Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2024-2025

Module CLAS3411: ADVANCED GREEK 3B

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS3411: ADVANCED GREEK 3B

Type Open Level 3 Credits 20 Availability Available in 2024/2025 Module Cap Location Durham

Prerequisites

  • For students taking Classics (Q801), Classical Civilisation (Q820) and Ancient History (V110) Intermediate Greek 2A.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • The principle of progression means that if you have studied Advanced Greek 2A in a previous academic year, you cannot then study Advanced Greek 2B/3B, but must progress to one or both of the Higher Greek modules.

Aims

  • To study in depth a selection of prose texts suitable for students with a good command of ancient Greek morphology and syntax, some experience of reading texts in the original and a broad and in-depth knowledge of Greek culture.

Content

  • This module introduces students to a selection of ancient Greek texts appropriate to readers with a good command of grammar and some experience of reading texts in the original language.
  • Authors may include Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Lucian, Lysias.
  • All texts will be linked by a theme which will provide the focus for the module as a whole.
  • The emphasis will be on prose.
  • Example of themes are: ancient literacy criticism, rhetoric and seduction, the figure of Socrates, etc.
  • Students will be expected to comment on texts at a level of sophistication appropriate to final-year students.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • A knowledge of ancient Greek morphology and syntax sufficient to form the basis of an independent appreciation and understanding of a selection of Greek prose authors; a knowledge and understanding of a selection of works from a selection of Greek prose authors; a knowledge of vocabulary appropriate to a student with a year's post-Intermediate study and experience of the Greek language.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • An ability to construe some Greek prose texts with dictionaries; an ability to read and interpret these texts in relation to a knowledge of Greek culture as acquired in a student's previous two years of study in Higher Education.
Key Skills:
  • A critical understanding of the differences between two Indo-European languages, one ancient and one modern, and of the issues relating to moving between them.

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 through an exam paper and a summative essay, each of which will be designed to test knowledge and interpretation of the set texts at the highest undergraduate level.

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%

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