Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2024-2025

Module CLAS1551: INTERMEDIATE GREEK 1B

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS1551: INTERMEDIATE GREEK 1B

Type Open Level 1 Credits 20 Availability Available in 2024/2025 Module Cap Location Durham

Prerequisites

  • A-level Greek, or equivalent.

Corequisites

  • For students taking Classics (Q801), Classical Civilisation (Q820), and Ancient History (V110): Intermediate Greek 1A.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • To study in-depth a selection of texts suitable for students with a good command of Greek morphology and syntax but little experience of reading texts in the original.
  • To introduce students to the concept of genre in Greek literature.
  • To introduce students to a range of selected readings from Greek texts in different genres.

Content

  • This module introduces students to a selection of Greek texts appropriate to readers with a good command of grammar but with little experience of reading texts in the original language.
  • This module will introduce students to a selection of passages from texts in different genres, and the rhetorical and stylistic devices found in those texts.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • A secure knowledge of Greek morphology and syntax, to the level required for the independent reading and interpretation of continuous texts in the original language; a knowledge of a good range of vocabulary items.
  • An understanding of how genre shapes Greek texts and of generic play within text
Subject-specific Skills:
  • An ability to construe passages of continuous Greek with some use of dictionaries and other reference tools; an ability to read and interpret a range of authors at a level appropriate to students at the end of their first year of Intermediate reading.
Key Skills:
  • An ability to move with reasonable confidence between one language and another, in relation to a range of texts.

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

  • Interactive language classes will be offered as the most appropriate and effective way of teaching.
  • Language classes will prepare students for the broader literary questions appropriate to the summative essay. The classes will develop students' skills in using scholarly resources, including reference grammars, published commentaries, scholarly dictionaries and secondary literature.
  • Students will learn through regular preparation for the classes and through interaction with the teacher and each other.
  • The course will be assessed through (i) an exam paper, which will be designed to test the topics and questions addressed in the classes at a level appropriate to those in their first year of study and (ii) a summative essay.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
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
Essay 2,500 words 100%
Component: Examination Component Weighting: 70%
Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
Written examination 2 hours 100%

Formative Assessment:

Homework in the form of translation to be prepared in advance of every class. One formative assessment, as required; this might include a commentary, an essay or essay plan, translation and syntactical analysis exercises.


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