Undergraduate 

Ancient History MA

Myths, Fictions, And Histories Of Alexander The Great CLASSIC4003

  • Academic Session: 2023-24
  • 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

Short Description

This course explores the literary sources for Alexander the Great with particular emphasis on the grey area between historiography, mythology, and fiction in which these texts operate

 

Timetable

Two one-hour sessions 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

■ One take-home, one-week, 2500-word source comparison, 50%

■ One essay, 2500 words, 50%

Main Assessment In: April/May

Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? Not applicable

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which 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. 

Course Aims

This course aims to:

■ Become familiar with the history of Alexander the Great

■ Engage closely with the literary sources for the life of Alexander the Great and evaluate their historical worth

■ Explore the grey area between historiography, mythology, and fiction in which these texts operate

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

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

■ Describe the historical events of the life of Alexander the Great

■ Place these events in their larger historical context

■ Analyse and evaluate the literary sources for these events

■ Summarize ancient and modern theories of history, historiography, and narrative and use these to formulate your own arguments

■ Formulate your own interpretations of the sources and argue them in a lucid and scholarly manner

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

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