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CLAS3431: Higher Greek 1

Please ensure you check the module availability box for each module outline, as not all modules will run in each academic year. Each module description relates to the year indicated in the module availability box, and this may change from year to year, due to, for example: changing staff expertise, disciplinary developments, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

Type Open
Level 3
Credits 20
Availability Available in 2025/2026
Module Cap
Location Durham
Department Classics and Ancient History

Prerequisites

  • CLAS2171 (Advanced Greek 2A) OR CLAS2181 (Advanced Greek 2B).

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combinations of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • To study in depth a selection of texts suitable for experienced readers of ancient Greek with broad and in depth understanding of Greek culture.

Content

  • This module involves close study of one or more Greek texts
  • The selection of text(s) will vary from year to year, but will be appropriate to experienced readers and interpreters of Greek texts in the original language.
  • The module will involve not just reading and translating, but also criticism and analysis, including (where appropriate) textual criticism.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:

  • A knowledge of different aspects of a selected ancient Greek text (or texts) of some length and/or complexity: aspects which include the varieties of reading and interpretation of that text (or texts), ancient and modern; its origins and antecedents; its genre and cultural location; issues of transmission; textual problems; reception.

Subject-specific Skills:

  • An ability to investigate a given text in depth, using and further developing linguistic, interpretative and other skills acquired in the previous two years of study, especially but not exclusively in Intermediate and Advanced Greek modules.

Key Skills:

  • A critical understanding of what goes to make a 'text' as an artefact and as a potential source of meaning, and of both the cultural processes and the interpretative issues involved.
  • The ability to produce detailed and critical analysis of complex texts in very concise form.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

  • Interactive classes will be offered as the most appropriate and effective way of teaching the module.
  • Students will learn through regular preparation for the classes and interaction with the teacher and each other in the process of learning.
  • The module will be assessed through commentary exercises, which will allow students to demonstrate their linguistic and analytical skills. These exercises might focus on (for example) critical comparison of translated passages, literary analysis, linguistic analysis, textual criticism; each of the summative exercises will normally have a different focus.
  • The restricted length of the summative exercises allows students to demonstrate the key skill of precise and concise analysis of texts.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

ActivityNumberFrequencyDurationTotalMonitored
Language Classes202 per week in Michaelmas term1 hour20Yes
Preparation and Reading180 
Total200 

Summative Assessment

Component: Commentary 1Component Weighting: 50%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Commentary1,000 words100
Component: Commentary 2Component Weighting: 50%
ElementLength / DurationElement WeightingResit Opportunity
Commentary1,000 words100

Formative Assessment

More information

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