Information for Non-Classics Students
Some useful resources:
Staff Page – Contact details for the staff in the department.
List of First Year Modules and List of Honour Modules – Check the number of CATS for each module and details of the convenor.
Department Style Guide – How to cite your sources. What footnotes and bibliographies should look like.
Essay Cover Sheet – Fill in and attach this to every essay you submit to Tabula.
See the Study Skills Resources page for further information, or come along to a Study Skills session!
Key Terms and Definitions
Anachronism: the application of a concept, idea, practice, etc. from a later period to an earlier period that did not have such values/practices.
Antiquity: the historical period before the European Middle Ages. Classical antiquity is usually (but not always) defined between about 800 BCE to 500 CE.
Archaeology: the study of human activity through the recovery, examination, and analysis its material remains.
Archaic period: usually from about 800 BCE to the end of the Persian Wars in 479 BCE.
Classical period: usually from about 479 BCE to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE.
Classics: the interdisciplinary field of study of the ancient Mediterranean world, with particular focus on the languages, culture, history, and literature of Ancient Greece and Rome.
Epigraphy: the study of inscriptions on durable materials (e.g., wood, metal, stone). This can include carved inscriptions, graffiti, painted signs, and many other such examples.
Ethnography: the study of human customs and cultures from the perspective of the subject of the study (for example, Greek culture through Homer, or in Herodotus).
Genre: a category of literature, usually defined by its form, content, and style. These include history, epic, satire, love poetry, epigram, ode, oratory, and many others.
Gobbet: an extract from a text or an image set for commentary or translation. This style of exam is designed to test your ability to extract the relevant and pertinent information from a primary source, and to discuss its context and broader significance.
Hellenistic period: Between 323 BCE and 31 BCE when Octavian defeated Mark Antony at Actium or the eventual victory of the Romans over Egypt in 30 BCE.
Historiography: the study of the methodology and development of "history" as a field, particularly with reference to the critical analysis/treatment of sources; also the study of history-writing.
Iconography: the study and interpretation of symbols, motifs, and visual elements of art.
Libation: the ritual pouring of a liquid as an offering to a god or as a memorial to the dead.
Numismatics: the study of coins, currencies, medals, and tokens.
Palaeography: the study of pre-modern manuscripts, including the forms, processes, and relationships of writing and printing systems used.
Papyrology: the study of texts on papyri (plural for papyrus), usually from Egypt or other parts of the Mediterranean world.
Primary Source: evidence produced during antiquity, such as literature, inscriptions, coins, or any material evidence.
Reception: the study of how later societies interpreted, used, and adapted texts, ideas, or other materials from the ancient world.
Roman Empire: the period defined by the Roman system of government following 27 BCE and usually considered lasting until the 4th or 5th century CE (hotly debated!!).
Roman Republic: the period defined by the Roman system of government between the overthrow of the Roman kings in 509 BCE and the establishment of the Roman Empire by Augustus in 27 BCE.
Secondary Source/Reading: modern scholarly work discussing relevant to the matter at hand, such as a book or journal article.
Topography: the description or study of a particular geographical location.
Votive: offered or performed in fulfilment of a vow to a god or in gratitude or devotion.
For more detailed definitions and other terms, see Oxford Classical Dictionary or Brill's New Pauly.