Module CLAS44530: Epigraphy in the Ancient World

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS44530: Epigraphy in the Ancient World

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• Only available to students taking CLAS40330 or CLAS40430, or students with some existing knowledge of either Latin or Ancient Greek.

Excluded Combination of Modules

Aims

• To introduce students to the study of ancient epigraphy, usually with a focus on the epigraphy of the Greek and/or Roman worlds.
• To explore the origins and history of the ancient 'epigraphic habit' and the reasons for its varied development in different places and periods.
• To study a wide range of epigraphic texts, and to analyse both their function in their original context(s) and their utility for modern historians of the ancient world.
• To enable students to develop the specific skills required to study and (for students with sufficient knowledge of relevant languages) edit inscriptions.
• To build students' confidence in using epigraphic material in their research.

Content

• The ca. 300,000 extant inscriptions from the ancient Greco-Roman world constitute a rich and exciting source of evidence for the ancient historian, as well as raising important research questions in their own right. In this module, we will explore these questions by studying a wide selection of ancient inscriptions.
• In doing so, we will be interested in, on the one hand, developing our understanding of the ancient 'epigraphic habit', and, on the other, exploring the ways in which this epigraphic evidence can illuminate various aspects of political, religious or cultural activity in the Greek and/or Roman worlds.
• This module will not only equip students with the skills needed to ask questions with and of inscribed evidence, but will also introduce them to the practical techniques of the epigrapher.

Learning Outcomes

• Detailed knowledge of a selection of ancient epigraphic texts (usually with a focus on Greek and/or Roman texts).
• Knowledge of a range of current scholarship on those texts.
• An understanding of the scholarly debates surrounding the nature and function of inscribed writing in the ancient world.
• Awareness of the way(s) in which inscribed material can contribute to debates on specific questions/problems in ancient history.

• Familiarity with the editorial and publishing conventions used in epigraphic scholarship.
• Familiarity with the main corpora (and related publications) of epigraphic texts.
• An ability to evaluate epigraphic publications (including digital publications) critically.

• The ability to assess and compare a range of different arguments and methodologies.
• The ability to collaborate with your peers in seminar presentations and discussions.
• The capacity to produce tight, well-evidenced, clearly expressed, and original arguments in both oral and in written form.
• A capacity to produce independent and convincing interpretations of inscribed texts.

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

• Teaching will be by fortnightly seminars: these might be organised around epigraphic or historical themes, around types of inscription, or place(s) of publication.
• The seminars are fortnightly and two hours long to allow and encourage significant preparation and detailed discussion.
• Where resource and timetabling considerations allow, the module will also include an opportunity for an optional half-day's field trip during Michaelmas term. This activity will not be centrally timetabled and will not contribute to the learning hours associated with this module.
• Formative assessments will allow students to develop both key methodological skills and wider analytical skills.
• Summative assessment will be (i) a 3,000-word essay on a topic developed by the student, in consultation with the module convenor(s); (ii) a (non-oral) presentation of an inscription or small group of inscriptions (for example: a poster, a sharepoint site, a blog post). The choice of text(s) will be informed by the student's level of language, as well as their research interests.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

At least one formative exercise.

■ 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