Undergraduate Course: Latin Epic (LATI10002)
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 examines Latin epic, particularly Vergil's Aeneid, with attention paid to the poetic strategies of the Latin text, its intertextual heritage and philosophical imprint. A wide range of Augustan, political and cultural concerns are studied in addition to the literary aspects. |
| Course description |
This course will consider the greatest genre of classical Latin poetry, Epic. After an introduction to the roots of Roman epic, the focus will be on Vergil's Aeneid, the most famous poem from Roman antiquity and a cornerstone of European literary culture. Classes will be a combination of lectures and seminars. A considerable portion (normally four books) of the Aeneid will be read in the original, with the remainder of the poem read in translation. The course will examine the intertextual heritage of the Aeneid, its political and cultural context as portrayed within the poem, its thematic and ideological aims, and above all its literary and poetological artistry. The course will delve through a variety of ground-breaking scholarship on the poem, and students will engage with at times fractious schools of thought on important interpretative issues.
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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 | Copy of the prescribed text/s. |
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 ot Intermediate Latin courses will not count. Students beyond Intermediate level but with less Latin then the prerequisite should consider taking either Latin 2A/2B. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate in essay and examination that they are acquainted with the principles of classical Latin epic, and with the literary, aesthetic and ideological nature of that poetry;
- demonstrate in essay and examination that they have read in Latin an extensive prescription of classical epic poetry, with due attention to linguistic and stylistic detail, and literary technique;
- demonstrate in essay and examination that they are able to discuss critically interpretative issues which arise from the texts and from a range of scholarship.
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Reading List
F. Cairns, Vergil's Augustan Epic (Cambridge 1988)
W.A. Camps, An Introduction to Vergil's Aeneid (Oxford 1969)
S. Commager (ed.) Vergil: A Collection of Critical Essays (New Jersey 1966)
S. Farrall, Vergil's Aeneid: A poem of Grief and Love (Leiden 1993)
J. Farrell & M.C.J. Putnam (edd.). A companion to Vergil's Aeneid and its tradition. Blackwell companions to the ancient world. Literature and culture. (Chichester; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)
J. Griffin, Vergil (Oxford 1986)
P. Hardie, Vergil (G&R New Survey in the Classics no. 28) 1998
P. Hardie, Vergil; Critical Assessments of Classical Authors (London 1999)
S. Harrison (ed) Oxford Readings in Vergil's Aeneid (Oxford 1990)
R. Heinze, Vergil's Epic Technique (Bristol)
N. Horsfall (ed.), Companion to the Study of Vergil (Mnemosyne Supp. 151) (Leiden 1995)
R.O.A.M. Lyne, Words and the Poet; Characteristic Techniques of Style in Vergil's Aeneid (Oxford 1989)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| 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. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Calum Maciver
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: Calum.Maciver@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Toni Wigglesworth
Tel: (0131 6)50 3580
Email: Toni.Wigglesworth@ed.ac.uk |
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