University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 30

ECTS credits : 15

Level : SCQF level 10

Semester: 1

Availability restrictions: Available to General Degree students with the permission of the Honours Adviser

Planned timetable: TBC

But what is Classics for? This is a question that most students of the Greek and Roman worlds have surely had to face at some point in their careers. This module sets out to answer that question in terms of what purposes the Greeks and Romans have been made to serve in the modern world, from approximately the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Topics for consideration include the role of Classical education in constructing social status; why it used to be unacceptable to mention anthropology in classical studies; what museums do to their visitors apart from showing them artefacts in glass cases; why and in what form Greek tragedy keeps coming back to the stage; the ideological baggage of blockbuster films set in Greece and Rome; and what to think about Achilles after two World Wars. If this module doesn't answer your questions about the point of studying the Greeks and Romans, it should at least give you some new ways to think about it.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisite(s): As stated in the School of Classics Undergraduate Handbook

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: 1 x 2-hour seminar

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: 2-hour Written Examination = 40%, Coursework = 60%


Re-assessment: 3-hour Written Examination = 100%

Personnel

Module coordinator: Dr R T Anderson
Module teaching staff: Dr R T Anderson
Module coordinator email rta1@st-andrews.ac.uk