2017/18 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
CLAS3380 Classics in 20th-21st Century Literature
20 creditsClass Size: 36
Module manager: Dr Owen Hodkinson
Email: o.d.hodkinson@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2017/18
This module is approved as a discovery module
Module summary
This module involves detailed engagement with four case studies of modern literary reception of the classical world and its literature (Donna Tartt’s novel The Secret History, Tom Stoppard’s play The Invention of Love, Tony Harrison’s version of the Oresteia, and Michael Cadnum’s short stories ‘Medusa’, ‘Daphne’, and ‘Give him the eye’), and with (a) further modern ‘reception’ text(s) of the students’ choice for the second coursework assignment. The module aims to promote understanding of the various ways that classical texts and the idea of the classical are appropriated, adapted, and re-used by modern authors and in modern contexts, and to acquaint students with a variety of contemporary approaches to the study of classical reception. The module is worth 20 credits and runs in semesters 1 and 2, with one lecture per week; a total of 4 seminars (over 5 weeks), which will focus on close reading and interpretation of key passages; and 1 library session, which will introduce students to the Brotherton Archives and Special Collections’ extensive holdings in the Tony Harrison archive. For further information contact the Department of Classics (email: classics@leeds.ac.uk; website: www.leeds.ac.uk/classics/; telephone: 0113 343 3537).Objectives
On completion of this module, students should be able to- study in detail a range of works of 20th-21st century literature which engage in various ways with classical literature and culture and with Classics as a field of study: Tony Harrison’s Oresteia, Tom Stoppard’s The Invention of Love, Michael Cadnum’s ‘Medusa’, ‘Daphne’, and ‘Give him the eye’ (short stories available in Can’t Catch Me, and other twice-told tales), and Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.
- broaden their understanding and appreciation of classical literature and the ways in which subsequent eras, especially our own, can engage with it through translation, adaptation, ‘updating’ in retelling, allusion and intertextuality, and other means; in particular, to gain a deeper understanding of some important hypotexts for several of the modern set texts, namely Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and Euripides’ Bacchae.
- gain a thorough knowledge of key themes in the study of Classical Reception.
- appreciate the effects of modern and earlier receptions on our readings of and ability to interpret classical literature, and on the way in which we think about Classics as a discipline.
- develop and enhance their skills of literary appreciation and analysis.
Learning outcomes
students should be able to:
- demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the set modern texts: Harrison’s Oresteia, The Invention of Love, ‘Medusa’, ‘Daphne’, ‘Give him the eye’, and The Secret History; and of their engagements with a range of classical texts and themes and with the classical tradition, and in particular with Aeschylus’ Oresteia, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and Euripides’ Bacchae as appropriate.
- demonstrate a knowledge and awareness of the traditions of the different ways in which different authors, texts, and genres of modern literature engage with different ancient texts and genres.
- demonstrate an appreciation of the importance and effects of receptions between the classical period and our own time on how Classics is conceived and studied and on how we interpret classical texts.
- analyse and assess critically the key themes and subjects in the study of Classical Reception
- present a detailed literary analysis of the studied texts
- evaluate critically the modern scholarship on the topic
Skills outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students are expected to be able to:
- analyse critically primary texts from the contemporary and ancient worlds, and relate and compare them to each other and to their historical and cultural contexts.
- engage critically with secondary literature with a range of focuses and approaches, including some text-specific studies but also scholarship on classical reception studies/the classical tradition.
Syllabus
This module examines classical receptions in modern literature (novels, plays, poetry, short stories)—i.e. instances of texts which are either based upon classical texts (closely, including translation or adaptation, or loosely), or otherwise engage with classical texts, history and culture or reflect upon the idea of Classics as a field of study. This is now an important area within classical scholarship, due to the recognition that there can be no unmediated, objective access to ancient texts and cultures; and that all our experiences and interpretations of them are mediated through subsequent developments and by the reading of more recent texts, even translations, which interpret them for us and influence the way we read them. Taking as case studies a range of modern texts (Donna Tartt’s novel The Secret History, Tom Stoppard’s play The Invention of Love, Tony Harrison’s version of the Oresteia, and Michael Cadnum’s short stories ‘Medusa’, ‘Daphne’, and ‘Give him the eye’), we shall study the very different ways in which modern texts can engage with classical texts, the ancient world, and ‘Classics’. Harrison’s play is a verse translation or version of Aeschylus’ Oresteia in a modern idiom. Cadnum’s short stories are not translations, but retellings of classical myths, based on the Ovid’s Metamorphoses but with very different emphasis or perspective. Tartt’s novel is centred around a group of classics students who commit murder in a manner inspired by Euripides’ Bacchae; Stoppard’s play features the classical scholar and poet A.E. Housman as its main character. For the final piece of coursework students will apply knowledge and analytical skills regarding different approaches to classical receptions to a modern text of their own choice (in close consultation with the module tutor) which engages with classical literature and/or reflects on Classics as a subject.
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Library Session | 1 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Lectures | 18 | 1.00 | 18.00 |
| Seminar | 5 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
| Private study hours | 176.00 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 24.00 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 | ||
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
- at an informal level, through lectures, seminar contributions (including a short non-assessed presentation on the subject of their second coursework assignment) and detailed module questionnaire;- at a formal level, through the two summatively-assessed assignments.
Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Essay or Dissertation | 2500 MAXIMUM | 50.00 |
| Essay or Dissertation | 2500 MAXIMUM | 50.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100.00 | |
Coursework 2: students will choose their own modern reception text(s) for this assignment, in consultation with the module tutor; this text will therefore not have any lectures or seminars directly relating to it. If a re-sit is required, however, the format should differ: in order to give such a student the best chance of passing a re-sit, an alternative question on one of the set texts taught during the course (not the one on which they wrote assignment 1) will be assigned.
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 26/04/2017
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