Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2015-2016 (archived)

Module CLAS3241: HIGHER LATIN 3B

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS3241: HIGHER LATIN 3B

Type Open Level 3 Credits 20 Availability Available in 2015/16 Module Cap Location Durham

Prerequisites

  • Advanced Latin 2A OR 2B.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • To study in depth a selection of prose texts suitable for experienced readers of Latin with a broad and in-depth understanding of Roman culture.
  • This is a third-year module.

Content

  • Introduces students to a selection of Latin texts appropriate to experienced readers and interpreters of Latin.
  • Authors may include Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus, Apuleius, Petronius.
  • The emphasis will be on prose.
  • All texts will be linked by a theme which will provide the focus for the module as a whole.
  • Examples of themes are: later Roman historiography, the Roman novel etc.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • A knowledge of different aspects of a selected Latin text (or texts) - other than that (those) studied in Higher Latin 3A - of some length and/or complexity: aspects which include the varieties of reading and interpretation of that text (or texts), ancient and modern; its origins and antecedents; its genre and cultural location; issues of transmission; textual problems; reception.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • An ability to investigate a given text in depth, using and further developing linguistic, interpretative and other skills acquired in the previous two years of study, especially but not exclusively in Intermediate and Advanced Latin modules.
Key Skills:
  • A critical understanding of what goes to make a 'text', as an artefact and as a potential source of meaning, and of both the cultural processes and the interpretative issues involved.

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

  • Interactive classes will be offered as the most appropriate and effective way of teaching.
  • Students will learn through regular preparation for the classes, and interaction with the teacher and each other in the process of learning.
  • The course will be assessed though an exam paper and summative essay, which will be designed to test the topics and questions addressed in the classes.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
Seminars (language classes) 44 2 per week 1 hour 44
Preparation and Reading 156
Total 200

Summative Assessment

Component: Essay Component Weighting: 30%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Summative essay 2,500 words 100%
Component: Examination Component Weighting: 70%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Written examination 2 hours 100% Examination

Formative Assessment:

Homework in the form of translations and/or commentaries to be prepared in advance of every class. Formative tests in class. 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