Rome: Imperial Literature in Context, Level 3

Classics and Ancient History, Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity

College of Arts and Law

Details

Code 07283

Level of study Third/Final year

Credit value 20

Semester Scheduled 2013-14, 2

Pre-requisite modules None

Other pre-requisites none

Module description

This is the second half of the Roman core-course, containing material central to an understanding of Roman literature, and to the content of all department syllabuses. It deals with the literature of the Augustan and early imperial period, combining the study of individual authors with an emphasis upon common threads, literary, cultural and intellectual. Lectures will provide exploration of the historical background and of key themes, as well as guidance in the reading of the texts in English translations. In workshops students will have the opportunity to work on texts themselves, and be invited to explore central ideas in more detail, using group work to verify and refine their interpretations. Texts will include: Virgil, Aeneid; Ovid Metamorphoses; Fasti; Ars Amatoria; Livy, Annals; Propertius Elegies. There is a three hour examination in the summer term.

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures and workshops; practice essays and commentaries