Module CLAS2A11: Lives of the Ancient Poets: Biographical Tradition and Classical Reception

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS2A11: Lives of the Ancient Poets: Biographical Tradition and Classical Reception

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students to a range of literary and visual sources about the Lives of ancient Greek and Roman poets from antiquity to modernity.
• To familiarise students with the theoretical concepts of literary authorship, biography/biofiction and classical reception, and to encourage them to apply these concepts to the traditions of the Lives of the ancient Greek and Roman poets and their reception.
• To enable students to develop their knowledge and analytical skills by exposing them to varied primary sources and relevant theoretical material, developing independent learning through in-depth case studies.

Content

• Recent trends in Classics have increasingly begun to view the lives of the Greek and Roman poets not as a form of factual 'history' but as literary interpretation: the lives of the ancient poets, in other words, can be seen not so much as factual biographies, but as creative interpretations of their works. This module follows that approach, but instead of focusing on ancient biographies alone, it will move the discussion forward to examine various instances of life-writing as reception of the poets' works and previous life stories, all the way from antiquity to the present day. Many of the sources used will be text-based, but we will also be looking at visual culture where relevant (e.g. tombs and portraits of poets). Among the key questions explored will be: What is an author? How is the life of an author constructed from their texts? How do different genres or media (e.g. drama, poetry, portraiture) impact on that construction?

Learning Outcomes

• An understanding of the biographical traditions of selected Greek and Roman poets.
• An understanding of key relevant theories of authorship, biography/biofiction and life-writing. 
• A understanding of biography as a mode of reception, within the wider framework of classical reception studies.

• Critical skills in the close reading and analysis of texts and other media, including the ability to synthesize, interpret and evaluate a wide range of primary and secondary sources across a range of periods. 
• The ability to apply relevant critical theories to textual and visual sources.
• The ability to conduct self-directed research using a variety of sources.

• An ability to construct an in-depth and lucid argument in written form. 
• The capacity for critical thinking and independence. 
• Research skills, including the sourcing, selection and analysis of a range of relevant and previously unfamiliar information in different media.

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

• Lectures will introduce key concepts and authors.
• Suggested bibliography for lectures and seminars will encourage students to shape and develop their own areas of interest within the module.
• Seminars will afford an opportunity for more in-depth investigation of key issues/authors through close discussion of primary and secondary sources. 
• Assessment will take the form of a project enabling students to develop their own areas of interest within the module.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

■ Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.