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| Unit name |
Poetics of Civil War |
| Unit code |
CLASM1007 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
M/7
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. O'Gorman |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department |
Department of Classics & Ancient History |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Arts |
Description including Unit Aims
It is always thus: harsh fate drives Romans, and the crime of brother-slaughter; the blood of innocent Remus stains the ground - a curse on his descendents. (Horace) From the mythical fratricide which marks the foundation of Rome, to the power-struggles of the legions after Nero's death, civil war permeates the Roman imagination. This unit will look at poetry and prose accounts of mythical and historical conflicts. In particular, it will focus on the wars between Caesar and Pompey, and Octavian and Antony, which ushered in the rule of emperor Augustus. These texts present the great leaders of the civil wars clashing in epic battle, the losers of war attempting homecoming - or decent burial. They demonstrate how civil war unravels the fabric of society, destroying family relations, political identity, and the nature of virtue itself. Finally, they negotiate the question whether civil war can ever end, in actuality or in memory.
Aims:
- to familiarise students with and establish a sound knowledge of various ancient discourses of civil war.
- to develop a sophisticated understanding of the ethical and poetic issues related to narratives of civil war.
- to enable students to use the knowledge acquired in seminars and through independent research to construct coherent, relevant and critical arguments concerning the interpretative issues raised by the study of civil war.
- to develop skills in oral and written communication, and in independent research.
- to broaden and/or fill-in the range of ancient texts and topics with which MA students are familiar.
Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students should:
- be familiar with and have acquired a sound knowledge of various ancient discourses of civil war.
- have developed a sophisticated understanding of the ethical and poetic issues related to narratives of civil war.
- be able to construct coherent, relevant and critical arguments concerning the interpretative issues raised by the study of civil war.
- have had the opportunity to develop their skills in oral and written communication, in making seminar presentations, taking part in seminar discussions, and in assessed essays.
Teaching Information
Seminars.
Assessment Information
Summative assessment: 1 essay of 4,000 words (100%)
Formative assessment: written feedback on a presentation; comments on plans and draft bibliographies for summative essay.
Reading and References
- Lucan, Pharsalia, trans. S.H. Braund, Oxford Worlds Classics
- Plutarch, Roman Lives: A Selection of Eight Lives, trans. Robin Waterfield, Oxford Worlds Classics
- Velleius Paterculus, Compendium of Roman History, trans. F.W. Shipley, Loeb Classical Library
- Tim Duff (2000) Plutarch's Lives: Exploring Virtue and Vice, Oxford
- John Henderson (1998) Fighting for Rome: poets and Caesars, history and civil war, Cambridge.
