CL4468 Classics and the Left

Academic year

2024 to 2025 Semester 2

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.

Planned timetable

To be arranged

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

Module coordinator

Dr H A Stead

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

Module Staff

Dr Henry Stead

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

Module description

As the so-called cradle of Western civilisation, the Greek and Roman classics are and have frequently been associated with conservative and right-wing ideologies. In extremes, this collision can manifest in fascist receptions of the classics. But this is only one side of a complex story of cultural contestation. This module invites students to learn how classical culture was treated by the radical left since Karl Marx to the present day. By focusing on the classical receptions of international leftist writers and artists, students will experience how a broad range of classical material has been used in the struggle for ‘progress’.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

AS STATED IN THE SCHOOL OF CLASSICS UNDERGRADUATE HANDBOOK

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

Coursework = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

1 x 2hr seminar x 11 weeks

Intended learning outcomes

  • Identify and describe characteristic features of ideologically inflected classical reception from the 19th to 20th century; identify and describe characteristic approaches to classical reception studies.
  • Describe and analyse several major sites of classical reception among the international left; describe and analyse key moments in the history of the international left.
  • Analyse the interaction of leftist classical receptions with their social, cultural, intellectual and historical context.
  • Analyse, critically evaluate and discuss interdisciplinary scholarship which illuminates the leftist reception of classical culture.
  • Devise sophisticated and wide-ranging, coherent arguments on important research questions related to the prescribed texts / cultural objects on the basis of a thorough analysis of the primary evidence and the critical analysis of scholarship.