Undergraduate Course: Neronian and Flavian Verse (LATI10036)
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 | This course will examine two of the most brilliant authors of the Neronian and Flavian periods: respectively, Seneca the Younger, and Statius. Two key verse texts from these periods will be read, a tragedy of Seneca (typically, but not restricted to, either the Thyestes or the Phaedra), and Statius' unfinished, subversive epic masterpiece, the Achilleid. The texts will be studied in relation to literary tradition, in their intertextual position as post-Vergilian works, and according to the generic affiliations which the authors promote (for example, Roman tragedy as a re-evaluation of Greek tragedy, and Statius' epic as a reception of Homeric, Alexandrian, and Augustan epic aesthetics). |
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 | 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. |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students who complete the course successfully will have demonstrated in written coursework, a written degree examination, seminar and class room discussion knowledge and understanding of:
i. two key verse texts of the Neronian and Flavian periods
ii. the different types of questions asked by literary critics of these texts, and earlier, related texts
iii. the different problems that different genres (tragic and epic) pose for the Latinist
iv. the nature of the Latin verse of these eras, their metres, intertextuality, styles, and generic templates and manipulations
v. the cultural, historical and literary contexts contemporary or received
vi. reader-response theory, literary expectations, intertextuality, ancient education and learning
vii. patronage, panegyric, and the place of the emperor in Imperial poetry as compared to, e.g. Augustan epic
viii. Greek intertextuality and genres, the place of Stoicism and other Imperial schools of thought in reading Greek tragedy and epic
ix. ideals of heroism, masculinity, femininity, vis-à-vis traditional representations of earlier texts
x. textual criticism, dealing with fragmented texts
xi. the importance of cultural context in understanding the texts' manipulation of perceived norms
In similar fashion, they will demonstrate skill and expertise in:
xii. dealing independently with a wide-ranging body of information pertaining to the study of Latin Imperial poetry, digest, structure and comment on this information;
xiii. interpreting texts in the original Latin, as demonstrated in the translation and analysis of set passages in the exam
xiv. a clear awareness of the main literary, cultural and rhetorical phenomena and innovations which mark literature of these eras
xv. accessing, understanding, and employing the standard conventions in the field, from publisher's conventions (e.g. bibliographical styles, referencing systems, text displays, etc.) to scholarly conventions in the study of evidence pertaining to Latin poetry, including textual criticism
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Assessment Information
The assessment for the course is by way of written coursework and a written degree examination. The assessment is split in the following way:
60% degree examination (2 hours)
40% coursework (c. 3,500 words)
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Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
The course is specifically structured to allow maximum scope for research-led teaching at this study level, and hence allows for variation in the weekly topics to reflect research developments and staff interests.
A model of the teaching schedule looks as follows:
W1: Introduction: "Silver Latin poetry"; receptions and perceptions. Introduction to Seneca the Younger, and Neronian Literature. Introduction to methodologies.
W2: Discussion and Interpretation of a Senecan tragedy, with close reading of text prescribed
W3: Discussion and Interpretation of a Senecan tragedy, with close reading of text prescribed
W4: Discussion and Interpretation of a Senecan tragedy, with close reading of text prescribed
W5: Discussion and Interpretation of a Senecan tragedy, with close reading of text prescribed
W6: Discussion and Interpretation of a Senecan tragedy, with close reading of text prescribed
W7: Introduction to Statius, his poetic career and work, esp. the Thebaid. Introduction to the Achilleid.
W8: Discussion and Interpretation of the Achilled, with close reading of text prescribed
W9: Discussion and Interpretation of the Achilleid, with close reading of text prescribed
W10: Discussion and Interpretation of the Achilleid, with close reading of text prescribed
W11: Discussion and Interpretation of the Achilleid, with close reading of text prescribed
Conclusions
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| Transferable skills |
In addition to the ILOs described above, students will also demonstrate a number of transferable skills, such as
¿ reading skills of a high volume (i.e. the digestion of large quantities of textual material)
¿ general analytical skills
¿ written and verbal communication skills
¿ oral presentation and discussion skills
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| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Calum Maciver
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: Calum.Maciver@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Elaine Hutchison
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: E.Hutchison@ed.ac.uk |
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