Degree route: Classics
Core modules
For the Classics Degree, you will take the following core modules:
Latin at appropriate level
Students entering with Latin A Level will take the module Latin Literary Texts
This allows you to develop your understanding of Latin by further reading of significant works by authors and in genres which, for the most part, you will not have previously studied. As well as developing your ability to read Latin more fluently and to translate from Latin, the module also teaches you advanced grammar, and offers an ambitious introduction to literary criticism and philological analysis at degree level.
Students without A-level Latin will take the accelerated modules Latin Language I and II
Greek at appropriate Level
Students with A-level Greek will take Greek Literary Texts
The purpose of this module is to build upon your prior study, to allow you both to broaden and deepen your understanding of Greek by further reading of significant works in major genres of archaic and Classical Greek literature, and to hone skills of critical interpretation. Additionally, the module will consolidate knowledge of grammar and syntax through work in class on classical Greek prose-writing.
Students without a qualification in Greek will take Greek Language I and II
These accelerated modules will teach you the fundamental elements of Ancient Greek in a clear and accessible way. By the end of the year you will be able you to read and translate passages of original Greek with accuracy and confidence, will have a firm knowledge of Greek vocabulary and syntax, and will be able to begin to appreciate pieces of Classical Greek prose in their original unadapted form.
You will study at least one language at Literary Texts level.
Optional Modules
A choice of four from the modules below:
Greek Culture and Society
This module introduces students of all backgrounds to the vast panorama of Greek culture, from Homeric times to the coming of Rome. It explores some of the most distinctive features of Greek culture and its social institutions, from the polis, festivals and religion, to mythology, sport and theatre, while encouraging students to consider the degrees of continuity and difference between ancient Greek culture and their own beliefs and practices.
Roman Culture and Society
This module explores what was distinctively ‘Roman’ about Roman culture and society, both in Rome itself and throughout its empire, from Britain to Bulgaria, and from the Nile to the Euphrates. The module introduces students of all backgrounds to topics from the late first century BC to the early third century AD, investigating the impact on Roman society of the emergence of sole rulers and dynastic powers, and the gradual opening up of society to provincials. It considers a range of evidence, from poetry to graffiti, monuments to religious artefacts, and is designed to provide a framework within which you can develop your own individual interests in the second and third years.
Ancient Thought: Philosophy, Politics, Science
This module introduces students to the breadth and variety of ancient thought – investigating the ways in which the ancient Greeks and Romans articulated their thinking and their beliefs, about themselves and the worlds around them. We survey the cultural and intellectual contours of the ancient Graeco-Roman world from the presocratics through to late antiquity, and investigate not just the origins and development of philosophical thinking, but also developments in scientific investigation.
Encounters with Greek Texts
This module, taught in translation, introduces students to many different kinds of ancient Greek texts across a wide variety of genres and forms, including epic, drama, lyric, historiography, rhetoric. The module will also allow students to explore critically the range of methodologies and approaches used in the interpretation of ancient texts both within and beyond original cultural and political contexts.
Encounters with Latin Texts
This module, taught in translation, introduces students to many different kinds of Latin texts written in a variety of genres and forms, including historiographical, epigraphic and rhetorical texts, and literary texts in poetry and prose, from the canonical to the marginal and ‘sub-literary’. As well as expanding awareness of the Latin texts classicists study across different sub-fields (for instance, philology, archaeology, ancient history), the module will explore critically the range of methodologies and approaches used in the interpretation of ancient texts in their cultural and political contexts, and allow students to test out these skills in their own responses to texts.
Encounters with Material Culture: Objects and Archaeology
This module provides you with the tools you need to approach and interpret the material culture of the ancient world, including buildings, art-works, inscriptions and everyday objects. We look at objects and buildings from their creation to their use and rediscovery, considering issues such as the materials used, production and consumption; style, form and iconography, and contexts of discovery and use. We explore the many questions we can ask of material culture, and the insights it provides into the history and society of the ancient Mediterranean.
