Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2008-2009 (archived)

Module CLAS2611: THE LITERARY AND POLITICAL CULTURE OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS2611: THE LITERARY AND POLITICAL CULTURE OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

Type Open Level 2 Credits 20 Availability Not available in 2008/09 Module Cap None. Location Durham

Prerequisites

  • CLAS1301

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • To provide a second year optional course for students from all degree programmes in the department that builds upon and extends the learning experience of various year 1 courses, in particular the core module.

Content

  • Issues in the literary and political culture of the Roman republic, ca. 300-31 BC.
  • The module focuses in particular on the particularities of Roman literary and political culture in comparison to Greece, with special attention being given to the forms of interaction between the wider populace and the elite, the initial absence, and eventual emergence of literary genres at Rome (tragedy, comedy, epic, historiography, satire, philosophy), and the social settings in which these literary activities took place.
  • Sources include the ancient historians who wrote on the period (Polybius, Sallust, Livy), literary authors (Plautus, Terence, Ennius, Cicero), but also material evidence, such as inscriptions and statues.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • An understanding of Roman republican political culture and the early history of Latin literature.
  • An appreciation for the complex interfaces of culture and politics.
  • An awareness of the differences between two cultures (Greece and Rome).
  • Familiarity with a range of sources.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • Ability to handle appropriate methodologies necessary to understand diverse range of evidence for the ancient world (chiefly literary, but including epigraphic and visual material).
  • Ability to synthesise different forms of evidence in reconstructing a coherent and plausible picture of the literary and political culture of a specific period of ancient history.
  • Ability to evaluate principal modern scholarly discussions relating to a specific period of ancient history.
  • Skills in the comparative analysis of culture.
Key Skills:
  • Analysis, evaluation and synthesis of a wide range of evidence.
  • Selection and application of appropriate methodologies for different kinds of evidence.
  • Clear, coherent and effective written argument.
  • Good use of written English.

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

  • Lectures are appropriate to the imparting of information and of methods of interpretation, of both ancient evidence and modern scholarship.
  • Classes on source material provide engagement with varieties of historical evidence.
  • Writing essays enables the assembling and evaluation of material and the formulation of logical and coherent argument, as well as skills in written English.
  • Tutorials contribute to the critical handling of evidence and facility of discussion.
  • Final examination tests ability to focus relevantly on historical issues and organise knowledge and argument appropriate to questions raised. enter text as appropriate for the module.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
Lectures 22 1 per week 1 hour 22
Tutorials 2 1 per term (Michaelmas/Epiphany) 1 hour 2
Text Classes 6 1 per 3 weeks 1 hour 6
Preparation and Reading 170
Total 200

Summative Assessment

Component: Examination Component Weighting: 70%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Written examination 2 hours 100%
Component: Essay Component Weighting: 30%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Summative essay 2000 words 100%

Formative Assessment:

One written assignment, maximum 2000 words; one exercise on text pasages, maximum 800 words. 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