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MASTER OF ARTS in Classical Civilisation/CLASSICS

    

This programme aims to develop and professionalise skills and knowledge base of students who have already gained a good knowledge of Antiquity and wish to orient themselves towards research and independent enquiry. The course is focussed on the theme of crossing boundaries – between the Mediterranean world and the world beyond, between pagan antiquity and Christendom, and between ancient and modern cultural horizons.  We welcome applications from well-qualified candidates with backgrounds in all relevant disciplines. If you would like to make an informal enquiry, email the Course Director, amanda.kellynuigalway.ie 

Official structure and credit weightings

Module                                                                                                   ECTS

Ancient languages                                          Winter/Summer                      20

Classics 1: Transformations and Renewals       Winter                                   20

Classics 2: Skills for research                         Summer                                 20

Dissertation                                                   August                                  30

Greek and Latin

Greek and Latin are offered to all MA students. You are expected to attend courses in both languages, but formal assessment arrangements vary according to the needs and prior attainments of each student. Those taking Beginners’ Latin will typically be assessed for formal credits only on the Latin modules, and need not sit the Greek exam. Those who have already studied Latin or Greek for a year or more will take a suite of modules agreed with the Course Director at the beginning of the year, and will be formally assessed to a level that meets the requirement in terms of ECTS credits.

Dissertation

Before the beginning of the second semester you will choose a dissertation topic and begin discussion with your supervisor. Topics assigned for the methodology seminars (see above) will reflect your dissertation interests, giving you the opportunity to present and explore your chosen topic with others from the start. Formal supervision will then lead to the presentation of  two draft chapters in essay format by the end of the semester, with the dissertation itself completed during the earlier months of the summer.

Semester I: CC511 cLASSICAL STUDIES 1 - TRANSFORMATIONS AND RENEWALs

Each lecturer conducts a two- or three-week block with a two-hour seminar in each week. The purpose of these start-off seminars is to introduce you to all the members of the Classics team, to alert you to the broad range of research fields among us, and to enable you to orient your work in relation to our expertise. The topics chosen for the seminars correspond with the research interests and specialties of that lecturer. Each lecturer’s seminars will be assessed through a written exercise as well as through presentation work.

Seminar schedule

Weeks 1-3 Amanda Kelly: “Trade and exchange – analysing a material world”

Weeks 4-5 Jacopo Bisagni: “Bilingualism, diglossia and code-switching in ancient and medieval languages”

Weeks 6-7 Eoin O Donoghue: “Theoretical Approaches to Studying Gender Identities in Antiquity”

Weeks 8-9 Michael Clarke: “Epic poetry as a cross-cultural construct”

By the middle of the first semester you will be thinking about a research topic and liaising with a supervisor for your dissertation. By mid-late semester you will have registered for their dissertation topic with the most relevant supervisor, and will have begun preparatory work on the bibliography review and first chapter. All students present their work in progress at the end of the semester to a public audience – this is scheduled for 28^th November 2011.

LANGUAGE MODULES ON OFFER IN SEMESTER ONE

Beginners’ Latin

CC230 Beginning Latin Part I  This course introduces students to Latin, one of the most important languages in the history of western civilisation. You will gradually become acquainted with the pronunciation and the grammar of the language of Rome, with the aim of acquiring enough knowledge to be able to access Latin texts in their original form. Of course no previous knowledge of Latin is expected.

CCS202 Latin and Historical Linguistics Part I This module complements ’Beginning Latin’. The Friday class is spent consolidating the grammar formally taught in that module, while the other class presents Latin in its historical context. Primary sources such as inscriptions and manuscripts will be used to investigate the ancient origins of Classical Latin, as well as its later transformation into Romance.

Intermediate Latin (typically 1 year’s prior study)

CCS304 Explorations in the Latin Language This is a course of language study centred on grammar consolidation and guided reading of select passages from late antique and medieval texts, designed to enable a student with (approx.) one year’s prior study of Latin to progress towards confident independent reading and understanding of the language. We will begin at the point where the beginners’ course ended last year and continue to consolidate grammar, syntax and the broader study of the language including philology and manuscript transmission. The course will closely complement and dovetail with the more literary study followed in CCS309.

CCS309 Reading Texts in Latin In this course, students who are moving towards full command of Latin will begin to tackle unadapted texts from selected authors. In tandem with the language-driven survey in CCS304, we will begin the slow and concentrated reading of selected passages of linguistic and cultural interest. Clarke and Bisagni will follow complementary streams of reading, Clarke in the Classical period and Bisagni in Late Antiquity. Clarke’s first target texts will be from Livy’s semi-mythical account of Roman origins, and Bisagni’s will be from the poetry and prose of the Vulgate Bible.

GREEK

CC205 Beginning Ancient Greek Ancient Greek language for complete beginners. We will begin with the Greek alphabet and proceed with excerpts based on Aristophanes, Demosthenes, Plato, Herodotus and Homer. The course consists of three hours each week. Of the three classes, two will be dedicated to grammar and reading while the third class will allow students to consolidate these skills in a more relaxed setting.

