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Classics Modules in Second and Third Arts, 2011-12

(A) Core Modules

CC234 Epic Narrative and Heroic Tradition

This module explores the origins and recreation of the heroic theme in social thought and epic poetry. Why do men seek honour and prestige more than life itself? How does a warrior respond to the certainty of approaching death? We begin by examining the earliest known expression of this tradition in the narrative literature of the Near East in the Bronze Age, focusing on the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. Moving to the Greek offshoot of that tradition, we study the myth of the Trojan War in Homer’s works and related art and literature, focussing on the tension between courage and savagery explored in the Iliad. We then survey the subsequent development of heroic lore in real-life military history and in later literature from Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

CCS201 Studies in the Ancient Imagination

This course will look at Imperial public art and architecture and the representation of ethnic and political realities from Augustus to Justinian and Theodora. We will investigate the Roman conceptualization of the fringe of empire and its portrayal at the administrative core in terms of Roman Imperial expansion and later contraction and collapse. We will review artistic influence and hybrid imagery in terms of transition and flux, both geographically and ideologically, with a focus on the rise of Christian iconography, while the potency of such imagery will be weighted by their legacy and exploitation under Pope Sixtus V, Napoleon and Mussolini.        

CC316 Barbarians

This module examines the constructed images and historical realities of some of the most important non-Graeco-Roman peoples in the ancient world. The three main directions which will be followed throughout the module are: (1) an analysis of the concept of ’barbarian’ in the Classical world; (2) an examination of selected Greek and Roman sources on barbarians, especially Celts and Germanic tribes; (3) a study of these same peoples ’from within’, based on archaeological and linguistic evidence. We will investigate the role which the so-called barbarian peoples of northern Europe played in ancient history, from the earliest documented contacts with the Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age, to the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century AD.

CCS305 Expressions of Power in the Roman World  

Part 1 - This part of the module examines the material remains of pre-Roman Italy and the Roman Republic. It explores how élite groups expressed their authority, and above all else their status, through material displays of wealth and public benefactions. We will begin with an overview of the Etruscans; studying the architecture, temples and complex funerary monuments of aristocratic groups, and how these were employed to help maintain and establish power over sub-élite and competing groups. Moving on to the Roman Republic, we consider how the leading Romans families used similar methods to display their status. We investigate the phenomenon of the ’Roman Villa’, the patronage of monuments and public amenities and portraiture.

Part 2 – The art of persuasive speech, and indeed script, constituted a major instrument of power in Rome and, as such, this part of the course will explore how this power was wielded and exploited by various political authorities. In the lecture series we will be examining powerful exchanges (encompassing speeches and written correspondence) between the leading men of Rome. Our investigation will begin with the great trials, speeches and letters of Cicero, followed by an excursus on the nature of patronage and poetic sub-text in Virgil and Ovid, and culminating with an examination of Pliny as either self-promoter or humble servant.We will introduce a range of letters, orations, poetic verse, legal prosecutions and defenses and will explore the political, educational and administrative contexts behind their delivery. The survival of the associated texts serves to mould our appreciation, and perhaps also fuel our misconceptions, of the reputations of the leading men in Rome (and the regimes under which they rose to prominence). 

(B) Latin

CC230/CC232 Beginning Latin Parts I and II    

These modules introduce 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/CCS203 Latin and Historical Linguistics Parts I and II

These modules complement and complete ’Beginning Latin’. In each semester one weekly 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.

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

Strand A - for students who have studied Latin for two semesters

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 selectrd 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-myrhical account of Roman origins, and Bisagni’s will be from the poetry and prose of the Vulgate Bible.

Strand B - for students who have studied Latin for two years or more

This course is divided between a study of language education and philosophy, with selections from Varro and Quintilian, and a study of Classical and Late Antique mythography with selections from Ovid's Metamorphoses and close study of the Carolingian manuscript Laon 468, produced under the supervision of Martinus Hiberniensis.

CC320 Studies in Latin Literature

Strand A - for students who have studied Latin for three semesters or equivalent

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.

Strand B - for students with higher-level experience in Latin

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.

CC321 Latin Texts from Medieval Ireland and Britain

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.

