Undergraduate Course: Monsters, Murder and Mayhem: Biography in the Ancient World (CLTR10014)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Classical Literature in Translation |
Other subject area | Ancient History |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | This course will look at biography from the Greek world through to late antiquity in order to reconstruct the lives of prominent Greeks and Romans. We will also attempt to understand the historical circumstances under which these works were written. Authors to be studied include Xenophon, Nepos, the Gospels, Suetonius, Plutarch, and the Historia Augusta. Discussion will centre on the question of what constitutes biography, the way in which biography was used by individual authors and what it can reveal about the period in which it was composed. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate in written examination and course work as well as in class discussion:
- an understanding of the ancient genre of biography;
- an understanding of the relationship between Greek and Latin biographical and historical writing;
- an understanding of how the writing of biography reflects the time in which it was written;
- an understanding of how these writers represented character, either fictional or real;
- an ability to use critically a variety of different methodologies and approaches to assess this body of material;
- bibliographical research skills to enable students to find independently additional information relating to the study of ancient biography.
Transferable skills: students will be able to demonstrate an ability
? to gather material independently on a given topic and organise it into a coherent data set.
? to compare differing sets of data from varying situations and draw conclusions from them.
? to evaluate different approaches to and explanations of material, and make critical choices between them.
? to express clearly ideas and arguments, both orally and in writing.
? to organise complex and lengthy sets of arguments and draw these together into a coherent conclusion.
? to organise their own learning, manage their workload and work to a timetable.
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Assessment Information
Biography writing project - 15%;
Essay - 25%;
One (2-hour) degree examination - 60%.
Visiting Student Variant Assessment
Biography writing project - 15%;
Essay - 25%;
One Take-Home Examination - 60%. |
Special Arrangements
| In order for a student from outwith Classics to be enrolled, contact must be made with a Course Secretary on 50 3580 in order for approval to be obtained. |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sandra Bingham
Tel: (0131 6)50 3583
Email: S.Bingham@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Elaine Hutchison
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: E.Hutchison@ed.ac.uk |
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