Module CLAS45230: Linear B: Mycenaean Greek and Homer’s World

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS45230: Linear B: Mycenaean Greek and Homer’s World

Prerequisites

• Normally, at least one (essential) or two years (preferable) of Greek at University level

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• The module aims at introducing students to the study of Linear B, the earliest written form of the Greek language, while also focusing on the socio-political structure of Mycenaean Greece to the extent that this can be reconstructed through the tablets and surviving material culture.

Content

• Classes will begin with the introduction of the script and a first contact with historical linguistics before moving on to the actual reading of tablets and their association with the Mycenaean society and its Homeric echoes.
• Classes will further include students’ presentations and general discussions of tablets from a linguistic and historical point of view, as well as their relevance for our understanding of oral tradition in general and Homer’s poetry in particular.
• Some of the questions that will be considered during the module may include:
• How relevant is the study of Linear B for our understanding of the historical Greek societies?
• Can the study of the script help us reach any scholarly relevant interpretations of the Homeric text?
• What, if any, is the correlation between Mycenaean material culture and the world we observe in Homer?
• Can one speak of a heroic Mycenaean society based on our knowledge from the tablets?

Learning Outcomes

• A good understanding of the Linear B script, for the most part in transliteration, and the Greek presented therein.
• A broad understanding of the Mycenaean material culture.
• A broad understanding of the scholarly debate surrounding Homeric poetry and its relation to the Greeks’ prehistoric past.

• Ability to read, comprehend and comment on Linear B tablets.
• Critical skills in the analysis of classical scholarship and its relation to its equivalent in the field of Bronze Age Archaeology
• Ability to make proper use at the appropriate level of reference and bibliography.

• Capacity to handle and analyse a wide range of different sources with sophistication.
• Assessment of different methodologies and approaches.
• Ability to produce independent research and to communicate its results with sophistication in both written and oral format.

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

• Teaching takes place by fortnightly seminars (two-hour long) organised around specific research questions and sources.
• Formative assessment consists of a short essay submitted at the end of Michaelmas term (2,000 words) and a presentation on a topic of each student's own choosing.
• Summative assessment consists of a max. 5,000-word essay on a topic of each student's own choosing, which should be different from the formative essay. Students will have to discuss their topic and titles with the module convenor and get approval.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

1 oral presentation 1 short essay (2000 words)

■ 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