MV513/CCS517 Advanced Latin

Literary, linguistic and palaeographical aspects of selected texts will be addressed in the light of the interests and orientation of group members. Clarke will begin from Ovid, Metamorphoses I and proceed to an examination of Late Antique mythography, focussing on the Carolingian manuscript Laon 468 (texts of this will be supplied). Moran will explore aspects of language education and philosophy in Classical and Late Antiquity in selections from Varro, Quintillian and Priscian.

MV513/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.

(C) Greek

CCS205/CCS206 Beginning Ancient Greek Parts I and II

This course is an introduction to the 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 preferred Greek pronunciation for the course is that of Attic Greek which corresponds with the majority of texts which will be read. Exercises in both grammar and vocabulary will be given weekly in order to enhance comprehension. The course is challenging but highly rewarding, and even promises to be fun. We meet for 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.

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.

(D) Visual and Intellectual Culture

CC211 Early Greece

This course concentrates on Greece from the end of the Bronze Age to the Persian Wars, using a variety of artistic, archaeological and literary sources. The changing nature of society through the “Dark Age”, Geometric and Archaic periods is explored, including topics such as the emergence of the polis and hoplite warfare.

CCS204 Visualising antiquity

In this course we will addresses the rise of Panhellenism and city-state dynamics, from their earliest traces through to their height in Classical culture, and their legacy under Rome. You will be introduced to the changing nature of Greek society in terms of religion, athletic display, artistic competition and the desire for peace. Archaeological sites discussed include Athens, Delphi, Isthmia, Nemea, Olympia, Epidauros, Sikyon, the Amphiareion, Eleusis and Messene. The course is primarily an archaeological study but draws on the literary sources of (e.g.) Hesiod, Pindar, Herodotus, Thucydides, Suetonius, Pausanias, and Christian authors.

CC228 The History of the Roman Empire

This course offers a survey of the Roman Empire, from the Augustus to Constantine. We will begin by exploring the rise of Augustus and the Imperial Idea, after which we will examine some of the great imperial families, such as the Flavians and Antonines. We then investigate the effect of Roman rule in the provinces through a case study on Roman Gaul, as well as considering the concept of ’Romanisation’. The next part of this module deals with the instability of the third century and the consequent establishment of the Tetrarchy. We finally examine the coming of Constantine and the transformation of the Roman world into a Christian one. Students will be introduced to the study of primary historical sources and how historians use them to construct a picture of the past.  

CC227 The Oral (Research and Presentation Skills)

The task here is to respond to the challenge of researching a topic from scratch on the basis of printed and/or internet resources, building this knowledge into a communicable whole, and delivering it as a formal presentation. Over the first four or five weeks of the semester there will be a series of twice-weekly lectures on topics in research and presentation methods. These classes will be a help to you in your work, guiding you on how to use resources and organise information for effective communication. Meanwhile, you will be given a list of topics supplied by members of the departmental teaching team. The topics relate to the subject-matter of the module(s) that each of us have offered over the past two years, though they have not appeared specifically in lectures. You should choose from the list one topic which interests you, and hold a meeting with the appropriate member of academic staff, who will act as your supervisor. The supervisor will also give you a specific assignment, such as a book review or preliminary investigative assignment, which you should submit in typed form by the end of week 8 of the semester. On the basis of your research, you will put together a presentation and prepare to deliver it, as if to an audience in a class or seminar. At the very end of the semester, you will each be given an appointment when you formally present your presentation in front of one of the staff members.

CCS301 Representing Rome

This module explores the creation of the idea of Rome in the Late Republic and Early Empire in the poetry of Vergil's Aeneid and the Roman Histories of Livy. It then considers the recreation and reception of Rome as an ideal concept after Antiquity during four periods in Italian history. Firstly the art and literature of Renaissance Florence and Rome is studied, in particular the works of Machiavelli and a number of the great Florentine artists. The next moment examined is the Unification of Italy in 1861 and the struggle with the ideology of the Roman Empire in the culture of the period. The third period examined is that of the birth of fascism and the manipulation by the political right of Italy’s Roman past. This includes a survey of Mussolini’s transformation of the city of Rome and its position as the capital of the ’Italian Empire’. The final era of Italian history considered is the post-Fascist period up until the modern day. It includes an examination of Italy’s divided feelings over her Roman past, the current state of Italian politics, with particular reference to the current controversy over the Ara Pacis and Rome’s centre-right mayor.

