Undergraduate Course: Ancient Literature from a Comparative Perspective (CLTR10019)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course aims to introduce students to the field of comparative literature, its main tenets and proponents, and its relevance to Classics. In the first year it will run as ¿Homer and Hesiod from a Comparative Perspective¿, but the model can be used for other ancient texts and their comparanda in subsequent years.
The first run will centre on the Homeric and Hesiodic corpora and their comparanda. Through a range of comparative material from different cultures and time periods, the course will set the canonical works of Homer and Hesiod in their wider context in terms of genre and tradition. Comparisons with South Slavic song will allow students to explore issues of orality and performance, acquainting them with the work of Parry and Lord and the importance to Homeric studies of the oral-traditional hypothesis. Students will experience South Slavic song as a performative genre through recordings. Comparisons with material from the Near East will set the genres of epic, cosmogony and wisdom against a traditional backdrop, introducing students to interactions between Greece and the Near East and the possible routes of cultural exchange. Later comparative material from Scandinavia will then bring the focus back to the issue of orality, and students will begin to distinguish between direct/indirect routes of transmission, and cultures that are separate but comparable. The course will culminate in an essay that aims to give students the freedom to choose their own independent comparative study. Classes will introduce them to methodology, to scholarship and to sample material, on which they will build independently in their chosen comparison.
|
| Course description |
Week 1 Introduction to Comparative Literature;
Week 2 Orality and Performance, the Iliad and the Kosovo Cycle;
Week 3 Glory and the Heavenly Kingdom, the Iliad and the Kosovo Cycle;
Week 4 Heroes and Villains, the Odyssey and the Marko Cycle;
Week 5 Epic and the Near East, Odysseus, Samson and Gilgamesh;
Week 6 Formative presentations;
Week 7 Cosmogony and the Near East: the Theogony and the Kumarbi Cycle;
Week 8 Creation and Succession: the Theogony and Enûma Eli¿;
Week 9 Wisdom and the Near East: the Works and Days, the Counsels of Wisdom and the Book of Proverbs;
Week 10 Didactic Personae: the Works and Days and Egyptian Instructions;
Week 11 Attic Vikings: the Works and Days and Hávamál.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed
Classical Literature 2: Greek and Roman Epic (CLTR08008)
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | A Pass in Classical Literature 2: Greek and Roman Epic (CLTR08008), is normally required; or at the discretion of the Course Organiser. |
| Additional Costs | c. £30 for set text books |
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 Classical Literature) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2014/15, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 28 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 11,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One essay of 3,000 words, 45%;
Contribution to Peerwise, 5%;
Exam, 50%.
Components of Assessment for a Visiting Student (VV1) Instance of this course (i.e. for candidates in attendance in Edinburgh in Semester 1 only):
One essay of 3,000 words, 45%;
Contribution to Peerwise, 5%;
A subject-area administered Exam/Exercise in lieu of the Degree Examination, to take place in late November / December, 50%. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | |
|
| Academic year 2014/15, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 11,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One essay of 3,000 words, 45%;
Contribution to Peerwise, 5%;
Exam, 50%.
Components of Assessment for a Visiting Student (VV1) Instance of this course (i.e. for candidates in attendance in Edinburgh in Semester 1 only):
One essay of 3,000 words, 45%;
Contribution to Peerwise, 5%;
A subject-area administered Exam/Exercise in lieu of the Degree Examination, to take place in late November / December, 50%. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes in coursework, exams, peer assessment and class discussion:
- An awareness of the main tenets and proponents of the field of comparative literature, and its application to Classics;
- A familiarity with a range of poetry in translation from the Greek, Slavic, Near Eastern and Scandinavian traditions;
- The ability to engage critically with the Homeric and Hesiodic corpora and relevant comparative material;
- An understanding of the different genres and traditions encompassed in the Homeric and Hesiodic corpora;
- The ability to conduct an individual comparative study.
|
Reading List
Texts:
George, A. (1999) The Epic of Gilgamesh, London: Penguin
Larrington, C. (1996) The Poetic Edda, Oxford: Oxford Worlds Classics
Mitchell, S. (2013) Homer The Odyssey, London
Verity, A. (2012) Homer The Iliad, Oxford: Oxford Worlds Classics
West, M.L. (2008) Hesiod Theogony and Works and Days, Oxford: Oxford Worlds Classics
Comparative studies, general:
Foley, J.M. (ed.) (2005) A Companion to Ancient Epic, Oxford
- J.M. Foley, Analogues: Modern Oral Epics
Konstan, D. and Raaflaub, K.A. (eds.) (2010) Epic and History, Sussex
Lord, A.B. (1960) The Singer of Tales, Cambridge MA (the 2nd edition, of 2000, has an introduction by Stephen Mitchell and Gregory Nagy and is accompanied by an audio and video CD)
Hesiod:
West, M.L. (1978) Hesiod Works and Days, Oxford (introduction)
West, M.L. (1966) Hesiod Theogony, Oxford (introduction)
Near East:
Cohen, Y. (2013) Wisdom from the Late Bronze Age, Atlanta
Foley, J.M. (ed.) (2005) A Companion to Ancient Epic, Oxford
- J.M. Sasson, Comparative Observations on the Near Eastern Epic Traditions
- W. Burkert, Near Eastern Connections
Haubold, J. (2002), Greek epic: a Near Eastern genre? Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society 48:1-19
Haubold, J. (2013) Greece and Mesopotamia: Dialogues in Literature, Cambridge
Louden, B. (2011) Homer¿s Odyssey and the Near East, Cambridge
Penglase, C. (1994) Greek Myths and Mesopotamia, London
Walcot, P. (1966) Hesiod and the Near East, Cardiff
West, M.L. (1997) The East Face of Helicon, Oxford
South Slavic:
Bonifazi, A. and Elmer, D. F. (2012), Composing lines, performing acts: clauses, discourse acts, and melodic units in a South Slavic epic song, in E. Minchin (ed.) Orality, Literacy and Performance in the Ancient World, Leiden, pp.89-109
Foley, J.M. (2005), South Slavic Oral Epic and the Homeric Question, Acta Poetica 26.1/2:51-68
Foley, J.M. (1996), Guslar and Aoidos: Traditional Register in South Slavic and Homeric Epic. Transactions of the American Philological Association 126:11-41
Koljevi¿, S. (1980) The Epic in the Making, Oxford
Popovi¿, T. (1988) Prince Marko: the Hero of South Slavic Epics, New York
Old Norse:
Larrington, C. (1991) ¿H am l and sources outside Scandinavia¿, Saga Book 1991:141-57
Larrington, C. (1993) A Store of Common Sense: Gnomic Theme and Wisdom in Old Icelandic and Old English Wisdom Poetry, Oxford
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
In addition to the ILOs listed above that already contain some transferable skills, students who successfully complete the course will also gain:
- an enhancement of critical skills in reading and debate through engagement with alternative approaches and ideas;
- an improvement of skills in conducting research and writing essays;
- an ability to work with a team;
- verbal communication skills, esp. through class discussion and oral presentations/contributions. |
| 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 3582/0 in order for approval to be obtained. |
| Keywords | Ancient Literature Comparative |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lilah Canevaro
Tel:
Email: L.G.Canevaro@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Elaine Hutchison
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: E.Hutchison@ed.ac.uk |
|
© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 12 January 2015 3:39 am
|
University Homepage