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Classics in First Arts 2012–13

Introductory presentations

During your first week the Classics staff will give introductory presentations on the course repeated at the times below. These sessions can be very helpful in explaining what the course is about and will give you an opportunity to meet the staff ask questions, so it’s a good idea to attend. From the second week onward, our lectures will follow the same timetable, supplemented by weekly small-group tutorials.

• Monday 10 September at 3.p.m. in Ó Tnúthail Theatre
• Tuesday 11 September at 5 p.m. in Ó Tnúthail Theatre
• Wednesday 12 September at 2 p.m. in Fottrell Theatre
• Thursday 13 September at 12 p.m. in Ó Tnúthail Theatre

The Fottrell and Ó Tnúthail theatres are located on the first floor of the Arts Millennium Building.

Regular lectures start from Monday 17 September.

Semester one

CC108 Myth and Religion in the Ancient City
Dr Remoundou-Howley on Greek myth: Wednesdays at 2 p.m. in the Fottrell Theatre
Dr Kelly on Greek art and society: Thursdays at 12 p.m. in the Ó Tnúthail Theatre

CC114 Written Words and Spoken Languages in the Ancient World, Part I
Dr Stansbury on reading and writing in the ancient world: Tuesdays at 5 p.m. in the Ó Tnúthail Theatre

CC1 Monday lectures: Classics for the Twenty-First Century
A series of presentations by different lecturers on key themes in the study of Antiquity, including topics in current research and debate.
Mondays at 3 p.m. in the Ó Tnúthail Theatre

Semester two

CC109 Rome and the Genesis of Europe
Dr Moran on Roman literature: Wednesdays at 2 p.m. in the Ó Cathail Theatre (Áras Uí Chathail Building)
Dr Kelly on Roman architecture: Thursdays at 12 p.m. in the Ó Tnúthail Theatre.

CC114 Written Words and Spoken Languages in the Ancient World, Part II
Dr Bisagni on the roots of European languages: Tuesdays at 5 p.m. in the Ó Tnúthail Theatre

CC1 Classics for the Twenty-First Century
Continuing the survey of key themes in Classical scholarship.
Mondays 3 p.m. in the Ó Tnúthail Theatre 

Module details

CC108 Myth and Religion in the Ancient City (semester one, twice weekly)

Semester one, twice weekly (24 lectures). Module co-ordinator: Kelly. Lectures by Kelly and Remoundou-Howley.

This module provides an introduction to the study of Antiquity by focusing on Greek myth and art, each of which is the focus for one lecture per week.

(1) Art and Society in the Ancient City (Kelly, Thursdays)
In these lectures we will explore society in the ancient Greek world in terms of civic architecture, artistic development and social constructs. We will assess artworks in terms of pictorial expression, social meaning, and archaeological context. Avenues for investigation will include myth, gender, religion, social development, status and rites of passage in the Greek world.

(2) Myth and Thought in Early Greece (Remoundou-Howley, Wednesdays)
This strand of the module is focused on early Greek myth, especially the concept of the hero as a figure poised between men and gods, concentrating on artistic evidence from vase-painting and narrative evidence from early epic poetry. The principal sources studied are the Theogony of Hesiod and the Odyssey of Homer, and the mythological corpus as transmitted in ancient compilations like the Library of Apollodorus. We will also look at the renewal of Greek myth in later ages, including its recreation in Irish literature.

Required texts

Hesiod, Works and Days and Theogony translated by Martin West (Oxford World’s Classics series)
Homer, Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles (Penguin Classics) OR translated by Martin Hammond (Duckworth)
A. Stewart, Classical Greece and the Birth of Western Art (Cambridge, 2008)

Recommended reading

T. Carpenter, Art and Myth in Ancient Greece (Thames and Hudson)
J.G. Pedley, Greek Art and Archaeology (Prentice Hall 2005 — or any other edition)
Apollodorus, Library of Greek Mythology translated by R. Hard (Oxford World’s Classics)
H. Morales, Classical Mythology, in the ’Very Short Introductions’ series (Oxford)
M. Clark, Exploring Greek Myth (Blackwell 2012)
C. Segal, Myth in the ’Very Short Introductions’ series (Oxford)

CC114 Written Words and Spoken Languages in the Ancient World (both semesters, once weekly)

Both semesters, once weekly (24 lectures). Module co-ordinator: Stansbury. Lectures by Stansbury and Bisagni.

This module is an introduction to philology, the study of ancient language and literature and their transmission to us. The weekly lecture in the first semester focuses on writing systems and the history of books and texts; in the second semester we consider the rise and development of languages.

Part I. Reading and Writing in the Ancient World (Stansbury, semester one)
Much of what we know about ancient civilisation comes from written texts like the works of Homer and Cicero. But how were their works preserved and passed down through thousands of years? In this module we will address that question and related ones by examining the origins and development of writing and reading, as well as looking at how the texts of antiquity were transmitted to our day through manuscripts.

