Core Modules

Foundation Year

Term 1:

• Global perspectives and academic practice 1

  Global Perspectives and Academic Practice provides a survey of world history that identifies key events and ideas from the Enlightenment to the present day through an examination of a range of issues related to the broad theme of globalisation. The unit takes a broadly chronological approach to the core issues but considers the overarching theme of globalisation from innovative and interesting angles such as the experience and participation of women, the significance of black, ethnic minority or third world perspectives, contributions and experiences, and the role of science as a driver of global interdependence.

  The seminars and workshops take the core academic themes covered in the lectures as their starting point but centre around the development of academic skills that will enable transition, ‘upskilling’, confidence building and effective participation in the academic practices associated with humanities disciplines. This is complimented by weekly tutorials provided by your dedicated CeDAS personal tutor, a suite of skills workshops delivered by the Library, and fortnightly personal tutorials within your chosen academic department.

• Cultures of reading

  ‘Cultures of Reading’ is an exciting re-evaluation of what it means to read critically, and for the purposes of academic study. From Homer to Audre Lorde, William Shakespeare to Maya Angelou, this course explores a diverse selection of source materials from various historical periods in order to challenge our perception of how we read, why we read, and what we read. Can you ‘read’ a body? How should we read history? How is meaning generated? The course will pay attention to historical and political contexts, introduce philosophical concepts, and explore how meaning changes when texts are employed and re-employed in differing forms and genres.

• Cultures of looking

  This course will explore critical approaches to and analysis of a wide range of visual media, including (but not limited to) paintings, films and photography. It will highlight and hinge on relevant historical contexts, such as the evolution of the printed press (c19th) and digital media (late c20th) as well as the impact of social/economic history on the consumption and production of visual arts more broadly from the mid c18th – the present day. After focussing upon key genres, comparative readings and analyses form a key part of the course, you will be introduced to comparative considerations of topics such as the landscape and environment through to portraiture from Classical times to the age of Instagram.

Term 2:

• Global perspectives and academic practice 2

  Global Perspectives and Academic Practice provides a survey of world history that identifies key events and ideas from the Enlightenment to the present day through an examination of a range of issues related to the broad theme of globalisation. The unit takes a broadly chronological approach to the core issues but considers the overarching theme of globalisation from innovative and interesting angles such as the experience and participation of women, the significance of black, ethnic minority or third world perspectives, contributions and experiences, and the role of science as a driver of global interdependence.

  The seminars and workshops take the core academic themes covered in the lectures as their starting point but centre around the development of academic skills that will enable transition, ‘upskilling’, confidence building and effective participation in the academic practices associated with humanities disciplines. This is complimented by weekly tutorials provided by your dedicated CeDAS personal tutor, a suite of skills workshops delivered by the Library, and fortnightly personal tutorials within your chosen academic department.

• Objects and rituals

  How do we shape our understanding of the world around us through our interaction with material objects? How do we give greater meaning to our lives through performing and repeating particular social practices? This unit takes a close look at these two questions, inviting you to challenge your assumptions about the ordinary. No matter the degree you are going on to study, our deep dive into ideas surrounding material culture and social practices will enhance your capacity to think critically about the world around you. The course will explore the critical uses of ‘material culture’ and ‘ritual’ as terms and tools of analysis; examine objects and rituals from different periods, and also how the body, the built environment, and spatial aesthetics, all exemplify social practices. We'll encounter coffee cups, Cuban dancing, and carnival - among other topics - not to mention a few ghosts that haunt the buildings of Royal Holloway itself. Along the way you will develop critical and creative skills that will allow you to deliver effective poster presentations (an increasingly popular form of assessment in many Humanities degree pathways).

• Digital Cultures

  ‘Digital Cultures’ explores the intersection between the digital revolution of the past fifty years and the study of humanities in Higher Education, in order to consider the implications of this ‘encounter’ of the digital with the humanities. With the decline in public and private support for the humanities in full swing, this module questions whether the digital is a necessary ally to ensure that the humanities are continuing to communicate with, and adapt to, the needs of our contemporary, digitalised society. It will frame this ‘encounter’ by turning to moments in history where similar scientific advancements have reshaped the humanities.

