Course Catalogue

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This course develops students' ability to read and interpret ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic texts written in Middle Egyptian. It progresses beyond the formulaic texts studied at the Basic beginners' level and introduces students to more complex Middle Kingdom (2000-1500 BCE) literary works. In addition to developing grammatical knowledge, students will also be considering the creative composition of individual words.

2x1hour lectures/seminars per week over 10 weeks 10x1hr tutorials per week over 10 weeks. 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.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry in Classics, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

CLASSIC5109

None

Set Exercise - orthographic analysis (500 words) - 10%

Grammatical analysis of a set passage (750 words) - 15%

3x Translation and commentary exercises (500 words each) - 75%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to:

■ Develop students' knowledge of Middle Egyptian grammar and hieroglyphic orthography

■ Introduce students to a wide range of literary works from a hugely influential period in time, the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1500 BCE)

■ Contextualise literary works against their historical backdrop

■ Deepen students' appreciation of literary works as primary sources.

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

■ Apply their understanding of grammatical features of Middle Egyptian to their interpretation of works of Middle Egyptian literature

■ Translate and comment upon passages from the set texts after prepared reading

■ Analyse different hieroglyphic orthographies and comment upon them

■ Reflect on the translated works as cultural products of their time and consider how they might be used as primary sources for key course themes.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.