GK4126 Hellenistic Poetry

Academic year

2024 to 2025 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

Dr M J Carroll

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

Module Staff

Dr M Carroll

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

Module description

The Hellenistic period was a time of great poetic innovation and experimentation that was at the same time marked by a preoccupation with literary tradition and the relationship between the poetry of the past and of the present. The aim of this module is to introduce some of the key features of Hellenistic poetry while also giving a sense of its diversity. A central concern will be to consider the ways in which the poetry of the period reflects, and attempts to make sense of, the social and cultural changes its authors were living through. Our focus will be on the major poetic figures centred around Alexandria - Callimachus, Theocritus and Apollonius, as well as Lycophron and Aratus - but we will also read selections from other poets in translation. Topics to be covered will include: Callimachean aesthetics; generic experimentation; materiality and the poetry book; antiquarian and scientific learning; and self-consciousness and allusion.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisites

40 CREDITS FROM GK2001, GK2002, GK2003, GK2004, INCLUDING ONE PASS AT 11 OR BETTER, OR A PASS IN GK3022, OR EVIDENCE OF EQUIVALENT LINGUISTIC ACHIEVEMENT.

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 60%, 2-hour Written Examination = 40%

Re-assessment

3-hour Written Examination = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

2 hours of lectures and seminars (x 10 weeks)

Intended learning outcomes

  • Identify and describe the key characteristics of Hellenistic poetry
  • Discuss how these characteristics vary depending on the author, genre and cultural context of the work in question
  • Analyse specific passages from a selection of texts in relation to these broader literary and cultural factors
  • Describe and evaluate a variety of scholarly approaches to the topic
  • Formulate sophisticated arguments about Hellenistic poetry using appropriate evidence and demonstrating awareness of developments in the scholarship in recent decades