2018/19 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
CLAS3360 Ovid the Innovator
20 creditsClass Size: 24
Module manager: Dr Bev Back
Email: b.back@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2018/19
This module is mutually exclusive with
CLAS2360 | Ovid the Innovator |
CLAS3361 | Ovid the Innovator: Linguistic Pathway |
This module is approved as a discovery module
Module summary
This 20-credit module is suitable for Level 2 and 3 students with some knowledge of Classical literature. It focuses on three innovative works of Ovid: Heroides, a set of letters from mythical heroines to their absent lovers; Tristia, a series of poems in which the exiled poet laments his plight among savages at Tomis; and Fasti, a poetic treatment of the Roman calendar and its religious festivals in the age of Augustus. The poems are studied in English translation (Heroides, tr. H. Isbell, Penguin 1990; Tristia, tr. P. Green, University of California Press 2005; Fasti, tr. A. Boyle and R. Woodard, Penguin 2000).Objectives
On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:- confidently undertake close readings of the translated set texts, and produce critical appreciations of passages from these texts;
- situate the works in their literary, socio-political and historical contexts;
- compare and contrast the texts to one another, versions of the myths written about to their predecessors, and consider other selected works which utilise aspects of the storyline, characters, or imagery shown in Ovid’s works;
- identify and evaluate secondary scholarship and literary critical approaches, especially narratology, considerations of genre, intertextuality and reception theory.
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students are expected to be able to:
- demonstrate coherent and detailed subject knowledge and a range of subject-specific skills, including an ability to analyse critically various forms of texts (especially different genres of literature) and relate them to each other where appropriate;
- compare and contrast the three poems under consideration: with each other, their predecessors, and with other works in the Ovidian corpus;
- deploy accurately close reading techniques to produce critical appreciations of passages from these texts;
- identify and evaluate literary critical approaches, especially narratology, intertextuality and reception theory, and be able to describe and comment on particular aspects of current research and scholarship;
- select evidence for, and explore, Ovid's treatment of themes such as gender, gods and cosmology, mythical heroes and Roman kings, and Augustan Rome.
- demonstrate a range of transferable skills, including effective use of the library and other methods of research, written expression, the use of IT resources, time-management, and the organisation of personal study.
Syllabus
This module will focus on three innovative works of Ovid: Heroides, a set of letters from mythical heroines to their absent lovers; Tristia, a series of poems in which the exiled poet laments his plight among savages at Tomis; and Fasti, a poetic treatment of the Roman calendar and its religious festivals in the age of Augustus. But nothing is quite as it seems with Ovid. The mythical heroines in Heroides invite us to question the authority behind 'familiar' myths; the poems in Tristia are so full of poetic flair as to make some doubt whether Ovid was ever exiled at all; and Fasti outwardly celebrates and subtly criticises Augustan Rome in equal measure. These poems will be studied in their own right and, more generally, as a means of assessing Ovid's skill at manipulating myth, his exile and exilic persona, and his troubled relationship with Augustus and Augustan Rome.
Teaching methods
Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
Lecture | 18 | 1.00 | 18.00 |
Seminar | 5 | 1.00 | 5.00 |
Private study hours | 177.00 | ||
Total Contact hours | 23.00 | ||
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200.00 |
Private study
3 hours per lecture (3*18) = 54 hours4 hours per seminar (4*5) = 20 hours
Preparation for coursework essay (40% OF MARK) = 40 hours
Preparation for examination (60% OF MARK) = 63 hours
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
Student progress will be monitored formatively through their contributions to discussions and through their submission of an essay plan and practice gobbet for the exam.Methods of assessment
Coursework
Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
Essay | Not more than 3000 words | 40.00 |
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 40.00 |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Exams
Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) | 2 hr 00 mins | 60.00 |
Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 60.00 |
The exam will consist of two sections, A and B, from each of which students will be required to answer two questions (one essay and one gobbet) from a choice. Section A will consist of questions known in advance and discussed in class; Section B will be unseen. Each question will be weighted equally, therefore 4 questions x 25% = 100%.
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 24/04/2018
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