Module CLAS1581: GREEKS AND ROMANS: APPROACHES AND PERCEPTIONS

Department: CLASSICS AND ANCIENT HISTORY

CLAS1581: GREEKS AND ROMANS: APPROACHES AND PERCEPTIONS

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To introduce 1st-year students for the Department's degrees to the variety of perceptions of the ancient world, the materials which are available and the questions which can be asked.

Content

• The module focuses on four individuals (mythical and historical) from the ancient world, who figure in a variety of contexts: written and visual, ancient and modern, they will form case studies for the examination of a range of issues concerning evidence, adaptation, tradition and influence - for example, contemporary versus later testimony on a historical figure.
• problems of bias in ancient sources.
• the versatility of myths.
• the survival of ancient literature.
• modes of representation in the various media (including material from the classical tradition in the renaissance and later).

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of the careers of four characters from antiquity; of a range of our sources of information about the characters; and of later interpretations, including those of art and of modern scholarship, of the characters' careers.

• Ability to evaluate ancient sources in the light of the genre to which they belong or of the prejudices, declared or otherwise, of the author; to 'read' artistic representations; and to understand some of the principles behind the idea of 'reception'.

• Ability to evaluate evidence of various kinds and to take account of the source of the evidence; to think critically about other people's interpretation of evidence; and to construct a clear and logical argument in support of a given case.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures are appropriate for the primary imparting of information and for indicating appropriate ways of handling it.
• selected written and visual material will provide the basis of the discussion of issues.
• writing and other preparation for, and participation in, seminars will train the students in assimilating, evaluating and deploying the material and in discussing the issues.
• The examination at the end of the year will test the students' mastery of the material and ability to use it in discussion.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Each student to attend four seminars and to write work for two of the four. No collections.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University