTH Dr Gillian MacDonald This module studies the history and archaeology of the city of Carthage from its Phoenician foundation in the 9th century BCE through to the end of Punic Carthage in 146 BCE. Current areas of research related to Punic Carthage including the rise of the Phoenicians in the Western Mediterranean, comparative colonization between Greeks and Phoenicians, Punic identity, the rise of a Carthaginian Empire, and the conflict and contact between Carthage and Rome will be studied. Dissertation (30 credits) CL3DN Ms Niki Karapanagioti This dissertation should allow for in-depth research, explication, and documentation of a topic. Its result should be a piece of original research or, possibly, an original artistic production. Students write one dissertation of no more than 10,000 words, give one oral presentation of no more than 10 minutes, followed by questions, and attend a 15- minute viva voce examination on a draft of their work. Workshops are provided, which address the development of the topic, finding research materials, and skills of oral and written presentation.
Additionally Archaeology & Topography of Ancient Greece (20 credits) CL3BSA Professor Timothy Duff This module is offered in conjunction with the British School at Athens. It is open only to those who have secured a place on the summer school by separate application to the appropriate British School (see web for details and deadlines). This module consists of an intensive introduction to Prehistoric, Classical, Roman, and Byzantine Greece, with specialist lectures, guided site visits (often by those responsible for site excavation) and opportunities to gain first-hand experience of objects and monuments not accessible to the individual traveller, and to undertake projects of own (approved) choice. British School at Rome. Undergraduates Summer School (20 credits) CL3BSR Dr Matthew Nicholls This module is offered in conjunction with the British School at Rome. It is open only to those who have secured a place on the summer school by separate application to the appropriate British School (see web for details and deadlines) This module consists of the BSR s undergraduate summer school, currently taught in Rome by Dr Robert Coates-Stevens. The residential course provides an intensive introduction to the topography, archaeology, architecture, and ancient history of Rome. It includes a programme of guided site visits (often by those responsible for site excavation) and opportunities to gain first-hand experience of objects and monuments not accessible to the individual traveller, and to undertake written projects of the student s own (approved) choice.
The Language Modules run over two terms - Autumn and Spring Ancient Greek 1 (20 credits) CL1G1 Ms Niki Karapanagioti This module is designed for those at any level (C I or H) who have not learned any Ancient Greek previously. It assumes no knowledge of the language. This module aims to teach students some elements of the Ancient Greek language and give them skills to read Ancient Greek at an elementary level. The course will proceed by instruction in grammar and practice in translation. The text used may be Reading Greek or Athenaze. We aim to cover 1-8 of Reading Greek or 1-12 of Athenaze. Latin 1 (20 credits) CL1L1 Ms Jackie Baines This module is designed for those students, at any level (C, I or H) who not studied Latin previously. It assumes no knowledge of Latin This module aims to teach students some elements of the Latin language and give them skills to read Latin at an elementary level. The course will proceed by instruction in grammar and practice in translation The text used is Reading Latin (P. Jones and K. Sidwell, CUP). We aim to cover 1A-3D. Ancient Greek 2 (20 credits) CL2G2 Dr Luke Houghton This module is designed for those students, at any level (C, I or H) who enter with GCSE Ancient Greek or equivalent, or who have completed Ancient Greek 1 or equivalent The module aims to introduce students to reading Ancient Greek authors in the original, and to develop further knowledge of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied. The module is conducted in seminars encouraging participation by students in translation and discussion. The first term will be devoted to completing study of grammar and syntax, and in the second term texts read may include a simple Attic or koine prose text eg Xenophon, Chariton, Apollodorus or selections from the JACT Greek Anthology. At least one hour per week will be devoted to review of grammar and syntax.
Ancient Greek 3 (20 credits) CL2G3 Professor Ian Rutherford This module is designed for those students at any level (C I or H) who enter with A level Ancient Greek or equivalent, or who have completed Ancient Greek 2 or equivalent. The module aims to enable students to read Ancient Greek authors with some fluency, and to develop a sound competence in grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied. Latin 2 (20 credits) CL2L2 Ms Jackie Baines This module is designed for those students, at any level (C, I or H) who enter with GCSE Latin or equivalent, or who have completed Latin 1 or equivalent. The module aims to introduce students to reading Latin authors in the original, and to develop further knowledge of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied. The module is conducted in seminars encouraging participation by students in translation and discussion. The first term will be devoted to completing study of grammar and syntax, and in the second term texts read may include selections from Pliny's letters, Caesar or Catullus. At least one hour per week will be devoted to review of grammar and syntax. Latin 3 (20 credits) CL2L3 Dr Katherine Harloe This module is designed for those students at any level (C, I or H) who enter with A level Latin or equivalent, or have completed Latin 2 or equivalent. The module aims to enable students to read Latin authors with some fluency, and to develop a sound competence in grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied. Latin 4 (20 credits) CL3L4 Dr Gill Knight This module is designed for those students at any level (C, I or H) who have completed Latin 3 or equivalent. The module aims to enable students to improve their skills in a range of Latin authors with greater fluency, and to develop advanced knowledge of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied. Students will also practise unseen translation. Texts read may include Petronius, Terence, Horace and Martial. Latin 5 (20 credits) CL3L5 Dr Gill Knight This module is designed for those students at any level (C, I or H) who have completed Latin 4 or equivalent. The module aims to enable students to improve their skills in reading a range of Latin authors with fluency, and to develop appreciation of literary style. In addition, students will gain practice in the analysis of the literary texts studied. Students will also practise unseen translation. Texts read may include Tacitus, Juvenal and Apuleius.