Unit name | Epic |
---|---|
Unit code | CLAS12361 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. Liveley |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Classics & Ancient History |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit will examine a selection of epic poems from ancient Greece and Rome - all studied in translation - to trace the development of the genre from the oral tradition of Homer through the literary composition of later Greek and Latin poets. Authors and texts studied in this unit may include Homer, Hesiod, Apollonius of Rhodes, Virgil, Ovid, Lucan, and Statius. Themes studied in this unit may include genre, gender, myth, the gods, destiny, mortality, narrative technique, oral and literary culture, or paradigms of heroism. We will also reflect on the cultural and political contexts of these works, including differences between Greek and Roman epics.
Unit aims:
On successful completion of this unit, successful students will be able to demonstrate:
1. knowledge of a wide range of ancient epic texts, the cultural contexts of their production, and their reception;
2. an understanding of the principal critical approaches and issues involved in studying individual epic texts and epic as a genre;
3. skills in oral communication through class-based activities in small groups and general discussion, and in written communication at a standard appropriate to level C in an essay and a written exam;
4. an ability to use the knowledge acquired in lectures and through their own researches to construct coherent, relevant and persuasive arguments on different aspects of the subject.
1 x 2hr lecture and 1 x 2hr workshop
1 x essay of 2,000 words (50%) [ILOs 1-4]
1 x 90 minute exam (50%) [ILOs 1-4]
Foley, J.M. 2011. A Companion to Ancient Epic (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World) (Oxford: Blackwell)
King, K.C. 2012. Ancient Epic (Blackwell Introductions to the Classical World) (Oxford: Blackwell)