
- UCAS course code
- QR63
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course unit details:
Seneca: Philosopher, Politician, and Playwright
Unit code | CAHE35012 |
---|---|
Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 3 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
Offered by | Classics, Ancient History & Egyptology |
Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
Lucius Annaeus Seneca lived through turbulent times in First Century CE Rome, and responded to the world around him with an astonishing range of intellectual activity, from oratory and epistolography to philosophical essays and tragedies exploring the violent extremes of human emotion. The impact of his work was felt in the next generation of Roman writers, including the epic poet, Lucan, and continued into the 21st century, influencing the development of Renaissance theatre and the 20th Century theories of Foucault.
This course examines Seneca’s philosophical and dramatic words in their historical, literary and philosophical contexts.
Pre/co-requisites
Pre: Non-linguists: none; Linguists: (at least) A-Level Latin or Intensive Latin 2.
Co: Non-linguists: none; Linguists: Students who are concurrently taking CAHE30110 Advanced Latin 1 may choose whether to take this course unit as linguist or non-linguist. Students who are concurrently taking CAHE30210 Advanced Latin 2 or CAHE30310 are expected to take the linguist version.
Anti: CAHE25012 Seneca.
Aims
- To provide students with the tools to develop a sophisticated analysis of the presentation of ideas across different literary and philosophical genres.
- To enable students to develop a sophisticated understand individual works of Seneca and contextualize this understanding in the wider literary, historical and intellectual climate of the time.
- To enable students to develop an extensive understanding of and to critically evaluate the reception history of Seneca’s works.
Knowledge and understanding
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the issues we confront when dealing with texts in translation;
- use appropriate terminology when discussing dramatic and philosophical issues.
- give a sustained account of central works of Seneca, indicating revelant passages
Those taking the linguistic option will also be able to translate into good English and discuss the linguistic features of Seneca’s language.
Intellectual skills
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- offer sophisticated analysis of texts from a range of genres with different critical approaches;
- synthesise material from different sources to produce diachronic and synchronic analyses.
- engage in constructive and sustained philosophical discussion
Practical skills
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- present the results of their work in a professional manner with appropriate reference to sources and modern published scholarship;
- assimilate and summarise large quantities of evidence;
- locate and retrieve relevant information from primary sources;
- conduct independent bibliographic searches;
- engage in constructive and sustained discussion.
Transferable skills and personal qualities
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- construct a sustained and sophisticated argument in written and oral form;
- pose and attempt to answer questions about complex issues;
- assimilate and summarise large quantities of evidence;
- locate and retrieve relevant information from primary sources;
- conduct bibliographic searches;
- present the results in a professional manner with appropriate reference to sources and modern published scholarship;
- use e-resources and gain knowledge of research methods and resources;
- manage time and resources;
- engage in constructive and sustained critical discussion.
Employability skills
- Other
- The course involves a large number of important employment skills, most notably an ability to analyse and examine a large amount of often difficult information, an ability to see both sides of an argument, the ability to synthesise an argument in a cogent form, the ability to retrieve information from complex sources and present it in a compelling and cogent fashion.
Assessment methods
Assessment task | Formative or Summative | Weighting within unit (if summative) |
Commentary | Formative |
|
Commentary (on text in translation for non-linguists and Latin text for linguists) | Summative | 50% |
Essay | Summative | 50% |
Feedback methods
Feedback method | Formative or Summative |
Written feedback on formative and summative assessment | Both |
Additional one-to-one feedback (during the consultation hour or by making an appointment). | Formative |
Oral feedback in seminars | Formative |
Recommended reading
Set Texts:
Wilson, E. (transl), 2010. Seneca: Six Tragedies (Oxford World’s Classics) 978-0192807069.
Davie, J. (transl), 2007 Seneca: Dialogues and Essays (Oxford World’s Classics) 978-0199552405
Additional texts as provided in lectures.
Linguists will read a smaller selection of texts in translation as well as selected passages (text provided) from Hercules Furens and De Ira.
Secondary Reading:
Bartsch, S. (ed.) 2015. The Cambridge Companion to Seneca.
Costa, C. (ed.) 1974. Seneca.
Dodson Robinson, E. (ed.) 2016. Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Senecan Tragedy.
Fitch, J. (ed.) 2008.
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours
Lectures
22
Seminars
11
Independent study hours
Independent study
167
Teaching staff
Staff member
Role
Jenny Bryan
Unit coordinator
Emma Griffiths
Unit coordinator