Required texts

Robinson, Andrew, The Story of Writing (Thames & Hudson, 2007)
Winsbury, Rex, The Roman Book (Duckworth 2009)

Part II. The Roots of European Languages (Bisagni, semester two)
Languages change over time. In this module, we will examine the implications of this simple statement for our understanding of the history of our own and other languages. Starting from modern English, we will go back in time, searching for the prehistoric ancestor of the Indo-European linguistic family, to which many of the ancient and modern languages of Europe and Asia belong, including Greek, Latin, Celtic, Persian, and Sanskrit.

This module is a general introduction to the discipline known as historical linguistics: no prior knowledge of ancient or foreign languages is required.

Required texts

Deutscher, G.: The Unfolding of Language (Random House, 2006).
Trask, R. L.: Why Do Languages Change? (Cambridge University Press, 2010).

Recommended reading

Aitchison, J.: Language Change: Progress or Decay? (Cambridge University Press, 2001).
McMahon, A.: Understanding Language Change (Cambridge University Press, 1994).

CC109 Rome and the Genesis of Europe (semester two, twice weekly)

Semester two, twice weekly (24 lectures). Module co-ordinator: Moran. Lectures by Moran and Kelly.

(1) Introduction to Roman Literature (Moran, Wednesdays)
This module aims to provide an introduction to Latin literature for students with no prior knowledge of the subject. It will begin by exploring the centrepiece of Classical Latin literature, Virgil’s celebrated epic poem, the Aeneid. We will examine how Virgil’s work not only addressed the literary past by creating a specifically Roman counterpoint to Homer, but also responded to the political and social anarchy of his own lifetime. In doing so, we will examine why this work was regarded as a Classic, almost immediately from its publication. In the latter part of the module we will turn to a very different literary genre: that of satire, which the Romans claimed to have invented. Here we will encounter a variety of personal voices, from Horace’s urbane wit to Juvenal’s notoriously savage indignation.

Required texts

David West (trans.), Virgil. The Aeneid, a New Prose Translation, Penguin Classics (Harmondsworth, 1990)
Niall Rudd (trans.), Horace: Satires and Epistles. Persius: Satires, Penguin Classics (3rd ed., Harmondsworth, 1987)
Niall Rudd (trans.), Juvenal: The Satires, Oxford World’s Classics (Oxford, 1991)

Recommended reading

Philip Hardie, Virgil, Greece & Rome. New Surveys in the Classics, 28 (Oxford, 1998)
S. H. Braund, Roman Verse Satire, Greece & Rome. New Surveys in the Classics, 23 (Oxford, 1992)

(2) The Architecture of Empire (Kelly, Thursdays)
The module will investigate the major monuments which comprise a Roman city across Empire and how the construction of Roman cities facilitated Romanization across Europe and, indeed between the East and West of Empire from Iran to Wales. The module will explore recognizable indicators of Romanization and variants on such themes, as influenced by provincial building traditions and raw materials. A major theme running through the module will address recognizable architectural types, their thematic variations and hybridity throughout the provinces.

We will look at the impact of aqueduct construction on urban development and the social aspects of daily bathing. In terms of social historical studies, we will review a range of entertainment venues from Roman amphitheatres (looking at examples from El Djem to London) to theatres and circuses. We will analyze these architectural frameworks in detail and then explore the social behaviour that such venues evoked.

Required text

Ramage, N.H. and Ramage, A. 2009 (or any other edition) Roman Art: Romulus to Constantine. N.J. 709.37

Recommended reading

Adam, J.P. 2004 Roman Building: Materials and Techniques. New York
Coulston, J. and Dodge, H. (ed.) 2000. Ancient Rome: The Archaeology of the Eternal City. Oxford.
D’Ambra, E. 1998 Art and Identity in the Roman World. London.
Henig, M. (ed.) 1983 Handbook of Roman Art. Oxford
MacDonald, W. 1982 The Architecture of the Roman Empire. London.
Sear, F. 2005 Roman Architecture. London
Taylor, R. 2003 Roman Builders. A Study in Architectural Process. Cambridge.
Ward-Perkins, J. B. 1994 Roman Imperial Architecture. London.
Wilson Jones, M. 2000 Principles of Roman Architecture. London.

CC1 Classics for the 21st century (both semesters)

Lectures by all staff. Module co-ordinator: Kelly

Both semesters, once weekly (24 lectures). Series co-ordinator: Kelly.
The Monday lectures expand upon the material taught in the three other lectures during the week. Each of these lectures focuses on a different topic presented by a different lecturer. Some of the topics are closely related to those covered in the various modules, while others relate more to the personal research and scholarship of our academic team, who will be introducing this side of their work to you. These lectures will throw a useful sidelight on the material taught more formally in the main modules, and will also enable you to learn about new discoveries and innovative scholarly research being undertaken in Classics and medieval studies.

    

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