Undergraduate

• Level I courses
• Undergraduate courses in 2009
• Advance Level courses and constructing a Major in Classics
• Note on Course Content
• Classics Librarian
• Expectations Concerning Attendance and Written Work

Below is a summary of information concerning undergraduate courses, our expectations for your attendance and assessment. For the complete picture, download our Survivor's Guide to Classics or consult with our Discipline Advisor.

Level I Courses

We offer two popular first year courses, each of one semester's duration. These are taught collaboratively, drawing on our specialisations in ancient languages, literature, history, philosophy and archaeology, to give you a solid grounding in the dominant civilisations of the ancient Mediterranean world.

They are designed to be taken in sequence, although it is not formally necessary that you enrol in both of them. We do, however, recommend that students who want to study Classics subjects at Advanced Level (second and third years of study) take both of these courses. If you are planning ahead to your Honours year (fourth year of study), note now that you must have achieved a Credit or better in one or both of these courses.

• From Egypt to Ancient Greece: Divine Rulers & Popular Tyrants (CLAS_1001)
• Citizens, Cults and Emperors: Power and Status in Greece and Rome (CLAS_1002)

Download Classics Handbook for Students. 

Note that, as from 2009, we will be restricted in our selection of ancient language courses. We will be offering a year of Latin (Beginners' Latin and Advanced Latin) in 2009, and may alternate this with a year of Ancient Greek (Beginners' Ancient Greek and Advanced Ancient Greek) in future. Both languages will only be available as Advanced Level subjects.

Undergraduate Courses 2009

* Also available to students who have successfully completed ILAG and Latin I in previous years (equivalent to Latin IIA).

** Available as an option for continuing students

Advanced Level Courses and Constructing a Major in Classics

We usually offer advanced level courses in alternative years, so what is available in 2009 may not be available in 2010, but again in 2011, and so on. Below is a list of all the courses that will be on offer in 2009. 

The large number of courses available in our Faculty can often seem to provide a bewildering amount of choices. From 2008, you must choose a discipline Major within your BA, which will help you to focus your degree, whilst not restricting your areas of interest. From 2009, most courses at all levels will be of 3 units' value. This means that normally a Major will requires two Level I courses and at least 6 Advanced Level courses to be taken within a discipline. Visit the Faculty Majors and Minors website for the full list of Majors and the courses that you can choose from. If you enrolled before 2008, please consult the Faculty website for transitional arrangements.

Consider doing a Major in Classics! Our discipline, however, covers three well-defined areas of scholarship: Classical Studies (including languages, literature and cultural studies of the Greek and Roman worlds), Ancient History and Classical Archaeology. This means that we offer a wide range of topics for you to explore in your undergraduate career and in your Major. We therefore strongly suggest that you focus your studies in Classics even further, by following either a Classical Studies or Ancient History and Archaeology stream. This will help you to build your expertise in studying the ancient Mediterranean world.

If you are majoring in Classics, we strongly recommend that you choose one of the two streams below. Enrol in both Level I courses, and any 6 from Advanced Level courses in the coloured boxes. You can, of course, also enrol in any or all of the other Classics courses, subject to availability. Furthermore, if you decide to go on to do Honours with us, you must have chosen your Major from either of these streams, but not from an ad hoc mixture of both.

Classical Studies (from 2010)

This choice allows you to make comparisons across Greek and Roman cultures, as well as explore their similarities and differences from the belief systems and government of ancient Egypt, from within your Classics Major. You will also study the impact of ancient beliefs and thought-systems upon the modern world.

* Note that these * courses will be subject to availability, may be taught cross-institutionally, and are sequential. In future years, more advanced Latin and Ancient Greek may become available within the Discipline, so these options remain flexible. Check with the Discipline each year.

Ancient History and Archaeology (from 2009)

This choice allows you to gain a deeper, historical understanding of the politics, society and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Enrol in both Level I courses, and any 6 from Advanced Level courses in the coloured boxes.

 * Note that these * courses will be subject to availability, may be taught cross-institutionally, and are sequential. In future years, more advanced Latin and Ancient Greek may become available, so these options remain flexible.

Course Content

You need to be aware that some courses offered by Classics - including Latin and Ancient Greek languages - include confronting, violent or sexually-explicit material in the form of primary texts and images to be studied, or scholarly opinions to be discussed. Whilst this material may be offensive to some students, it is included so that the values and attitudes of ancient Greeks and Romans, and their successors in the East and West, may be realistically and comprehensively examined.

Students wishing to avoid this kind of material need to check with the course co-ordinator as to whether the content of the course includes such material, but note that the Discipline will not negotiate on course content with any students.

Library Resources

Ms Jennifer Osborn is the Librarian in the Barr Smith Library responsible for Classics and can provide assistance with library resources in Classics including books, electronic databases and the Internet. Contact her in the Research Librarians' area on Level 3 of the library, or by phone (8303 5345).

Lecture and Tutorial Attendance

Lectures and tutorials are an essential part of any course. Lectures usually cover, at least in outline, the essential content of each subject. They also give guidance to further reading, etc. Tutorials and seminars give you an opportunity to share your views and discuss problems with your tutor and your fellow-students; they only work well if everyone has something to contribute. So whether or not you have written a paper for any particular tutorial, you are strongly urged to read and consider the topic; the essence of a good tutorial is student participation. Because of the importance of tutorials and lectures, attendance is compulsory. If you find you must miss a tutorial, it is often possible to attend a tutorial on the same topic at a different time, but you should let your own tutor know, if possible in advance.

Persistent failure to attend tutorials or lectures may lead to preclusion from sitting the final exam, or to work not being accepted. This is at the discretion of the course co-ordinator. Failure to attend the exam or do its equivalent in take-home assessment will normally result in overall failure in the course.

Written Work

All subjects in Classics place considerable emphasis on written work, in the form of essays and tutorial papers. Tutors are always willing to discuss problems encountered in preparing a paper. Find out your tutor's name, the location of his or her office, and the contact hours for consultation (that is, when you can expect to see your tutor without prior appointment).

If you cannot find your tutor in his or her room, contact him or her via email, asking for an appointment. You can contact your course co-ordinator via email; this information is also usually available on MyUni.

The precise deadlines for each piece of assessment will be given to you well in advance. Tutorial papers are usually handed up at the tutorial itself, and given personally to the tutor. Papers handed in after the tutorial without prior agreement by the tutor will not be accepted. It is a good idea to take keepKeep a copy of any written assignment by photocopying or typing a duplicate if you can, or at least by keeping your rough draft. In spite of all efforts, work does occasionally go astray, creating serious difficulties for all concerned.

Having overlapping deadlines for written work across all your courses is never a valid reason for requesting an extension. It is your responsibility to avoid waiting until close to the assessment deadline to start your work. Be aware of multiple assessment deadlines that fall within a small space of time, and spread your workload evenly over the available time.

Unless you have obtained an extension in advance, late assignments will be penalised at the rate of 10% per week or part of a week for a maximum of two weeks. After this, they will not be marked. Classicsstaff do grant extensions on medical or compassionate grounds. Where possible, these must be negotiated before the due date, or as soon as possible, with your tutor.

Classics does not allow resubmission of work, that is, you cannot rewrite and resubmit a piece of work after it has been given a mark. Double marking is only allowed in the case of essays. If you feel you have reason to be dissatisfied with a mark, you should first speak to the original marker. If you are still not satisfied, the (unmodified) essay will be marked by a second member of staff. The final mark will be the average of both marks. There will be no appeal against this average mark, even if it is lower than the original mark.