CCS307 Ireland and the Classics: The Roman inheritance in Irish Literature

In this course we will examine the reception, interpretation and transmission of Latin texts in contemporary Ireland.  We will begin by taking a general look at reception theory, and then go back to the beginnings of Classical reception by exploring how the Romans appropriated the works of their Greek predecessors and refashioned them to create their own original works.  After a brief examination of the history of Classical reception in Ireland from the Middle Ages to the present day, we will look at selected passages from Virgil, Horace and Ovid, and see how they have been received and refigured, through translation, imitation or allusion, by a number of modern and contemporary Irish poets.

CCS302 Classics & Continuity: From Seneca to Shakespeare

This module analyses three tragedies of Seneca and their impact on three tragedies of Shakespeare.  The plays of Seneca are Thyestes, Phaedra, Trojan Woman; those of Shakespeare are Titus Andronicus, Richard III, Macbeth.  We start with an analysis of Senecan tragedy, laying particular stress on the theme of evil, evil above all in the ruler.  We then proceed to look at how Shakespeare appropriates this theme. As a special case we will examine how we can only appreciate Macbeth fully through a knowledge of Seneca’s tragedy Hercules Furens. 

CCS306 Iconography: the Classical tradition in western art

In this course we will study the creation and recreation of images from Classical mythology and ancient history in western art across the whole sweep of Western cultural history, from Antiquity to modern times. In autumn 2011 we will focus on three moments in the tradition: (a) Greek vases and Roman sarcophagi; (b) Italian Renaissance painting, c. 1450-1550 CE; (c) Revolutionary and Romantic art, c. 1780-1850 CE. Independent research will be central to your work on this module, and towards the end of the course each student will prepare a PowerPoint presentation and deliver it to a live audience of other class members. Internet resources will be vital to your work, but discursive background reading will also be essential.

(E) Further Opportunities

CCS303 Special Research Project in Classics (RESTRICTED ENTRY)

This module is designed to provide a space for a student with a strong specialist interest in a particular research-oriented topic which is not covered by one of the standard modules. If you want to take this module you apply formally to us before the semester begins with a detailed outline proposal and an indication of bibliography, research methods and preliminary reading that you have done on the topic. Because we are very stretched for time this year, it is necessary to strictly limit the number of places available on this module, and the number of places available will not exceed three per semester. 

SG217 ’A field of gods and men’: Ancient myths of the Celts

The medieval Celtic peoples left us a wide range of texts recording traditional stories and legends which have a background in the ancient mythology of the Celts, some of which are introduced in the first-year module SG116. This second-year module uncovers more of the detail in these texts, looking at the ways in which the medieval Irish and Welsh received and represented these tales of pre-Christian gods. The module also takes account of the material that we have from ancient times themselves, in the inscriptions and iconography of the early Celts of Britain and Continental Europe, and introduces the student to the ways such sources cast light on the belief systems of the Celts in early history and prehistory. The quote ’A field of gods and men’ is a translation of a phrase on a Celtic inscription from northern Italy of the first century BC, and indicates a place where, it seems, gods and men would be linked in some way through ritual practices.

Further details from the Celtic Civilisation team based in Scoil na Gaeilge

PI213 Ancient Philosophy

An introduction to the study of ancient philosophy, beginning from the Presocratic investigation of the nature of the physical world and culminating in the intellectual succession from Socrates to Plato and Aristotle and their successors.

Taught under the aegis of the Celtic Civilisation programme, co-ordinated by Scoil na Gaeilge

SG312 Saints and sinners in the Celtic World

This module will deal with some of the cultural consequences of the coming of Christianity to early medieval Ireland and Wales, especially in the area of reading and writing. Among the topics covered will be: the beginnings of Hiberno-Latin literature, the beginnings of hagiography in the Celtic lands, early hymns in Latin and Irish, the study of the Bible in early medieval Ireland, the early history of Christianity in Wales, writing in early medieval Wales.     

    

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