LT4229 Writing Roman Civil War

Academic year

2025 to 2026 Semester 1

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

30

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 10

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

Available to General Degree students with the permission of the Honours Adviser.

Planned timetable

To be arranged

This information is given as indicative. Timetable may change at short notice depending on room availability.

Module coordinator

Prof A R Konig

Prof A R Konig
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Alice König

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

While the Elder Seneca’s Labienus claimed that forgetting was the best defence against civil war (Sen. Contr. 10.3.5), Roman authors did not pass over the issue of civil war in silence. In fact, civil war looms large in Roman History and the Roman cultural imagination. By exploring a range of written representations of internal conflict from the Late Republic and Early Imperial periods, this module considers the diachronic and cross-generic evolution of key civil war tropes and motifs, contemplates the development of a civil war literary tradition within this period, and examines cross-generational attempts to comprehend the causes, experiences, and aftermaths of civil conflict. We will focus on selections from Cicero’s Letters, Virgil’s Georgics, Lucan’s Bellum Civile, and Tacitus’ Histories, and read sections of other poetic, epistolary, and historiographical sources in translation alongside these core texts.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

40 CREDITS FROM LT2001, LT2002, LT2003, LT2004, OR LT3017, LT3018

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

Examination = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

2-hour lectures (x 10 weeks)

Scheduled learning hours

20

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

278

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • By the end of the module students will have improved their Latin language skills by reading a large volume of text both from the set text prescriptions and from other authors.
  • By the end of the module students demonstrate a sound knowledge of Roman civil wars and their representation in historical and literary traditions.
  • By the end of the module students will have improved their skills of literary analysis through extensive work on close reading of the set texts.
  • By the end of the module students will have improved their skills of reading, processing and analysing large volumes of secondary material.
  • By the end of the module students will have improved their skills of written argumentation, through their work on the module's two coursework essays.
  • By the end of the module students will have improved their skills of spoken communication and argumentation, through their participation in the module's seminars.