Course Catalogue

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This course examines one of the most important (and well-preserved) types of ancient Greek literature, the letter, which was key to creating and maintaining the reputations of key cultural figures from the ancient Greek world. It examines letters, collections of letters and letter-writers from across classical antiquity, focusing on some of the most famous names of ancient Greek culture, including Plato, Themistocles, Euripides and Socrates. It explores different types of letter, the roles they played in different historical and cultural contexts from the fourth century BC into Christian Late Antiquity.

1x1hr lectures, 1x1hr seminars per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus. This is one of the PGT options in Classics and may not run every year. The options running this session are available in MyCampus.

Standard entry to Masters at College level.

GREEK 5025, CLASSIC4097, GREEK4035

None

The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Commentary on a translated letter (1,200 words) - 35%

■ Essay (2,500 words) - 65%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There is no alternative to the commentary, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

■ There is no alternative to the essay, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

This course aims to:

■ Provide students with the opportunity to examine a type of literature both crucial to and very common in Greek antiquity and explore its variety and importance.

■ Foster students' awareness of the importance of the functions and contexts of Greek epistolography for understanding its place in Greek culture across a wide chronological span.

■ Develop skills in close reading and analysis of literary texts, studied in translation.

■ Develop students' exploring an important body of literature from a variety of different perspectives, reflecting the key themes of the course.

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

■ Produce detailed commentaries of Greek epistolography. 

■ Show evidence of understanding of the social, historical, and literary contexts of the letters examined.

■ Present their own research relating to the themes of the course in a coherent and scholarly form.

■ Analyse the interrelation between nature of literature with cultural and historical contexts.