Classics and Ancient History MA

This module will provide students with a set of skills that is necessary for the development, structuring and presentation of their dissertation topic (which can be later applied to PhD research) alongside transferable skills (clarity of written expression, critical faculty, advanced level ability to structure and present arguments in a range of media, and project management) applicable to academic and non-academic work environments; The module also aims to develop your abilities to engage with current historiographical and theoretical debates appropriate to MA level in an informed, analytical and critical manner.

In the age of ‘Fake News’ and ‘Alternative Facts’ questions of what facts are, how they are conveyed or identified, and what consists a ‘lie’ and what ‘truth’, are at the heart of current political and media discourses. The exact same questions pertain to the ancient world as well, and they gain in significance due to our fragmentary written sources and the frequent blurring of what we would call ‘fact’ with ‘fiction’ across a range of genres.   Reaching across ancient Greece and Rome, this module investigates the intersection of truth and lies in the texts upon which our engagement with and construction of the ancient world rests.   Through a variety of documentary and literary texts, it interrogates the conceptual distinction between truth and lies and explores the ways historians, politicians, poets, authors, and common people use ‘facts’ and ‘fictions’ to generate their own   narratives and views of the world they inhabit. These views can be very persuasive and convincing, making it even more difficult to disentangle ‘fact’ from ‘fiction’, to separate ‘truth’ from ‘lies’.   The module concludes by examining how contemporary engagements with the Classical past similarly navigate a line between ‘truth’ and ‘lies’ to serve their own agendas.

Space and place are important anchors for human experience. The immediate environment shapes and frames our everyday lives, while the worlds we imagine, past and present, nearby and faraway, provide touchstones for ourselves as individuals and members of a community. It is the purpose of this module to examine the relationship between the ancient Greeks and Romans and the spaces and places they built, occupied, moved in, and imagined.

By engaging with a diverse body of written material, from poetry to the literature of geography, ethnography and historiography, ancient handbooks, to travel itineraries on papyri and objects, along with the fabric of religious, civic and domestic spaces, it explores how people in antiquity experienced, interacted within and conceptualized their immediate world. Moving between natural landscapes and urban environments, it also illuminates the importance of spaces and places in establishing understanding of other peoples, and other possible ways of living, that were reflected in different experiences and ideologies ‘at home’. The module also highlights the way ancient landscapes, surviving now in ruins, shaped later engagements with the ‘other worlds’ of Classical antiquity.

This module is designed to promote key skills in the collection, analysis and interpretation of primary material (archaeological and textual) relevant to a reconstruction of the nature and organisation of settlement in ancient Egypt;

It will use detailed case-studies to encourage students to develop their ability to formulate and present independent argument using this archaeological and textual material as data;

It will further encourage the presentation of such argument and analysis in a coherent format as might be appropriate for publication.

This module examines the formative period in the development of the Greek world, marked by the rapid expansion of Greek culture and the emergence of distinct regional identities. Using small-group discussions, we will utilise diverse forms of archaeological evidence combined with early documentary and epigraphic sources (in translation) to examine this crucial proto-historical period, for which there exists a large and complex body of archaeological evidence at a time when Greek writing systems and historical traditions are in their nascence.

This module is concerned with the critical examination of medical practice and policy-making and how knowledges and practices of health, illness, wellbeing and medicine are constituted, represented and governed at various scales (historical, political, economic, socio-cultural). Focussing especially on biopolitical, necropolitical and biosocial arrangements (the regulation, exploitation and structural violence in respect of the body, covering reproductive care, organ trafficking, treatments of drug and alcohol addiction, war, slavery and
the body in pain), the module interrogates conventional bio scientific approaches and explores new ways of knowing which decentre medical expertise and open up opportunities for critical collaborations between social sciences, humanities, medical and life sciences.

Introduction to basics of Latin morphology, syntax, and translation.

Intermediate basics of Latin morphology and syntax; translation of continuous text.

This module offers continued progress in the Latin language, and the opportunity to read a selection from Pliny’s Letters, which give vivid insight into elite society and culture during the early empire.

This module consolidates knowledge of grammar and syntax from CLAH405 and CLAH406 (or equivalent level of study elsewhere) and seeks to enhance comprehension, competence and confidence in reading Latin at an advanced level. Students will strengthen and extend their knowledge of the shape and structure of Latin by reading ancient texts and develop their understanding through independent use of lexicons, grammar books, and commentaries; Students will conduct independent research using Latin texts involving not only the translation of passages from and into Latin, but also the study of a book of late Republican or Augustan Latin literature to be determined in each year.

