Undergraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2025-2026
Module CLAS3441: Higher Greek 2
Department: Classics and Ancient History
CLAS3441: Higher Greek 2
Type | Open | Level | 3 | Credits | 20 | Availability | Available in 2025/2026 | Module Cap | Location | Durham |
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Prerequisites
- CLAS2171 (Advanced Greek 2A) OR CLAS2181 (Advanced Greek 2B).
Corequisites
- CLAS3431 (Higher Greek 1).
Excluded Combination of Modules
- None.
Aims
- To study in depth a selection of texts suitable for experienced readers of ancient Greek with a broad and in-depth understanding of Greek culture.
Content
- This module involves close study of a selection of one or more Greek texts.
- The selection of text(s) will vary from year to year, but will be appropriate to experienced readers and interpreters of Greek texts in the original language.
- The module will involve not just reading and translating, but also criticism and analysis, including (where appropriate) textual criticism.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge:
- A knowledge of different aspects of a selected ancient Greek text (or texts) 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 Greek 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.
- The ability to produce detailed and critical analysis of complex texts in very concise form.
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 the module.
- Students will learn through regular preparation for the classes and interacting with the teacher and each other in the process of learning.
- The module will be assessed through commentary exercises, which will allow students to demonstrate their linguistic and analytical skills These exercises might focus on (for example) critical comparison of translated passages, literary analysis, linguistic analysis, textual criticism; each of the summative exercises will normally have a different focus.
- The restricted length of the summative exercises allows students to demonstrate the key skill of precise and concise analysis of texts.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total/Hours | |
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Language Classes | 20 | 2 per week in Epiphany term | 1 hour | 20 | ■ |
Preparation and Reading | 180 | ||||
Total | 200 |
Summative Assessment
Component: Commentary 1 | Component Weighting: 50% | ||
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Element | Length / duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
Commentary | 1,000 words | 100% | |
Component: Commentary 2 | Component Weighting: 50% | ||
Element | Length / duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
Commentary | 1,000 words | 100% |
Formative Assessment:
■ 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