Royal Holloway MA Courses 2016-17
Royal Holloway, University of London Intercollegiate MA programme offers a fully integrated programme in Ancient History, Classics, and Classical Art and Archaeology. The curriculum is designed, and provided in collaboration, with our sister Colleges in London. Offerings vary from year to year, but we are able to put a globally impressive and varied programme in the Classical disciplines, with upwards of fifty courses available in any year. Note that this page lists only those courses which will run under Royal Holloway direction in 2016-17; to see the full menu of courses available you will also need for now to consult the separate lists of courses run by UCL and KCL (A consolidated list of all courses available will be provided at the Intercollegiate MA Induction on Tuesday 27th September at Senate House 2:30-6pm (the big room on the ground floor), but in the meantime the three separate College course pages give a good indicative sense of what at this stage is likely to be running.) Other dates for your diary are Thursday 22nd September, (International Building 045, itinerary TBC) and How to be a Graduate Student in Classics Wednesday 28th September (2 -5.30). Teaching at all three colleges begins week commencing Monday 3rd October 2016.
Taught by Royal Holloway Classics 2016-17
Language Modules
CL5120 – Advanced Latin A – 20 Credits (67952) Autumn Term
Course Director: Claire Jamset (Claire.Jamset@rhul.ac.uk)
The course will consist of study of one set text in Latin, in either prose or verse, to be selected annually; the focus will be on translation, context and understanding of grammar in this text. Students will also work on an independent project related to their own area of research expertise in order to refine their understanding of the issues posed by translation and interpretation in this area.
Assessment: x2 in class tests (The coursework grade will be the best mark of the two tests) 40%, 3000 Word Project/Essay.
Time and place of teaching: Autumn Term, Thursdays – Senate House Room TBC - 18.00-20.00
CL5121 – Advanced Latin B – 20 Credits (67950) Spring Term
Course Director: Claire Jamset (Claire.Jamset@rhul.ac.uk)
The course will consist of study of one set text in Latin, in either prose or verse, to be selected annually; the focus will be on translation, context and understanding of grammar in this text. Students will also work on an independent project related to their own area of research expertise in order to demonstrate why the Latin of a selected passage is worth examination, how discussion of it has influenced scholarship, and how direct engagement with the Latin enhances their own research. Prerequisites: Advanced Latin A. Assessment: x2 in class tests (The coursework grade will be the best mark of the two tests) 40%, 3000 Word Project.
Time and place of teaching: Spring Term, Thursdays - Senate House Room TBC – 18.00-20.00
Literature Modules
CL5115 / 7AACM731/HISTGA03 Latin Epigraphy - 40 credits (64471) full year
(RHUL/UCL/KCL)
Course Directors: Dr Benet Salway, UCL History (b.salway@ucl.ac.uk), Dr John Pearce, KCL Classics (john.pearce@kcl.ac.uk), and Prof. Boris Rankov, RHUL Classics (B.Rankov @rhul.ac.uk)
This course is designed to introduce students to both the practical study and the interpretation of Latin inscriptions of all types. The classes will survey the ex – panding resources available for the study of Latin inscriptions, including electronic resources as well as traditional printed corpora; the production of epigraphic material from the point of view of those commissioning it and the individual craftsman; the development and the decline of ‘epigraphic habit’; and the analysis and interpretation of the texts in the broader context of the artefacts, monuments or buildings to which they were attached. Students will learn how to measure and record inscriptions; how to read and interpret epigraphic texts; and how to edit and prepare epigraphic texts for publication. They will study and interpret a wide variety of examples different types of inscriptions: official, public, private and graffiti, from Rome, Italy and the provinces. It is intended to make use as much as possible of photographs and of epigraphic material in the various collections in central London.
Prerequisites: Students entering this module must usually have a good pass in Beginners’ Latin or the equivalent (as a minimum). Some reading knowledge of Italian, French, and German is also desirable.
Assessment: two epigraphic commentaries of c. 3,000 words (worth 60%) and one essay of c. 4,000 words (worth 40%).
Time and place of teaching: Tuesdays, 2.00-4.00pm in central London (venue tba).
History Module
CL5305 Greek Law and Lawcourts -40 Credits - (62452) – full year
Course Director: Professor Lene Rubinstein (L.Rubinstein@rhul.ac.uk)
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 course 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 course 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. The course is delivered through 20 lectures (shared with BA students) and 20 dedicated MA seminars.
Assessment: Three coursework essays of ca. 3,000 words each.
Time and place of teaching: Lecture Tuesday, 10.00-11am – RHUL - Room TBC, Plus Seminar - TBC.
CL5115 / 7AACM731/HISTGA03 Latin Epigraphy - 40 credits (64471) full year
(RHUL/UCL/KCL)
For details of this course please see under Literature Modules above.
Archaeology Modules
CL5551 Who Owns the Roman Past? – 20 Credits Spring Term
Course Director: Zena Kamash (Zena.Kamash@rhul.ac.uk)
This course will address the political and ethical questions surrounding Roman archaeology in the modern world. We will look at the discipline and its practices through a range of historical, theoretical and practical lenses. Topics for consideration will include: the history of the discipline; the impact of modern conflict; archaeology in national and international law; museums and museum display; the use of archaeology in historical fiction, film and TV. Throughout the course, the students will be invited to think deeply about the material at hand and to view these thorny debates from a variety of angles, so that by the end of the course they have developed a fully-rounded picture of the issues, preparing them for how a modern archaeologist might handle these in the world. Assessment: Essay 5000 words 100%
Time and place of teaching: Spring Term, Tuesdays – RHUL Room TBC – 16.00-18.00
CL5192 The Archaeology of Water – 20 Credits Autumn Term
Course Director: Zena Kamash
This course aims to explore the varied roles that water played in ancient lives. During the course, we will look at the various technologies that were employed in the capture, supply and management of water in the ancient world, examining both the technological and social implications of these methods. In the first part of the course, we will investigate the key technologies (e.g. aqueducts, dams, reservoirs, bathhouses) in both rural and urban settings via a series of in-depth case studies of particular sites and regions. In the second part of the course, we will explore the social meanings behind these technological choices, drawing on material from Anthropology and Science and Technology Studies, and setting them within the wider context of debates on the ancient economy and supposed technological stagnation in the ancient world. Assessment: Essay 5000 words 100%
Time and place of teaching: Autumn Term, Tuesdays – RHUL Room TBC – 16.00-18.00
CL5700X Research Training and Dissertation in Classical Archaeology (64416) – 0 credits
Course Director: Dr Zena Kamash
Core Course for Intercollegiate MA in Classical Art and Archaeology.
Time and place of teaching: Fridays 2.00–4.00.