Unit name | Classics and Comparative Literature |
---|---|
Unit code | CLAS30032 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Laura Jansen |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Classics & Ancient History |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
How is Homer or Ovid read in modern Caribbean or Italian literature? How do these readings compare with those from modern South American and Greek authors? And what new understandings of classical authors do we obtain from this comparative exercise? This unit is designed to appeal to those who wish to read Classics from a Comparative Literature perspective. With a focus on modern world literature’s dialogue with Greco-Roman antiquity, the unit explores a wide range of literary, philosophical, and socio-political texts from the classical canon, such as the Homeric epics, Plato’s dialogues, Lucretius’ On the Nature of the Universe, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Seneca’s plays and dialogues, and/or Pliny’s Natural History. The range of modern authors is also wide, though a special emphasis will be placed on twentieth- and twenty-first century writers from the Caribbean (Derek Walcott), Greece and Greco-America (Constantine P. Cavafy; Jeffrey Eugenides), Italy (Calvino; Roberto Calasso), and/or South America (Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar). The course thus aims to offer fresh and exciting insights into Greco-Roman literary culture, while introducing participants to writers of modernity rarely read for their engagement with the classical past.
On successful completion of this unit, students will:
3 hours per week (seminars)
One course work essay of c. 3,000 words 50%; one written examination (two hours) 50%. Both elements will assess ILOs 1-5.
S. Bassnett (1993), Comparative Literature: a Critical Introduction. Oxford.
Jorge Luis Borges (1998), Collected Fictions, translated by A. Hurley. London.
Jorge Luis Borges (1999), Selected Non-Fictions, edited by E. Weinberger. London and New York.
Italo Calvino (1999), Why Read the Classics? (esp. “The Odysseys within the Odyssey” and “Ovid and Universal Contiguity”), translated by M. McLaughlin. London.
Constantine Cavafy (1978), Poems, translated by J. Mavrogordato. London.
Derek Walcott (1993), The Odyssey: A Stage Version. London