Term 3:

• Department taster project

  On this unit you’ll undertake a short, intensive course introducing key aspects of your chosen subject or discipline. The course will be assessed by Personal Development Plan (PDP) which is a structured and supported process undertaken to reflect upon your own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for your personal, educational and career development. Through structured tasks convened through a specially designed Moodle site, the PDP will guide you through a process of self-reflection, self-evaluation, and forward planning. As well as helping you to understand how you learn best, the PDP tasks will encourage you to conceive of and understand your subject learning in terms of transferable skills. Such knowledge will assist you in communicating your skills effectively in a non-HE setting and helps you with forward planning for life after the degree. Practical career planning will be an aspect of the process, with prompts around the value of work experience and the range of co- and extra-curricular activities and opportunities available to them during your course of study.

• Individual project

  The aim of the individual project is to enable you to engage in theoretical work on an agreed specific area relevant to your chosen subject. Topics will be proposed by supervisors from which you can state three (rank ordered) preferences or you may propose your own topic subject to agreement. The course will culminate with a joint Poster Presentation with all students on the Foundation Year.

Year 1

• All modules are optional

Year 2

• Second Year Projects

Year 3

• Extended Essay (Dissertation)

  The Extended Essay is a unit of independent study under the supervision of a member of staff. Students are required to write a long essay of 8,000 to 10,000 words.

Optional Modules

There are a number of optional course modules available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course modules that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new modules may be offered or existing modules may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.

Year 1

• Beginner’s Greek

  In this module you will develop an understanding of Ancient Greek grammar and syntax and learn elementary vocabulary. You will acquire basic aptitude in reading Ancient Greek text (mostly adapted, with some possible original unadapted basic texts) and consider the relationship between Ancient Greek language and ancient Greek literature and culture.

• Intermediate Greek

  In this module you will further your understanding of Greek grammar and syntax. You will look at Greek prose and/or verse texts, in unadapted original Greek, and learn how to accurately translate passages at sight.

  
  

• Greek Language and Reading

  In this module you will develop an understanding of a wide range of texts in ancient Greek. You will look at set texts in both prose and verse for translation, and complete grammar and syntax consolidation exercises. You will consider the literary and linguistic features of advanced Greek texts and examine features of grammar, syntax and style.

• Beginner's Latin

  This module can be taken by anyone with less than a B in GCSE Latin.  If students have a B or better in Latin GCSE or equivalent, they should be looking at Intermediate Latin (unless it was a very long time ago). The module sets out to provide a basic training in the Latin language for those with little or no previous experience of Latin. The emphasis is on developing the skill of analysing the structure and meaning of Latin sentences, and on efficient use of the dictionary. Students will also gain familiarity with a range of literary and epigraphic texts in the original Latin.

• Intermediate Latin

  A module intended to build on Beginner’s Latin or O-level/GCSE, extending the students' knowledge of Latin to the point where they are ready to read substantial texts.

• Latin Language and Reading

  In this module you will develop an understanding of classical Latin and how to interpret Latin texts. You will study two set texts in Latin, one prose and one verse, focussing on translation, context and understanding of grammar. You will gain practice in unprepared translation of texts of similar genres to the prepared texts and will consider selected topics in Latin grammar and syntax.

• Introduction to Greek Literature

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the framework of Greek literary history from Homer to Heliodorus. You will look at the chronology of major authors and works, and how they fit into larger patterns in the development of Greek culture and political history. You will examine ancient literary texts in translation, considering issues in key genres including epic, lyric, drama, oratory, philosophical writing, historiography, Hellenistic poetry, and the Greek novel.

• Roman Literature of the Republic

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the history of Roman literature from its beginnings until the end of the Republic. You will look at the work of the major Republican Roman authors Plautus and Terence, Lucretius, Catullus and Cicero. You will consider the issues in the earlier history of Roman literature, including the relationship with Greek models and the question of Roman originality, literature and politics, the use of literature for scientific or philosophical exposition, and the development of narrative style ant attitudes to the Roman Republican past.