This module opens the way for reading written documents, (eg inscriptions, graffiti, and papyrus letters) and literary texts, (eg poetry, tragedy, comedy, history and philosophy) from ancient Greece in their original language. Over the course of the module, students become familiar with standard terms for classifying and analysing the language’s fabric, and begin to understand how words in Ancient Greek change and interact with each other (‘morphology, ‘grammar’), forming phrases and complex sentences (‘syntax’). Students build this knowledge by working with a course book (JACT Reading Greek) and translating passages of increasing complexity. From the first, adapted passages from the course book are balanced with ‘real’ Greek. Prior language learning is not a pre-requisite for this module, only a curiosity about and passion for the language and culture of ancient Greece.

The module extends skills and knowledge acquired through prior study (CLAH652 or equivalent) for reading literary texts and historical documents from ancient Greece in the original language. The module introduces further elements of Greek grammar, morphology and syntax to aid analysis of compound sentence structures. Students (continue to) work with JACT Reading Greek coursebook, and complement this with regular translation of longer and more complex unseen sentences / passages from ancient texts, with the aid of a Greek-English lexicon.

This module invites students to engage with key concepts and controversies in the contemporary study of Classics and Ancient History by reading and reflecting on specialist scholarship. Case studies specific to research currently undertaken by Liverpool staff individually and cumulatively provide an introduction to the wider stream of intellectual debate and to a range of topical, theoretical and methodological approaches that continue to inform the discipline. In addition to building subject-based knowledge and understanding, the module also prepares students for examining concepts and controversies and identifying and adopting an appropriate in relation to their dissertation research project.

This module invites students to organize and participate in a research event, or colloquium, as a shared group project, a ‘real-life’ task that is relevant to academic research culture and that develops skills applicable to sorts of employment.

By working together and undertaking specific organizational roles, students will develop skills in event organization, teamwork, leadership and management. At the same time they will identify and pursue a contemporary research agenda in Classics and Ancient History and contribute to advancing knowledge and understanding of the chosen theme, whilst benefitting from up-to-the minute research by an invited speaker.

​The study of the frontiers of the Roman empire represents one of the oldest branches of European archaeology. Their study has traditionally complimented explanations of Roman history and therefore the foreign policies of the various imperial dynasties. The discipline of Roman Frontiers Studies has, however, tended to be subservient to an interpretative framework initially derived from historical sources. Today the archaeology of the subject is now sufficiently self-confident to stand independent scrutiny. In turn more recent scholarship on the subject of the frontiers of the empire have focused on them as zones and regions rather than simply as linear barriers. This fresh outlook has, in turn, occasioned a greater awareness of the evidence of life, military and non-military, in frontier situations.

The body is the locus of human experience.  Whatever we think or feel, it is all mediated corporeally, as our body responds to our immediate environment.  However, the body also exists within culture.  The way it is perceived and described, and therefore the ways in which we process and understand our experiences, is dependent upon wider patterns of behaviour and beliefs.  Studying the body in antiquity thus offers a route into the lived experience of individuals in ancient Greece and Rome, and into the societies that they cumulatively constitute, from the perspectives of health and medicine, gender and sexuality, citizenship and status, philosophy and religion.  It also presents an opportunity to explore the wide range of material from (for example) poetry to prose to personal letters to physicians’ reports, and from inscriptions to sculptures, that present the body for examination.  This range can be extended by situating the Classical body in post-antique societies, shedding light on our own experiences, ideologies and practices.

This module explores praise and blame in Classical antiquity across a range of social and political contexts from Archaic Greece through to Imperial Rome.

This module explores a number of themes and issues which are central to the ongoing debate in the study of the history and archaeology of Roman Britain.
The study of Roman Britain was for many decades treated as an insular subject, where the part of archaeology was to supplement or ‘flesh-out’ the historical account of the island. In turn, many of the questions asked by Roman archaeologists of the island in that period arose from the framework created by the study of the historical/literary sources for the province, where their research was designed to illuminate particular events or circumstances revealed in the ancient written evidence. Since the 1960s, however, Romano-British archaeology has become more free-standing and its research directions have been influenced by theoretical developments in a range of disciplines including anthropology and sociology and especially prehistory. One of the consequences of these developments is that our comprehension of the so-called romanisation of Britain, a process which began in the C1st B.C., owes much to the work of specialists working in the Iron Age.

