Undergraduate Course: Latin Epic (LATI10002)
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 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 of epic poetry will be read in the original, with a focus on the Aeneid and on the relation between politics and poetry. 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. In addition to the Aeneid, due attention will be given to the tradition in which Vergil was writing (Ennius especially) and to his successors (especially Lucan, Silius Italicus, and Claudian).
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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.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 23 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial 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
20 %,
Coursework
80 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
3,000 word Essay (40%)
Book review (20%)
Linguistic and stylistic assessment (20%)
Exam:
Two hour exam (20%) |
| 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. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate that they are acquainted with the principles of classical Latin epic, and with the literary, aesthetic and ideological nature of that poetry;
- demonstrate 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 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
Ahl, F., Lucan. An Introduction (Ithaca, NY 1976).
Barchiesi, A., Homeric Effects in Vergil's Narrative (Princeton 2015).
Chaudhuri, P., The War with God. Theomachy in Roman Imperial Epic (Oxford 2014).
Conte, G.B., The Poetry of Pathos. Studies in Virgilian Epic (Oxford 2007).
Feeney, D.C., The Gods in Epic. Poets and Critics of the Classical Tradition (Oxford 1991).
Foley, J.M., A Companion to Ancient Epic (London 2005).
Hardie, P.R., Virgil's Aeneid: Cosmos and Imperium (Oxford 1986).
Hardie, P.R., The Epic Successors of Virgil. A Study in the Dynamics of a Tradition (Cambridge 1993).
Lyne, R.O.A.M., Further Voices in Vergil's Aeneid (Oxford 1987).
Quint, D., Epic and Empire. Politics and Generic Forms from Virgil to Milton (Princeton 1993).
Rebeggiani, S., The Fragility of Power. Statius, Domitian and the Politics of the Thebaid (Oxford 2018).
Skutsch, O., The Annals of Q. Ennius (Oxford 1985). |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The ability to read texts carefully and in context
Critical thinking based on their understanding of a different culture and literature
The ability to read at length with discernment
Written and verbal communication skills
The ability to appreciate the creativity of literary texts |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Ludovico Pontiggia
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Sara Dennison
Tel: (0131 6)50 2501
Email: |
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