• Roman Literature of the Empire

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the history of Roman literature in the early imperial period. You will look at the work of five authors selected from the Julio-Claudian period, considering the ways in which Roman literature responded to the new political conditions established by the Principate. You will develop your skills in interpretation, analysis and argument as applied both to detailed study of texts (in translation) and to more general issues.

• Introduction to Ancient Philosophy

  In this module you will develop an understanding of ancient philosophical ideas and the ways in which philosophical arguments are presented and analysed. You will look at the thought and significance of the principal ancient philosophers, from the Presocratics to Aristotle, and examine sample texts such as Plato's 'Laches' and the treatment of the virtue of courage in Aristotle, 'Nicomachean Ethics' 3.6-9.

• Individual and Community

  In this module you will develop an understanding of how classical Greek and Roman societies developed the concept and role of the individual as part of the wider community. You will look at Greek and Roman education, and how that encouraged the formation of ideal behaviour and identity. You will consider the role of rhetoric, and how competition was encouraged within these societies though literary and dramatic contests, sport, military life, and religion. You will examine how these ideas reflect the role of the individual in the community of the cosmos, and the place in society of 'others', including the lower classes, women, children, the elderly, and slaves.

• Greek History and the City State

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the Greek World in the Classical Period. You will look at the key events in Greek History from 580 to 323 BC and place these in their historical context. You will consider historical problems and critically examine information and accounts set out in the Greek sources as well as in the works of modern historians. You will analyse a range of sources materials, including inscription, historiography and oratory, and develop an awareness of potential bias in these.

• Key Themes in Roman History

  In this module you will develop an understanding of the development of Roman politics and society over the extended period of Roman history, from early Rome through to the emergence of the Medieval World. You will look at the chronology and development of Rome, examining key themes in the interpretation of particular periods of Roman history, including the rise and fall of the Republic and the Imperial Monarchy. You will consider the difficulties and methological issues in the interpretation of Roman Historiography and analyse a variety of theoretical approaches used by historians.

• Studying Classical Antiquity

  In this module you will develop an understanding of how different classical disciplines interrelate. You will focus on specific academic skills such as avoiding plagiarism, approaching and evaluating a range of ancient evidence, using library and other resources, critically evaluating modern scholarship and theoretical approaches, and relating academic study to employability.

• Introduction to Greek Archaeology

  This is a survey module covering a large and disparate field. No previous knowledge is assumed: it will offer a basic introduction to the principles of classical archaeology and to the archaeological material of ancient Greece. The module will help you to place archaeological objects and contexts alongside literature and philosophy and to gain a more rounded understanding of how the Greeks thought about their world and the physical environment they created for themselves. The main aim of the module is to familiarise you with the material culture of the Greek civilisation from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period. We will examine the principal forms of Greek art and architecture, together with their stylistic development and social context. We will also consider developments in political organisation and religious practice, as well as evidence for everyday life. The module will introduce basic methodological concepts and theoretical approaches to the study of ancient Greek material culture.

• Introduction to Roman Archaeology

  This module studies the broad spectrum of archaeological evidence for the Roman world. It will provide an introduction to the main sources of archaeological evidence and key sites across the Roman world. It will offer a taste of how we can use the evidence they provide in the study of history, society and technology during the period c. 200 BC – c. AD 300. It aims to familiarize you with the principal forms and contexts in which art and architecture developed in the Roman world; to introduce you to the uses of material culture in studying history, i.e. to study the art and architecture of Rome as part of its history, social systems, culture, and economy; and to develop critical skills in visual analysis.

