Undergraduate Course: Popular Culture in the Ancient World (CLGE10007)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| 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, critically, the concept of popular culture in the ancient world, asking was there such a thing as an identifiable popular culture in Antiquity, and if so, how can we, as modern scholars, access it? It enables students to study ancient history at an advanced level by requiring them to engage with both the 'primary' sources - artefacts of ancient literary and material culture - and with specialised, comparative and theoretical secondary material. Furthermore it encourages students to reflect on their own experience and that of our culture and bring insights from other historical periods and scholarly methodologies to their study of the past. |
| Course description |
The course first introduces the theoretical and methodological issues involved in studying ancient popular culture before moving on to look in some detail at key themes in its study, including 'popular' leisure, spectacle, religion, literature and material and visual culture. Case-studies, including the evidence of Pompeii, the figure of Aesop, and literary sources ranging from various versions of the Hellenistic mime to late antique sermons form the focus of individual classes and seminars. In these classes students engage with a wide range of material - literary texts, images, graffiti, artefacts - as well as learning how to use to use (and assess the value of the use of) comparative, theoretical and methodological literature in their study of the past, an area in which ancient historians have often been weak.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Popular Culture in the Roman World (Online) (PGHC11610)
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Other requirements | Students must have passed 2 of the following 2nd year courses: Ancient History 2a: Past and Present in the Ancient World (ANHI08014 or ANHI08007), Ancient History 2b: Themes and Theories in Ancient History (ANHI08013), Transformation of the Roman World (ANHI08015), Classical Literature 2: Greek and Roman Epic (CLTR08008), Greek Art and Archaeology (CACA 08011), Roman Art and Archaeology (CACA08012) or at course organiser's discretion. |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
3000 word encyclopaedia entry, including source appendix (50%)
Written Exam:
3 hour open book exam (50%)
Part-Year Visiting Student (VV1) Variant Assessment:
If this course runs in the first semester - Semester 1 (only) visiting students will be examined in the December exam diet. |
| Feedback |
Students will receive written feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of ancient source material, literary, visual and material, as well as comparative and theoretical literature;
- identify, read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship as well as skills in independent research;
- develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
Burke, P. (2009) Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe. 3rd edition. Farnham.
Clarke, J. R. (2003) Art in the Lives of Ordinary Romans: Visual Representation and Non-Elite Viewers in Italy, 100 BC- AD 315. London.
Forsdyke, S. (2012) Slaves Tell Tales and Other Episodes in the Politics of Popular Culture in Ancient Greece. Princeton.
Frankfurter, D. (1998) Religion in Roman Egypt: Assimilation and Resistance. Princeton.
Hall, S. (1981) "Notes on Deconstructing the 'Popular'", in R. Samuel (ed.), People's History and Socialist Theory (London): 227-40.
Hansen, W. (1998) Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular Literature. Bloomington and Indianapolis.
Horsfall, N. (2003) The Culture of the Roman Plebs. London.
Kurke, L. (2011) Aesopic Conversations: Popular Tradition, Cultural Dialogue, and the Invention of Greek Prose. Princeton and Oxford.
Scott, J.C. (1990) Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. London.
Storey, J. (2006) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. 4th edition. London.
Toner, J. (2009) Popular Culture in Ancient Rome. Cambridge.
Whitmarsh, T. (2008) The Cambridge Companion to the Greek and Roman Novel. Cambridge.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Assimilate, process and communicate a wide range of information from various sources.
- Utilise relevant theoretical and methodological knowledge and skills, including the use of comparative approaches.
- Provide clear written and oral analyses based on literary, archaeological and historical information.
- Master practical skills in accessing and interpreting relevant sources.
- Construct and pursue a coherent argument driven by analysis of the primary source material.
- Analyse, assimilate and deploy critically a range of secondary literature relevant and essential to the student's individual research subject. |
| Keywords | Ancient Popular Culture |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lucy Grig
Tel: (0131 6)50 3579
Email: Lucy.Grig@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Sara Dennison
Tel: (0131 6)50 2501
Email: Sara.Dennison@ed.ac.uk |
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