Ancient Literature and History

After completing the course, students are able to:

1. Critically read, analyse and discuss a variety of texts from the ancient world – epic poetry, history, tragedy, biography, graffiti, the novel – and appreciate these texts in their historical context.
2. Get access to ancient Greek and Latin sources (in modern language translations) using the Utrecht Library and specialized databases; search for relevant modern literature and commentaries on said sources.
3. Develop a well-structured analysis on an ancient text or text-passage using the above skills, and present this analysis verbally and in writing.
4. Critically evaluate and appreciate the relevance of the classics today.

Relationship between assessment and learning goals:

In this course, the final course grade is based on three elements: a group presentation (accompanied by a short written reflection), a written paper, and a final exam.

1. The group presentation and reflection test your knowledge and insight on learning objectives 1,2,3,4.
2.  The paper tests your knowledge and insight on learning objectives 1,2,3,4.
3.  The exam tests your knowledge and insight on learning objectives 1,2,3,4.

Greece and Rome occupy a central position in the history of Western civilisation. Many aspects of Western civilisation have their origin in the classical world. Literature, philosophy, the arts, science, the ideal of democracy, and the rule of law, for example, were invented and developed by the Greeks and Romans and transmitted to the modern age.
While they are fundamental to Western culture, the civilisations of the Greeks and Romans were also very different and therefore are difficult to understand from a modern perspective. Thus the study of the ancient world and classical literature is a journey into the known and the unknown, the familiar and the strange, at the same time.
In this course students will explore a selection of texts from these cultures – epic poetry, history, tragedy, the novel, letters, graffiti – and learn to interpret them within their historical context. The texts will be subsumed under a variety of themes, such as classical heroism, the virtuous ruler, life in the ancient city, inclusion and exclusion, ancient humour, the rise of Christianity, and the concept of the ‘classical’.

Format
Class meets two times a week. The first meeting consists of a general introduction to the subject to be studied that week. The second meeting consists of a seminar in which a classical text will be interactively discussed and analysed. Student activities include the careful reading and study of the course material, the preparation of papers, and active participation in class discussions.