Undergraduate Course: Seneca Tragicus (LATI10034)
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 | Latin |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Lucius Annaeus Seneca (ca. 1 BCE - 65 CE) was not only an orator, statesman, philosopher, and an author of philosophical essays, but also a brilliant playwright, whose tragedies exercised a powerful influence over the Renaissance theatres of Italy, France, and Elizabethan England. The course examines Seneca's plays in their historical, literary, and intellectual contexts. Particular attention is paid to Seneca's transformation of Greek models, political background, the role of Stoic philosophy, and the history of reception of Seneca's plays in Europe. The course is informed by the Course Organiser's own research. |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed:
Latin 2A (LATI08011) AND
Latin 2B (LATI08012)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics related subject matter (at least 2 of which should be in Latin) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses but Elementary or Intermediate Latin courses will not count. Students beyond Intermediate level but with less Latin than the prerequisite should consider taking either Latin 2A/2B. |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students should be able to:
- translate fluently and accurately from the prescribed texts into clear and appropriate English
- produce problem-oriented, well-argued, well-researched, relevant, and coherent coursework essays on specific aspects of Seneca's work and Roman intellectual history
- demonstrate in written work and in examinations an informed understanding of the most important historical, literary, cultural, intellectual, and philosophical issues raised by the study of Seneca's tragedies, Latin poetry, and Roman intellectual history as well as of the most important scholarly approaches in the interpretation of Seneca's work |
Assessment Information
The course is assessed by a coursework essay (35%) and a
2-hour degree examination (65%).
Part-Year Visiting Student (VV1) Variant Assessment:
Coursework (one essay) - 35%.
Subject Area administered Exam/Exercise in lieu of Degree Examination, to take place in Week 12 (see the current course handbook for further details) - 65%. |
Special Arrangements
| In order for a student from outwith Classics to be enrolled on this course, 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 |
Students will demonstrate in written work and in examinations that they can:
- make judicious use of dictionaries, commentaries, works of reference, critical studies, and modern translations
- gather material independently on a given topic and organise it into a coherent data set;
- compare differing sets of data from varying situations and draw conclusions from them;
- evaluate different approaches to and explanations of material, and make critical choices between them;
- express clearly ideas and arguments, both orally and in writing;
- organise complex and lengthy sets of arguments and draw these together into a coherent conclusion;
- organise their own learning, manage their workload and work to a timetable |
| Reading list |
1. Text:
O. Zwierlein (OCT)
Translation: F.J. Miller (Loeb).
2. Books and articles:
K. Algra [et al.] (eds.), The Cambridge History of Hellenistic philosophy (Cambridge 1999)
M. Billerbeck (ed.), Sénèque le tragique (Vandoeuvres, Genève 2004)
A.J. Boyle, Tragic Seneca. An Essay in the Theatrical Tradition (London 1997)
A.J. Boyle, Roman Tragedy (London and New York 2006)
G. Braden, Renaissance Tragedy and the Senecan Tradition. Anger's Privilege (New Haven 1985)
S. F. Fischer, Seneca als Theologe. Studien zum Verhältnis von Philosophie und Tragödiendichtung (Berlin/New York 2008)
M.T. Griffin, Seneca, a Philosopher in Politics (Oxford 1976; repr. 2003)
K. Heldmann, Untersuchungen zu den Tragödien Senecas, Hermes Einzelschriften 31 (1974).
C.J. Herington, 'Senecan Tragedy' Arion 5 (1966) 422-71 (repr. in Essays on Classical Literature, ed. N. Rudd, Heffer 1972)
G.O. Hutchinson, Latin Literature from Seneca to Juvenal (Oxford 1993)
A. A. Long/D. Sedley (eds.), The Hellenistic Philosophers. Vol. 1: Translations of the principal sources with philosophical commentary; Vol. 2: Greek and Latin texts with notes and bibliography (Cambridge 1987)
R. G. M. Nisbet, 'The Dating of Seneca's Tragedies, with Special Reference to Thyestes', Papers of the Leeds International Latin Seminar 6 (1990) 95-114
N.T. Pratt, Seneca's Drama (Chapel Hill 1983)
O. Regenbogen, Schmerz und Tod in den Tragödien Senecas (Darmstadt 1963).
T.J. Rosenmeyer, Senecan Drama and Stoic Cosmology (Berkeley 1989)
R. W. Sharples, Stoics, Epicureans and Sceptics: An Introduction to Hellenistic Philosophy (London, 1996)
A. Schiesaro, 'Seneca's Thyestes and the morality of tragic furor', in: J. Elsner & J. Masters (edd.), Reflections of Nero. Culture, History and Representation (London 1994) 196-210
A. Schiesaro, The Passions in Play: Thyestes and the Dynamics of Senecan Drama (Cambridge 2003)
R. Tarrant, 'Senecan Drama and its Antecedents', HSCP 82 (1978) 213-263
R. Tarrant, 'Greek and Roman in Seneca's Tragedies', HSCP 97 (1995) 215-230
K. Volk & G. D. Williams (eds.), Seeing Seneca Whole. Perspectives on Philosophy, Poetry and Politics (Leiden 2006)
O. Zwierlein, Die Rezitationsdramen Senecas (Meisenheim am Glan 1966). |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Michael Lurie
Tel: (0131 6)50 3588
Email: michael.lurie@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Elaine Hutchison
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: E.Hutchison@ed.ac.uk |
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