Year 2

• Aspects of Modern Greek Language and Culture
• Intensive Latin
• Hellenistic Epic: Apollonius of Rhodes
• Imperial Greek Poetry: Epic & Epigram
• Homer (in Greek)
• The Tragedy of Euripides
• Greek Dramatic Texts II (Comedy)
• Herodotus
• Imperial Greek Literature
• Greek Historiography (in Greek)
• Greek Erotic Poetry in Greek
• Horace
• Lucretius and Virgil
• Latin Love Elegy
• Roman Satire
• Latin Epic
• Latin Historiography
• Catullus and Horace
• Latin Letters
• Homer (In Translation)
• Greek Drama (In Translation)
• Cinema and Classics
• Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Art and Power in Augustan Rome
• Virgil’s Aeneid: The Empire in the Literary Imagination
• Gender in Classical Antiquity
• Greek Law and Lawcourts

  Our main evidence for the Athenian democracy in the fourth century are the speeches composed for delivery in court. At the same time, the speeches also offer a unique insight into Athenian social relations and social values through the stories told by individual litigants to their audiences consisting of large number of ordinary citizens who were serving as judges. This module offers an opportunity to study the ways in which the lives of the inhabitants of late fifth and fourth century Athens – citizens, resident aliens, and slaves – were regulated by the city's laws, and equally important how this normative framework could manipulated and sometimes even subverted by members of the community. The module will also offer an introduction to classical Athenian rhetoric, and the seminars will focus on the rhetorical strategies adopted by Athenian litigants in a wide variety of contexts. A broad range of Athenian lawcourt speeches in translation will be complemented by the study of texts (also in translation) by Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes.

• Greek History to 322 BC
• Greek Historiography
• Augustus: Propaganda and Power
• The Roman Republic: A Social and Economic History
• The Rise of the Roman Empire: An Economic and Social history
• Historiography of the Roman World
• Body and Soul in Ancient Philosophy
• The Good Life in Ancient Philosophy
• The Built Environment in Classical Antiquity
• Greek and Roman Art in Context
• Understanding Pompeii and Herculaneum

  This module provides you with the opportunity to engage in an-depth study of the material remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum (and the villas at Stabiae, Oplontis and Boscoreale) and assess their special value – but also their limitations – as primary sources for archaeologists and cultural historians. You will analuse general issues of preservation, excavation, chronology, and presentation of the sites to the public as well as a range of topics relating to the specific types of evidence for which the Vesuvian sites are renowned.

• Perspectives on Roman Britai

Year 3

• Further Aspects of Modern Greek Language and Culture
• Roman Oratory
• Ancient Literary Criticism
• Roman Drama (In Translation)
• Greek Lyric, Eros and Social Order
• Nature and the Supernatural in Latin Literature
• Greek Literature under the Roman Empire
• Studying Ancient Myth
• Culture and Identity from Nero to Hadrian
• The Roman Novel
• Gender in Classical Antiquity
• Greek Law and Lawcourts

  Our main evidence for the Athenian democracy in the fourth century are the speeches composed for delivery in court. At the same time, the speeches also offer a unique insight into Athenian social relations and social values through the stories told by individual litigants to their audiences consisting of large number of ordinary citizens who were serving as judges. This module offers an opportunity to study the ways in which the lives of the inhabitants of late fifth and fourth century Athens – citizens, resident aliens, and slaves – were regulated by the city's laws, and equally important how this normative framework could manipulated and sometimes even subverted by members of the community. The module will also offer an introduction to classical Athenian rhetoric, and the seminars will focus on the rhetorical strategies adopted by Athenian litigants in a wide variety of contexts. A broad range of Athenian lawcourt speeches in translation will be complemented by the study of texts (also in translation) by Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes.

• Augustus
• The Roman Republic: A Social and Economic History
• The Rise of the Roman Empire: An Economic and Social history
• Alexander the Great
• The City from Augustus to Charlemagne: The Rise and Fall of Civilisation
• Body and Soul in Ancient Philosophy
• The Good Life in Ancient Philosophy II
• Understanding Pompeii and Herculaneum

  This module provides you with the opportunity to engage in an-depth study of the material remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum (and the villas at Stabiae, Oplontis and Boscoreale) and assess their special value – but also their limitations – as primary sources for archaeologists and cultural historians. You will analuse general issues of preservation, excavation, chronology, and presentation of the sites to the public as well as a range of topics relating to the specific types of evidence for which the Vesuvian sites are renowned.

• Perspectives on Roman Britain
• City of Rome
• City of Athens
• The Archaeology of the Roman Near East