WLIT100 - Greek and Roman Classics: Origins of Western Literature

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

In this unit, students will engage with a range of texts from Classical antiquity that each hold a foundational status in the western literary canon, including works by Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Virgil and Ovid, and will consider each work in its distinctive political and intellectual context. Students will become familiar with a selection of the strongly-delineated literary genres, from epic to lyric poetry, that were newly developed in antiquity, and that have imparted shape and meaning to western literary production. They will consider, across a variety of texts, universal concerns such as: the nature of and limits to human agency, human achievement and human rationality; the roles and responsibilities held by the individual in relation to the state and in the family; and the nature and complications of the heroic ideal.

The aim of the unit is to develop a critical appreciation of the nature of the Classical legacy, and the complexities of our long engagement with the texts of the Greek and Roman world.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Identify key aspects of works from Classical antiquity (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA10)

LO2 - Discuss literary, social, historical, philosophical, political, aesthetic and ethical ideas and movements in texts drawn from Classical antiquity (GA1, GA3, GA4, GA8)

LO3 - Evaluate and synthesise knowledge from diverse sources and communicate ideas and findings to a range of audiences (GA5, GA8, GA9)

LO4 - Locate, use and appropriately reference a variety of critical sources relevant to developing a coherent argument about the literature of Greece and Rome (GA5, GA8, GA10)

LO5 - Analyse key aspects of the legacy of Classical literature (GA4, GA5, GA9).

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

Content

Topics will include: 

• The complex legacy of the Classical literary tradition in western life and culture 
• Literary, social, historical, philosophical, political, aesthetic and ethical ideas and movements in texts drawn from Classical antiquity 
• The complex legacy of the Classical literary tradition in western life and culture 
• The distinctive features of the Classical literary culture, including the importance of genre, and the role of ‘imitation’ and ‘competion’ (imitatio and aemulatio) 
• The ‘translation’ of the Greek literary heritage to Rome 
• Key thematic concerns such as the nature of and limits to human agency, human achievement and human rationality; the roles and responsibilities held by the individual in relation to the state and in the family; and the nature and complications of the heroic ideal 

Key texts: 

• Homer, The Iliad 
• Sophocles, Oedipus Rex 
• Euripides, Medea, Bacchae 
• Aristophanes, Clouds 
• Virgil, Aeneid 
• Ovid, Metamorphoses 
• The unit may also include selections from Sappho’s lyric poetry 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit will be taught to students in a small group setting, in which the texts and thematic concerns of the unit can be discussed and debated in a supportive and inclusive manner. The small group setting will facilitate the use of the ‘Socratic’ method, in which analytical discussion and dialogue is stimulated through the use of an engaging question and answer format to consider texts and ideas from the Classical period. 

This is a 10-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the semester. To achieve a passing standard in this unit, students will find it helpful to engage in the full range of learning activities and assessments utilised in this unit. The learning and teaching and assessment strategies include a range of approaches to support students’ learning such as reading, reflection, discussion, webinars, podcasts, video etc.

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment tasks chosen for this unit are designed to build knowledge and skills relevant to the learning outcomes. The first task is designed to support students in developing their skills in textual analysis of ancient texts, while also incorporating their developing knowledge of the political, intellectual and literary contexts in which the texts were written.

The major research essay has been chosen as part of a research-focused approach to student learning in which students develop their understanding of the unit content through research activities. In this unit, students will focus on one or more Greek or Roman Classical texts, and develop a researched argument in relation to that text and the wider themes of the unit.

The final summative assessment task is designed to give students the opportunity to demonstrate they can synthesise and apply the knowledge and skills they have gained throughout the unit.

The assessment tasks for this unit have been designed to contribute to high-quality student learning by both helping students learn (assessment for learning), and by measuring explicit evidence of their learning (assessment of learning). Assessments have been developed to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. These have been designed so that they use a variety of tasks to measure the different learning outcomes at a level suitable for first-year studies this subject area.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Conte, G. The Poetry of Pathos: Studies in Virgilian Epic. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Dobrov, G., ed. Brill's Companion to the Study of Greek Comedy. Leiden: Bril, 2010.

Foley, J. M., ed. A Companion to Ancient Epic. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005.

Gregory, J., ed. A Companion to Greek Tragedy. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005.

Griffin, J. “The Social Function of Attic Tragedy.” Classical Quarterly 48 (1998): 39- 61.

Griffin, J. Homer on Life and Death. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980.

Hall, E. Greek Tragedy: Suffering under the Sun. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Hardie, P., ed.  The Cambridge Companion to Ovid. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Rosenbloom, D. “Athenian drama and democratic political culture.” In D. Rosenbloom and J. Davidson, eds. Greek Drama IV: Texts, Contexts, Performance. London: Aris and Phillips. 2012. 207-99.

Zeiltin, F. (1995). Playing the Other: Gender and Society in Classical Greek Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.