The module examines the socio-economic behaviour of the Egyptians, through the evidence of texts (literary and documentary) and the archaeological record (tombs, town sites, art and objects). Egyptian documents providing socioeconomic and legal data, and literary discussions of morality and of proper behaviour are compared to the
documentary and archaeological data relevant to a description of social life in Egypt. Social organisation is examined, at the personal family level and in the political context, and related to economic behaviour and economic organisation. The integration between social custom and law provides a focus for developing an independent appreciation of the social realities of an ancient society. Students are expected to use the acquired knowledge base, and theoretical frameworks for the study of ancient society, as a context for collection, processing and evaluation of specific primary data for research writing.

This module examines urbanism in the ancient Near East from the perspective of urban form and structure; focusing in particular on street networks, neighbourhoods and public spaces. Emphasis is placed on the development of the critical and analytical skills necessary to conduct original research on these topics using primary archaeological reports.

An introduction to the scientific examination of archaeological artefacts, this course provides students with a critical understanding of scientific research in the field of archaeological materials. It provides opportunities for the discussion of relevant theoretical and ethical issues in the study of artefacts and enables you to develop practical skill and experience in artefact analysis and reporting.

Global crises such as climate change, infectious diseases, plastics and other forms of pollution, and species extinction are signs of the unhealthy relationships between humans and their environments. These problems also raise serious questions about the possibilities for human and nonhuman health and wellbeing in an epoch that is increasingly known as the Anthropocene. This module explores the health dimensions of the human-environment relationship from the perspective of the environmental humanities. Drawing on interdisciplinary concepts, approaches, and methodologies, and taking an international view, the field of environmental humanities allows for multifaceted and critical exploration of the intersections between health and the environment.

The value of arts and culture in mental health and wellbeing has received unprecedented recognition over the past two decades and the place and contribution of artistic and cultural activity for the health of individual and society has never been a more pressing concern. But the role of arts and humanities in human flourishing has a long and rich history with much to teach present-day understandings and practices. This module will draw on thinking and perspectives from across the ages, classical to modern, and on a wide range of disciplines, including film, literature, medicine, music, philosophy, psychology, to explore critically the relation of arts to health and wellbeing. It will also feature arts-led practice and practice-led research, involving professionals and practitioners from within the Liverpool City Region, with its fine history in the arts and in healthcare.

Continuation of Introduction to basics of Latin morphology, syntax, and translation.

Intermediate basics of Latin morphology and syntax; translation of continuous text

This module offers continued progress in the Latin language, and the opportunity to read Virgil’s Eclogues, from the flowering of Latin literature. The set text is a quintessential work of bucolic poetry written during the period of political uncertainty preceding the principate of Augustus, and looks back to the Idylls of Theocritus, and forward to the later European tradition of pastoral.

This module offers continued progress in the Latin language, and the opportunity to read a set book of post-Augustan Latin literature.

This module continues the task of preparing students for reading written documents and literary texts from ancient Greece in their original language. Students, now familiar with standard terms for classifying and analysing the language’s fabric, continue to learn how words in Ancient Greek change and interact with each other (‘grammar’, ‘morphology), forming phrases and complex sentences (‘syntax’). Students build this knowledge by working with a course book (JACT Reading Greek) and translating passages of increasing complexity. Adapted passages from the course book are balanced with ‘real’ Greek.

This module extends skills and knowledge developed in CLAH653 Ancient Greek IIA for reading literature and historical documents from ancient Greece in their original language. It introduces advanced elements of Greek grammar, morphology and syntax to aid analysis of complex sentences. Regular translation of more complex unseen passages from ancient Greek texts, with the help of a Greek-English lexicon, fosters independent translation and comprehension of un-adapted ancient texts. By the end of the module students have completed the JACT Reading Greek course and are ready to read ancient texts on their own.

In this module students will read extended passages from a variety of Greek texts in the Loeb Classical Reader. They will discuss linguistic and literary features, genre and historical, social and political contexts, as well as methods and matters of translation.

​ This module offers students an opportunity to study on a residential postgraduate course at the British School at Athens.   BSA postgraduate courses cover a range of topics in and offer practical training in skills for the study of Greek antiquity.   Students participating in a BSA course build dedicated knowledge and understanding and skills for research in specialist areas of the discipline of Classics and Ancient History, benefitting directly from the expertise, facilities and resources on offer at this international institute for advanced research.

​ This module offers students an opportunity to study on a residential postgraduate course at the British School at Rome.   Students participating in a BSR course build dedicated knowledge and understanding and skills for research in specialist areas of the discipline of Classics and Ancient History, benefitting directly from the expertise, facilities and resources on offer at this international institute for advanced research.

ALGY600 provides the framework for MA students, in the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, to undertake independent guided research on a scholarly topic of relevance in the discipline of their choice. This substantial piece of work is developed and written up over the course of the M-level study in conjunction with the ‘taught’ component of the programme.