Unit name | The Legacy of Classical Literature |
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Unit code | CLAS22364 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Lampe |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Classics & Ancient History |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This aim of this unit is to consider the continuing life of classical texts: the ways in which they have been read and interpreted in later centuries, set up as models and drawn upon by later writers as authorities, inspirations, influences and enemies. We shall be tracing the changing values placed on 'classics' and the classical, the changing popularity of different ancient authors, and the changing dynamics of their reception - including the moments when classics come to be seen as an impediment to creativity or as a problem. We shall also be exploring different theories and approaches to the study of classical texts and their afterlife, including reception theory, postcolonialism and feminism. Post-classical authors covered may include Geoffrey Chaucer, Dante, John Milton, William Shakespeare, Jean Racine, Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Jean Cocteau, Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Derek Walcott, Wole Soyinka and Alice Oswald.
On successful completion of this unit, students should:
1 x 1 hour lecture and 1 x 1 hour seminar per week
1 x essay of c. 2,500 words (50%) and 1 x 90 minute exam (50%). Both elements will assess ILOs (1) (2) (3) and (4). The coursework essay in particular will offer students the opportunity to demonstrate ILO (3).