Introductory description

This module provides an orientation for students of diverse backgrounds across the vast and immensely rich panorama of Greek culture. The module combines detailed literary and artistic appreciation with an understanding of the cultural contexts in which Greek art and literature flourished.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

TERM 1

1. Introduction; Greek Culture and Society in a comparative perspective; Varieties of Greekness;
   the Greek polis

2. Greek Religion and Festivals

3. Women and Gender
   3 * Seminar on Women (Aristophanes’ Ecclesiazousae)

4. Skills Session: Essay Writing; Bibliography and Citation; Essay Topics

5. Dining & the Symposium

6. Visit to the Ashmolean Museum

7. Medicine, Magic and Science

8. Performance literature in antiquity from Homer onwards; performance and society in Athens
   8* Seminar on Symposium

9. Athenian Tragedy: Aeschylus’ Persians Part I (Persian wars; Athenian identity and the
   barbarian; empire)

10. Athenian Tragedy: Aeschylus’ Persians Part II (Theatricality and performance; chorus)
    TERM 2

11. Greek Mythology part I

12. Greek Mythology part II – and iconography / Intro to Art

13. Art and the body 3 * Looking at Winners Seminar 4. Art and architecture 5. Homeric worlds I 6. Homeric worlds II 7. Historiography and Herodotus 8. Sport, competitiveness and lyric 8 * Sappho seminar 9. Understanding the world from Homer to the fifth century 10. Radical reassessments of man and the world: the sophists TERM 3 1. Athenian Comedy: Aristophanes’ Clouds 2. Revision 3. Revision The exact topics may vary from year to year.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Gained a knowledge of some of the major cultural and social concerns of the Greeks
• Acquired a sense of the changes and developments in Greek culture and society over time
• Developed some ability to discriminate between different types of evidence and critical approaches

Indicative reading list

Reading lists can be found in Talis

Specific reading list for the module

Subject specific skills

By the end of the module students should have:

• gained a knowledge of some of the major cultural and social concerns of the Greeks
• acquired a sense of the changes and developments in Greek culture and society over time
• developed some ability to discriminate between different types of evidence and critical approaches

Transferable skills

• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Active lifelong learning
• Communication
• Information Literacy
• ICT skills
• Professionalism