Unit information: Epic in 2018/19

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

Description including Unit Aims

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:

• To introduce students to a range of specific authors and texts.
• To introduce students to the cultural contexts of ancient epic and its postclassical reception.
• To introduce students to the principal critical approaches to studying epic as a genre.
• To give students an opportunity to develop their skills in detailed analysis of literary texts.
• To give students an opportunity to develop their skills in oral communication.

Intended Learning Outcomes

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.

Teaching Information

1 x 2hr lecture and 1 x 2hr workshop

Assessment Information

1 x essay of 2,000 words (50%) [ILOs 1-4]

1 x 90 minute exam (50%) [ILOs 1-4]

Reading and References

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)