Study information

Critical Classics and the Contemporary World

Module titleCritical Classics and the Contemporary World
Module codeCLA3126
Academic year2024/5
Credits15
Module staff

Dr Mathura Umachandran (Lecturer)

Duration: Term123
Duration: Weeks

11

Number students taking module (anticipated)

20

Module description

How is the classical made to appear as though it were a natural or normal part of the contemporary world? This module addresses this question through a number of different case studies. Examples of areas that may be covered include health and disease, e.g. the modern reception of ancient ideas of sickness and disability; ancient bodies as places where genders and sexualities were made, e.g. the use of these in the crafting of identities and social movements of the modern world, such as HIV activism; the relationship between race and the classical, e.g. how race has been made to seem a timeless, normal or universal way of categorising humans. With a critical lens on to what the classical is and the cultural value that has been assigned to it, this course allows you to investigate the entanglement of the ancient in the contemporary world with a great amount of freedom for your own interests.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module will enable you:

  • to acquire critical tools for analysing how contemporary relationships to ancient Greece and Rome, or ‘the classical world’, are fashioned, and why.
  • to re-visit literary or material cultural artefacts of Greek and Roman antiquity (or its reception) and to reflect critically on the approaches adopted in the study of them.
  • to think critically about how bodies are invested with differences, such as gender, race, and ability, and about why bodies are significant places for critically investigating the reception of Greece and Rome.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

  • 1. Describe and critically analyse receptions of ancient material and models.
  • 2. Critically evaluate different methodologies for applying the classical past to contemporary challenges.
  • 3. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of how the classical past can be used to articulate and negotiate modern issues, including the ethical implications of such uses.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

  • 4. Demonstrate critical and analytical skills which can be applied to a wider range of material and models from both ancient and modern contexts.
  • 5. Demonstrate an understanding of historical and cultural differences, and an ability to interpret the ideas and assumptions of unfamiliar societies, including an awareness of one’s own assumptions and values.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

  • 6. Demonstrate skills in independent research and the development of research questions, including the ability to select appropriate methods and select and organise relevant materials.
  • 7. Demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively a strong and coherent argument in a style appropriate to your chosen format.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that the module will cover some or all of the following topics:

  • General discussion of approaches to Critical Classical Reception and Critical Ancient World Studies.
  • COVID 19 and the reception of Hippocrates, the ancient and contemporary lives of holistic medicine.
  • Trans lives and studies in the ancient world.
  • Ancient disability and classical reception, or, dismantling contemporary ableism.
  • Cultural memory and legacies of ancient homosexuality: remembering the AIDS crisis in the classicising work of Paul Monette and Derek Jarman.
  • The notion of ‘race’ in the Ancient World, Black Athena and the logics of civilizational whiteness.
  • The study of race in the past: RaceB4Race in Shakespeare studies as a paradigm for Classics?
  • Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech, Fortress Europe, reading the Aeneid as an anti/-colonial text.
  • Remembering Empire: ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ campaigns in Cape Town and Oxford; Redvers Buller activity.
  • Climactic determinisms, ancient and modern.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
221280

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching2211 x 2-hour workshops
Guided independent study128Preparation for seminars and assessment

Formative assessment

Form of assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Annotated bibliography750 words1-7Mark and written feedback

Summative assessment (% of credit)

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
10000

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Essay OR presentation OR two blogposts1003000 word essay 30 minute presentation Or 2 x 1250 word blog posts1-7Mark and written feedback
0
0
0
0
0

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
Essay OR presentation OR two blogpostsEssay OR presentation OR two blog posts: 3000 word essay 30 minute presentation Or 2 x 750 word blog posts1-7Referral/Deferral Period

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

  • Critical Ancient Worlds Studies, eds. Mathura Umachandran and Marchella Ward. London, Routledge 2024
  • Helen King, Hippocrates Now: The ‘Father of Medicine’ in the Internet Age. London, Bloomsbury 2019.
  • Sarah Derbew, Untangling Blackness in Greek Antiquity. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2022.

 

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

Key words search

Reception, critical, classical, colonial, race

Credit value15
Module ECTS

7.5

NQF level (module)

6

Available as distance learning?

No

Origin date

26/02/2024