Admission requirements
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal
Description
Today, more people than ever live in a country other than the one in which they were born. Migration is one of the most discussed and debated phenomena of our time. In recent decades migration and mobility have also become important themes in research on the ancient world, especially in the fields of archaeology, linguistics, and ancient history. Robert Garland distinguishes eight types of ancient Greek migrants: The Wanderer, The Settler, The Deportee, The Evacuee, The Asylum Seeker, The Fugitive, The Economic Migrant, and The Itinerant. In this seminar we will examine the relationship between migration and literature. On the one hand, migration has an impact on literature: many ancient authors themselves could be considered migrants, including Herodotus, Lysias, Martial and Quintilian. On the other hand, literary texts construct narratives of migration, which invite readers to reflect on the experiences of migrants. We will interpret migration narratives from Homer, Aeschylus (Suppliants) and Herodotus to Virgil, Dionysius, and Lucian. We will compare migration stories from the Hebrew Bible; and we will consider some tomb inscriptions, which tell us about the life and death of Greek speaking non-elite migrants in Rome. What do these narratives tell us about ancient experiences of migration? What scenarios of migration do we find in ancient literature? And what can we learn from these narratives when considering questions of migration in our contemporary world?
Course objectives
Knowledge and insight:
Students gain
knowledge of a selection of ancient Greek and Latin narratives of migration;
knowledge of recent scholarly approaches to ancient narratives of migration;
insight into advanced scholarship on the history of migration and migrant literature;
knowledge of some key issues in the history of migration and migrant literature.
Skills:
(for differentiation between MA and ResMA, see below under Assessment Methods)
Students learn
to formulate a complex research question, to collect relevant materials, to analyze results, to construct arguments, to formulate conclusions (research, analysing);
to demonstrate their grasp of critical issues in recent scholarship, and to assess recent scholarly contributions by confronting them with the original source material (research, analysing);
to read and translate Greek (and some Latin) texts into idiomatic English; to discuss the semantics of lexemes and the grammatical and discourse linguistic features of these texts (reading);
to read independently a selection of Greek and Latin texts with the help of commentaries (independent learning);
to critically assess scholarship according to the standards of academic debate (research);
to give a clear and well-argued oral presentation about a specific narrative of migration, making effective use of a handout (mandatory) and other presentation devices (oral communication, presenting);
to present a well-argued and well-formulated constructive response to a presentation (oral communication, presenting);
to write a scholarly paper, which will offer a clear and well-structured presentation of original research (research, written communication);
to participate actively in discussion and debate: the student demonstrates involvement in the topic by asking well-informed and constructive questions and making contributions to the collective progress, on the basis of antecedent independent preparation (oral communication);
This research seminar contributes to the achievement of learning outcomes 4a and 4c (to give and write a clear and well-argued oral and written presentation on a research topic in accordance with academic standards) of the study programme Classics and Ancient Civilizations.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
Written Examination with short open questions about and translations of Greek (and a few Latin) texts and short open questions and essay questions on secondary literature (30%)
Oral presentation (30%)
Written Paper (3000-4000 words) (30%)
Participation (10%)
The requirements for MA and ResMA students are differentiated:
The paper of an MA student will present a specific text passage with translation and commentary.
The paper of a Research MA student will take the form of a scholarly article that presents the innovative and well-argued interpretation of a narrative or text passage, with a clear research question, an argument, and a conclusion.
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average. To pass the course, the weighted average of the partial grades must be 5.5 or higher.
Resit
If the overall mark is unsatisfactory, the student can either revise the paper and / or retake the examination (after consultation with the instructor). There is no resit for the oral presentation and participation.
Inspection and feedback
Shortly after their oral presentation, students will receive (oral or written) feedback. They will be invited to review their written examination when the results have been published. Students will receive written feedback on their paper.
Reading list
Before the seminar’s first meeting, students should have read:
Garland, R. 2014. Wandering Greeks: The Ancient Greek Diaspora from the Age of Homer to the Death of Alexander the Great. Princeton (199 pages).
This book is digitally available through Leiden University Library; it can also be purchased (it is available in paperback).
Students should have access to their own text editions of Herodotus’ Histories, Aeschylus’ Suppliants, and Lucian’s The Scythian (please borrow or buy them if you do not yet possess them).
A selection of Greek and Latin texts and secondary literature will be announced through Brightspace: these titles will be available through Leiden University Library.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration À la carte education, Contract teaching and Exchange
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Arsenaal.
Remarks
Students are required to attend the classes, to be fully prepared, and to join the discussions. Students who fail more than two sessions without valid reason will be excluded from the course.