- An undergraduate course
in
Arts and Humanities.
Exploring the classical world
- On this page
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | A219 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 8 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| 2 Computer-marked assignments (CMAs) | |
| Examination | |
| No residential school | |
This course is for anyone interested in classical Greece and Rome. You will investigate a wide range of topics (such as the world of Homer; political uses of theatre; art and rhetoric in Athens; the history of the Roman Republican period; Latin poetry and Roman social history), studying sources as varied as poetry, drama, history writing, art, architecture, archaeology, inscriptions, and philosophy. Whether your interest in the classical world is long-standing or new, this course will give you a fresh perspective, develop your skills in analysis and evaluation and lay a firm foundation for further exploration.
Modules at Level 2 assume that you are suitably prepared for study at this level. If you want to take a single module to satisfy your career development needs or pursue particular interests, you don’t need to start at Level 1 but you do need to have adequately prepared yourself for OU study in some other way. Check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service to make sure that you are sufficiently prepared.
Register for the course
What you will study
The civilisations of classical Greece and Rome are in many respects far removed from our own, but are nevertheless highly relevant to modern western culture.
This broad introduction to the classical world begins with an introduction to the overall geography and history of the era. This will give you a framework in which you can situate the individual cultures and periods that you will study in this course. It will also provide background knowledge for further courses in classical studies that you may wish to take in the future.
After this introduction, the course is organised historically, allowing you to study a range of different topics in chronological order, moving from Greece to Rome. However, it isn't simply a survey course, as you will engage, in depth, with a selection of particularly interesting aspects of the classical world. The common theme running throughout the course is an exploration of what made different places and times culturally distinctive, and how we can try to understand them so many years later. The course is divided into six sections.
Introduction The introduction has two main aims. It will help you think about the methods that we can use to study the classical world, and introduce you to the sources at our disposal. It will also let you familiarise yourself with key features of Greek and Roman geography and history.
Block 1 Homer and the Greek Dark Age This block focuses on one of the earliest periods of classical history, the time of the Greek epic poets, especially Homer. Aspects of both the Iliad and the Odyssey are studied at some length, building up to a picture of Homeric society and artistry. A close look at vases will add a further dimension to your understanding of the period.
Block 2: Classical Athens This block looks at Athens in the fifth century BCE. You will study four sources: Aeschylus' tragedy, the Persians; arts and buildings on the Acropolis; oratory; and Aristophanes' comedy Lysistrata. These sources have a shared focus: the Athenians' understanding of their own identity as Athenians.
Block 3: The Roman Republic This block starts with an introduction to the second half of the course, linking the Greek world studied in Blocks 1 and 2 with the study of cultural developments in Italy. This starts with the experience and physical remains of Greek colonisation of southern Italy. The central part of the block investigates politics and power in the city of Rome in the Republican period. A concluding section considers how the various kinds of literature produced at the time contribute to a distinctive Roman culture.
Block 4: Rome – City and People This block turns to social history. You will learn about the population of Rome, how it was organised socially and what daily and family life in Rome was like. Your main sources will include the letters of Pliny the Younger and of Cicero, the philosophy of Seneca and inscriptions on tombstones.
Block 5: Revision and Retrospection This block introduces a small amount of new material. It will help you to look back and pull together the threads which run through the course. It also serves as a preparation for the end-of-course examination.
As you go through the course, you will:
- acquire a broad knowledge of the political, social and cultural history as well as the geography of the classical world
- acquire a broad knowledge and understanding of the various disciplines that make up classical studies, and develop your ability to practise the methods of enquiry used by these disciplines
- develop your ability to examine critically different kinds of ancient material and modern interpretations of this material
- develop skills to communicate your knowledge and understanding in an appropriately scholarly manner.
In addition to the printed material you will use other media. You will regularly use audio CDs, and sometimes do exercises incorporating these CDs. You will also regularly use DVDs; these DVDs have simple intuitive navigation menus comparable to those of standard commercial DVDs of feature films. Finally, you will occasionally use a networked computer. The vast majority of the teaching relies on the printed materials, audio CDs and DVDs, but at times, the course will direct you to external websites (to look at images of ancient art, for instance). It also provides its own user-friendly website, including maps and timelines of the ancient world, and an audio pronunciation guide of ancient names. The use of all these materials is straightforward and carefully introduced in the course.
