This course introduces students to a variety of textual sources for the cultures of the ancient world and to different ways of working with them. It foregrounds close reading skills and analytical tools useful for getting the most out of ancient texts, but also includes practical sessions where students get to grips with ancient texts on stone, papyrus, or inscribed objects.

1 x 2-hour session per week mixture of class-based seminars and handling sessions in museums or similar.

None

None

Essay (3,000 words) - 60%

Portfolio (1,300 words) - 40%

It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.

[No exceptions]

This course aims to:

■ Enables students to practice reading a variety of textual sources for the cultures of the ancient world

■ introduce students to different theoretical approaches to ancient texts

■ improve students' close reading skills in order to help them appreciate literature from a range of different cultures

■ introduce students to the different roles played by texts in the various cultures covered by the course 

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Identify a variety of textual sources for the cultures covered by the course and situate them in their historical and cultural contexts.

■ Evaluate and analyse different types of texts, both as literature and as historical sources.

■ Apply at least one literary theory to one piece of ancient writing as a case study of the process by which other theories could be applied to other texts.

■ Compare texts from different cultures in order to gain insight into different attitudes to similar issues.

■ Present their arguments lucidly in writing with due regard for scholarly literature and academic formalities.