Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

This course examines major texts of Greek and Roman fictional writing (which we nowadays anachronistically call "novels") composed in the Roman Imperial period. The narratives under discussion will be analysed within their social context and as literary products of their cultural environment; some of the issues that will be discussed during the course are how and why the authors of these texts use literary tradition, what these stories tell us about the narrative techniques and the readers of their eras, to what extent these texts may be used as pieces of evidence for gender studies and the fashioning of identity in the ancient world, how our understanding of these texts can be aided by modern critical theories, how the language and style of these narratives contributes to their meaning, and how these texts have influenced and inspired different cultural and artistic forms in the modern world.

10x1hr lectures; 10x1hr seminars over 10 weeks as scheduled in MyCampus. This is one of the Honours courses 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.

CLASSIC 4044 "The Novel in Antiquity: Impotent Heroes and Damsels in Distress"

GREEK4032 "The Novel in Antiquity (Greek)"

None

The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Exam (120 minutes) - 50%

■ Essay (2500 words) - 50%

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 assessments, but flexible deadlines or extra time can be offered as reasonable adjustment (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:

■ Introduce students to the literary concept of "fictional narrative" as theorised and viewed in Graeco-Roman antiquity from the second century BC onwards

■ Discuss the socio-cultural background and the historical circumstances which contributed to the emergence of the novel as a literary form in antiquity

■ Explore the implications of the sophisticated character of these texts for the purpose of understanding better their intended and/or actual readership and their ideology

■ Examine the cultural impact of these texts in literature and other artistic forms from the eighteenth century onwards

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

■ show a critical understanding of the set texts in all forms of assessment and in dialogue with both fellow-students and staff;

■ situate these texts within their literary, cultural, and social context;

■ demonstrate ability to discuss, orally and in writing, concepts such as intertextuality, narrative, social identity, and gender in relation to the novels studied in this option;

■ assess the value of modern scholarly approaches on these texts and engage critically with the secondary literature interpreting these works;

■ translate the Latin of Petronius and Apuleius into idiomatic English with due concern for stylistic nuances.