BA Hons Classics

The BA Hons Classics program offers a comprehensive study of classical antiquity, covering various disciplines such as history, culture, archaeology, art, philosophy, and linguistics. Students have the option to specialize in a specific field or maintain a broader focus throughout the course. 

Classical texts serve as crucial evidence for understanding ancient civilizations. In the first year, students will analyze original Greek and Latin texts, written by prominent authors such as Homer, Euripides, Plato, Virgil, Ovid, and Cicero, representing significant periods of ancient literature. Additionally, students will explore various aspects of ancient history, archaeology, art, philosophy, philology, and linguistics. They will also examine how the classical tradition continues to influence modern society.

In the second year, students need to choose two modules which are compulsory:

• Greek translation
• Latin translation

The remaining modules are chosen from a range of subject areas:

• Greek Literature
• Latin Literature
• Greek Philosophy
• Greek and Roman History
• Classical Art and Archaeology
• Classical and Historical Linguistics

In the third year, students can specialise within one discipline (eg archaeology) or construct a wide-ranging course based to their individual strengths and interests. Four modules has to be chosen from a broad range of options, including:

• literature, eg Women and Greek Literature
• philosophy, eg Beauty
• history, eg Slavery in the Greek and Roman Worlds 
• art and archaeology, eg Beyond Classical Art
• historical Linguistics, eg Greek in the Bronze Age
• a multidisciplinary paper, eg Gods of Greece and Rome
• papers from another degree course

Towards the conclusion of the academic year, it is customary to undergo examinations in the mentioned subjects. Alternatively, students also have the option to replace one examination with a dissertation pertaining to a topic of their preference within the realm of Classics. Previous dissertations have encompassed a diverse range of subjects:

• cross-dressing in antiquity
• modern receptions of Sappho
• Milton as a Latin poet
• gods in Pindar 
• Greek tragedy and politics
• Roman statues and canons of beauty
• Indo-European poetics
• the nature and role of pleasure in human life
• urbanism in Roman Egypt