Classical Studies

Classical Studies offers you the opportunity to study Ancient Greek and Roman literature, culture, and optionally, languages.

Studying this BA degree will allow you to read all kinds of texts in translation from around the ancient Mediterranean, while developing a deep understanding of Greek and Roman culture from the archaic period through to the fall of the Roman Empire and beyond.

You will explore the fascinating myths and stories, history and culture, thoughts and beliefs of the Greeks and Romans through the study of texts that may be familiar, such as epics and tragedies, and the less well-known, such as love poems and ancient novels.

The programme will include the option of studying ancient Greek and/or Latin, although neither is compulsory if this doesn’t align with your interests or ambitions.

In addition to Greek and Roman literature modules, there are also options primarily taught in Ancient History, Egyptology, and Philosophy that are available for you to study. Classical Studies is innovative in its range of assessments, and in its inclusion of teaching-placement and creative project modules. The analytical and interpersonal skills that you will acquire throughout your degree will open up a range of exciting career opportunities in a broad range of professions.

Course Modules

In Year 1, you will typically study areas including: Of Gods and Heroes - Greek Mythology, Ovid's Metamorphoses: The Transformations of Mythology, Greek History and Society.

In Year 2, you will typically study areas including: Reading Classical Civilisation, The Roman Comic Novel, Cicero, Myths and Society in the Greek World, Gender in the Roman World.

In Year 3, you will typically study areas including: Culture and Control in Roman Britain, Pompeii and the Cities of Vesuvius, Poetry in the Twentieth Century, Philosophy, Mental Health and Illness.

You will also undertake a Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology Dissertation.

We offer a variety of assessment methods within our programmes. In addition to traditional examinations and essays, examples of alternative assessment include:

• Object-focused practical work
• Creative work (rewritings of myth in modern contexts, film scripts, staged debates, mixed media projects, animations, various kinds of artistic endeavour)
• Article summaries and critical reviews of scholarship
• Blogposts for a lay audience
• Presentations
• Group projects, sometimes assessed by self-reflective essays
• Commentaries

Throughout your undergraduate Classical Studies degree, you will develop excellent research and analytical skills and learn to present your ideas effectively both verbally and in writing. For full breakdown of course structure and assessment please visit our course page https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/classics-ancient-history-egyptology/ba-classical-studies/
or get in touch with us at study@swansea.ac.uk