Unit name | Studying Written Texts |
---|---|
Unit code | CLAS12367 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
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 unit offers an introduction to studying literature from the ancient world. Students will be introduced to a range of poetic and prose genres, from archaic Greece through to first century BC Rome. They will engage with a range of literary theories to help them develop skills in thinking and writing about literary texts. We will consider, for example, how to analyse formal narrative structure, characterisation, poetic identity, intertextuality, historical and political context, and literary landscape. The course will also provide formal research skills training relevant to study at this level, and incudes a library training session with the subject librarian. As such, it helps with the transition from school to university, and gives students a broad knowledge regarding how to engage with, and construct scholarly arguments about, ancient literature.
Aims:
On successful completion of this unit students will have developed:
2 x 1-hour seminar per week.
Three written assessment tasks; a critical assessment of a short poem (approx. 500 words, 20 marks); a book review (approx. 1,500 words, 30 marks), a piece of literary criticism (approx. 2000 words) 50 marks, each assessing skills in ILOs (1) (2) (3) and (4).