Bachelor of Arts (BA)

BA Latin and Linguistics

Examine ancient sources in their original languages and develop expert research and analysis skills.
  • Duration: 3 years
  • Year of entry: 2025
  • UCAS course code: QQ61 / Institution code: M20
  • Key features:
  • Study with a language

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Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

Scholarships and bursaries are available to eligible Home/EU students, this is in addition to the government package of maintenance grants.

Course unit details:
Ekphrasis in Latin texts

Course unit fact file
Unit code CAHE30292
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 3
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

This course unit will explore a theme in Latin literature which was not only enormously popular in its own day, but also had a huge influence over the development of European art and poetry. Ekphrasis, the poetic representation of a work of art, is a site in which verbal and visual art interact. While reading passages from important and canonical texts, together with some lesser-known works, students will not only develop their ability to read the Latin language but also gain a deeper appreciation of the role of language in aesthetics.

Pre/co-requisites

CAHE39211 Advanced Latin 2 (higher is fine)

Aims

1. Explore the theme of ekphrasis through close reading of a selection of Latin texts in the original.

2. Improve reading of Latin language.

3. Develop students’ understanding of ancient aesthetics.

Knowledge and understanding

  • Have increased knowledge of the Latin language
  • Link together but also differentiate instantiations of a theme through different periods

Intellectual skills

  • Have increased ability to read and translate Latin
  • Develop critical reflection on and evaluation of literature
  • Be able to make a reasoned argument for a particular point of view regarding literary interpretation
  • Developed a basic understanding of how scansion and other technical aspects learned in Advanced Language courses can enhance interpretation

Practical skills

  • Have increased ability to use library, electronic and online resources to enhance the study of Latin texts
  • Engage with other members of the class in order to develop literary reading as a communal activity

Transferable skills and personal qualities

  • Attention to detail
  • Self-organisation and time-management
  • Teamwork

Assessment methods

Communal oral presentation, including PowerPoint or similar (20%)

Individual write-up (30%)

Online exam (50%)

Feedback methods

Presentation: Formative peer feedback and written feedback to the group from the tutor

Individual write-up and online exam: Written feedback via Turnitin

Recommended reading

Dinter, M. (2013) ‘Intermediality in Latin Epic: en video quaecumque audita’, Lovatt, H. and Vout, C. (edd). Epic Visions: Visuality in Greek and Latin Epic and Its Reception. Cambridge: 122–138 
Elsner, J. (2002), ed., The Verbal and the Visual: Cultures of Ekphrasis in Antiquity, Ramus special issue. 
Faber R.A. (2018) ‘Intermediality and ekphrasis in Latin epic poetry’, Greece and Rome 65:1-14 
Fowler, D.P. (1991) ‘Narrate and describe: the problem of ekphrasis’, JRS 81:25-35

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 11
Seminars 22
Independent study hours
Independent study 167

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Julene Abad Unit coordinator

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