Entry
This is a Level 2 course and builds on the Level 1 courses The arts past and present (AA100), Voices and texts (A150) and Making sense of things: an introduction to material culture (A151). These Level 1 courses develop skills such as logical thinking, clear expression, essay writing and the ability to select and interpret relevant materials. They also offer an introduction to a range of subjects in the arts and humanities.
If you have not studied at university level before, you are strongly advised to study at Level 1 before progressing to Level 2 study.
Your regional or national centre can advise you on where you can see reference copies of Level 1 study materials. Some are also available from Open University Worldwide Ltd. We particularly recommend looking at these materials if you have not successfully completed Level 1 study or studied at an equivalent level elsewhere.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
No preparatory work is required. If you have not taken a Level 1 course in the arts, you will find it useful to have The Arts Good Study Guide (E. Chambers and A. Northedge, The Open University), which will help you to develop your study skills.
Regulations
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Module Regulations and the Student Regulations which are available on our Essential documents website.
If you have a disability
Brief descriptions of key visual material are available. The study materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and mathematical, scientific, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. However, parts of this course are focused on visual sources, such as ancient art and architecture, and visually impaired students are strongly recommended to arrange for a sighted assistant. The sighted assistant will be particularly important for a short unit of map work in the Introduction, for one week in Block 2 (on the Acropolis), for some short segments of Block 3, and for some of the DVD tracks (spread across the course, mostly little longer than 30 minutes each). The books are available in a comb-bound format. Written transcripts are available for the audio-visual material. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you have particular study requirements please tell us as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Visit our Services for disabled students website for more information, including:
- help to determine your study requirements and how to request the support that you need
- Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
- using a computer for OU study
- equipment and other support services that we offer
- examination arrangements
- how to contact us for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Study materials
What's included
Books, other printed material, DVDs, audio CDs and website.
You will need
DVD and audio CD players.
Computing requirements
You will need a computer with internet access to study this course as it includes online activities, which you can access using a web browser.
- If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2007 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
- If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
- If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.6 or later.
You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.
Materials to buy
Set books
- Radice, B The Letters of the Younger Pliny, Penguin £9.99 - ISBN 9780140441277
- Beard, M and Crawford, M Rome in the Late Republic, Duckworth £14.99 - ISBN 9780715629284
- Hornblower, S & Spawforth, A (eds) The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization, Oxford University Press £22.99 - ISBN 9780198609582
- Lattimore, R The Odyssey of Homer, HarperCollins US £8.99 - ISBN 9780061244186
- Pomeroy et al. (ed) A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society and Culture, Oxford University Press £32.50 - ISBN 9780195372359
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. We may also be able to offer group tutorials and day schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
The CMAs don’t count towards your final result.
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in October 2013. We expect it to be available once a year.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button.
Student Reviews
“A good course which provides a broad introduction to the classics. I did feel that some areas assumed a level ...”
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“The subject matter is engaging for anyone with an interest in the classics and you really come away feeling that ...”
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Distance learning
The Open University is the world’s leading provider of flexible, high quality distance learning. Unlike other universities we are not campus based. You will study in a flexible way that works for you whether you’re at home, at work or on the move. As an OU student you’ll be supported throughout your studies – your tutor or study adviser will guide and advise you, offer detailed feedback on your assignments, and help with any study issues. Tuition might be in face-to-face groups, via online tutorials, or by phone.
For more information read Distance learning explained.
Undergraduate
| Course facts | |
|---|---|
| About this course: | |
| Course code | A219 |
| Credits | 60 |
| OU Level | 2 |
| SCQF level | 8 |
| FHEQ level | 5 |
| Course work includes: | |
| 5 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| 2 Computer-marked assignments (CMAs) | |
| Examination | |
| No residential school | |
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