Classics & Ancient History MSc
Ancient Medicine CLASSIC4070
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Humanities
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 4 (SCQF level 10)
- Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2 (Alternate Years)
- Available to Visiting Students: Yes
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course provides an introduction to the major ancient medical schools and authors from the Hippocratic corpus to Galen. It will also briefly cover the reception of ancient medicine in Late Antiquity, Byzantium and the Arabic world. It helps the students to develop an interest in medical history and explore approaches to health and healing in a variety of social and cultural settings.
Timetable
1x1hr lecture; 1x1hr seminar per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.
This is one of the Honours options in Classics and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
The standard assessments for this course are:
■ Essay (2000 words) - 60%
■ Presentation of 5 minutes - 40%
If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:
■ There are no alternatives to the Essay, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions).
■ A recorded presentation or written script of equivalent length or Power point with substantial notes as alternative to presentation.
Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor. 
Main Assessment In: April/May
Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? Not applicable
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]
Course Aims
This course will provide the opportunity to:
■ become acquainted with the main themes and concepts in the history of ancient medicine
■ analyse key sources, textual and archaeological, for the study of ancient medicine
■ investigate the interplay between medicine and society
■ explore broader historical issues such as the continuity of tradition and cultural transfers
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ identify the key ancient medical theories and concepts of disease
■ describe and evaluate the major challenges in the interpretation of primary evidence in the field of medical history
■ assess the public role of practising physicians and medical authors in their communities
■ critically discuss notions of continuity, transmission, and transformation of medical theories and practices