CCS308 Reading Ancient Greek Texts This course is for students who have studied Greek for approximately one academic year. Our task will be to build towards full fluency by reading selected texts from classic authors. The level and the focus will be determined by the needs and interests of the group, but we will focus on the sixth book of Homer’s Iliad and a selection of manageable Attic prose.

Semester 2: CC512 cLASSICAL STUDIES 2 - towards the dissertation

These seminars are designed to facilitate your dissertation. They will serve to sharpen your research focus and help you order your findings as you proceed. The seminars will also develop your ability to discuss academic issues over a range of broad topics while also drawing you closer to a network of fellow researchers.

Weeks 1-6: Methodologies for Research

Week 1 Amanda Kelly: Materiality and text; reading an artefact

Week 2 Michael Clarke: Reconstructing mythological systems (to be held in his office)

Week 3 Jacopo Bisagni: Reconstructing the past through linguistics

Week 4 Eoin O Donoghue: Forever Young? Age and Gender in Archaic Tarquinia

Week 5 Edward Herring: Apulian Vase-Painting by numbers: the production of vases depicting indigenous men

Weeks 7-10: Focusing on problems in research

We will now move to a series of student-driven practical seminars. These will be chaired by Dr. Amanda Kelly. For each session one student will circulate in advance an article which is pivotal to his/her dissertation topic. All members will read this article before the seminar. At the seminar the student who chose the piece will outline the article, emphasizing its significance for his or her dissertation, identifying strengths and weaknesses of the argument, after which the floor will be opened for discussion. These seminars are designed to introduce students to the analytic and investigative skills needed for dissertation writing, and also to the benefit of peer assessment. The discussions should provide helpful suggestions for future research or potential avenues for investigation.

Weeks 11-12: Presenting research work in progress

Across these two sessions each student will give a 15-minute presentations of the outline and plan of his or her thesis, followed by informal questioning from the floor. You may invite your supervisor to attend if you wish. C

C 515 The Dissertation A comprehensive draft of the thesis will be submitted by June 1^st for the supervisor to correct. The draft should be as professional as possible with a full chapter-by-chapter breakdown and extensive bibliography. The Harvard system of citing references will be followed. Students will then polish their work over the summer and submit their final thesis to be assessed by the external examiner. The dissertation will consist of 15,000-20,000 words (max).

LANGUAGE MODULES ON OFFER IN SEMESTER TWO

Latin modules for those who began Latin in the first semester

CC232: Beginning Latin Part 2 This module is a continuation of the first-semester module (’Beginning Latin – part I’). At this stage, students will have acquired a basic knowledge of Latin grammar, and will be able to read and translate texts.

CCS203: Latin and Historical Linguistics Part 2 This module is a continuation of the first-semester module CCS202, and complements ’Beginning Latin’. The Friday class is spent consolidating the grammar formally taught in that module, while the other class presents Latin in its historical context. Primary sources such as inscriptions and manuscripts will be used to investigate the ancient origins of Classical Latin, as well as its later transformation into Romance.

Latin modules for those with 1-2 years' prior experience

CCS316 Studies in Latin Literature A selection of Latin texts will be read and studied in detail with an eye to their literary and linguistic character and to the cultural background from which they emerged. Texts are chosen from year to year from the Classical, Late Antique and medieval phases of the language, selected in the light of the needs and interests of the group. This year we will study Vergil with an eye to the mythological background as well as the linguistic shaping of the poetry. In tandem with the text itself, we will study Servius’ commentary with an eye to the medieval transmission and influence of the Vergilian corpus.

CC321 Latin Texts from Medieval Ireland and Britain (5 ECTS, written exam) This module explores the creative and intellectual achievement of early Christian Ireland and Britain. Selected Latin texts from Insular sources will be studied in detail in the original language, focussing on historiography, theology, and verse. The texts chosen will include such authors as Bede, Adomnán, and Columbanus, varied according to the needs and interests of the group. Close attention will be paid to the interaction of ecclesiastical learning with vernacular culture and languages. Students taking this module should already have acquired basic grammatical proficiency and independent reading skills in the Latin language. Close guided reading will, however, form a major part of class work.

Latin module for those with higher-level prior experience

CCS518 Advanced Medieval Latin  This module is intended for students who have studied Latin for two academic years or more. In spring 2012 the focus will be on theological writings from early Medieval Ireland, and the key text studies will be  the seventh-century Hiberno-Latin cosmological tract, De ordine creaturarum.

GREEK

CCS206 Beginners’ Greek continued This course is will build on our Ancient Greek foundation, already established in semester I. We will tackle edited texts based on Thucydides’ Peloponnesian War.Exercises in both grammar and vocabulary will be given weekly in order to enhance comprehension. The course consists of three hours each week. Of the three classes, two will be dedicated to grammar and reading while the third class will allow students to consolidate these skills in a more relaxed setting.

CCS310 Studies in Ancient Greek Literature This course continues from CCS308 with more emphasis on independent reading. The texts chosen will again be determined by the particular interests of group members, but we hope to include selections from the extraordinary language of the New Testament – the only ancient Greek text to have had a direct and unmediated influence on the shaping of western European culture.

 

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