Admission requirements
All students admitted to the MA Classics are admissible. BA Classics is an admission requirement. Research MA students are admissible, but this course is extra curricular for them, since it is not aimed at acquiring Research MA level research skills.
Description
Why do we study Classics in the modern world? In what ways can we use ancient texts as ‘tools for thinking’ to analyse current affairs and societal problems? What kinds of competences and approaches typical of classicists can we use in dealing with modern society? How can the study of classical antiquity be made more inclusive? We will study the debate on the usefulness or otherwise of Classics and look at a number of current issues, with options including how to deal with our colonial past, political rhetoric, the coronavirus pandemic, racism, the #Metoo debate and female soccer champions, the refugee and migration crisis, the dangers of playing computer games or reading Homer, debates about the nature of art, combat trauma and the ancient Greeks, the place of technology in the cultural imagination, innovation, ‘ecocriticism’ (the role of the environment and human-nature interaction in classical literature) and several other topics, in consultation with the participants.
Initial bibliography will be made available for the first class meeting; it is expected that the students will actively search out more material relevant to the topics they have selected (‘heuristic competence’). Some literature is made permanently available in the Classics reading room (these books will not be lent out). Use of ChatGPT will be discussed in first session.
Everyone must read Martha Nussbaum’s Not for Profit in English or Dutch before session 8.
Course objectives
At the end of this course:
students will have acquired insight into the (historical) debate over the usefulness or relevance of the study of Classics (or points of view that emphasize a purely aesthetic or intrinsic value of studying Classics); students will have learned to articulate their own position in this debate.
Students will be aware of the pitfalls of and theoretical backgrounds to using historical evidence in contemporary debates, and have reflected on issues such as anachronism, and a comparative approach (with heuristic potential for diagnosing similarities and differences).
Students will have acquired writing skills in sub-academic genres, in particular the essay (but also, optionally, e.g. the ‘letter to the editor’ (op-ed pieces), or a blog or other social media), in their potential to spread ideas based on academic research.
Students will have familiarized themselves with possible roles of classical texts in a number of contemporary debates.
In oral presentation they will present audibly, clearly and on the basis of arguments the results of the student’s research, and make effective use of hand-out, illustrations or multi-media techniques.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
-Active participation and preparation (10%); note that attendance is compulsory; not more than one class may be missed;
-Collaborative presentation, possibly including organizing and chairing group discussion (20%);
-Three writing assignments (20%, 20%, 30%), details provided in syllabus made available in first class session; all written assignments must have been handed in and at least two out of three must have a passing grade (but I’m actually working on the assumption that you’ll improve any work that does not).
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.
Students will receive detailed written feedback on their writing assignments and presentation.
Class instruction, presentations, and discussion will be in English when non-Dutch speakers are present. However, given the objectives of the class and the importance of the Dutch context, all written assignments may be produced in Dutch or English, as the student prefers. Dutch students must produce at least one text in Dutch.
Resit
Resit possible for the written assignments that were below passing grades.
Reading list
Initial bibliography will be made available during the first session of class. All students must read Martha Nussbaum’s Not for Profit in English or Dutch before session 8.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
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
- Language of instruction/examination:
Class instruction and discussion will be in English when non-Dutch speakers are present. However, given the objectives of the class and the importance of the Dutch context, all written assignments may be produced in Dutch or English, as the student prefers. Dutch students must produce at least one text in Dutch.