Latin

Do you love Latin? Are you passionate about Roman literature? Would you like to further your mastery of the language by studying original texts as well as the artefacts, ideas and deeds of ancient Rome? If so, then this course is for you.

You will have already studied classical Latin to A-level standard and are now looking to hone your expertise in the language and literature of ancient Rome. As one of only five universities in the UK to offer this course, studying at Royal Holloway will enable you to delve into a wide range of non-linguistic subjects too, including: classical archaeology and ancient philosophy as well as ancient history and classical literature in translation.

With half your time devoted to studying and reading Latin texts in the original, this course is designed to develop your Latin language skills beyond your advanced level. Over three years you’ll become a specialist in both the language and literature of the ancient Romans with the opportunity to add Greek into your skill set too. The remainder of your time will be spent studying subjects available to Classics and Classical Studies students to broaden your horizons into Roman politics, economics and gender issues.

As a student of Latin you will be part of our Classics Department, where the quality of research that informs our teaching and a friendly, individual approach which shapes the way we guide our students combine to create an unbeaten academic experience.

• Add depth to your studies with modules in ancient philosophy, history and archaeology.

• Studying Latin gives you a rich and varied vocabulary, useful for all careers.

• Develop analytical and verbal reasoning skills.

• Study original artefacts as well as literature.

• Opportunity to add Greek into your skill set too.

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1. You will take one from the following:

• Beginner's Latin

• Intermediate Latin

• Latin Language and Reading

Year 2. You will take one from the following:

• Intermediate Latin

• Intensive Latin

• Latin Language and Reading

Year 3. You will take one from the following

• Intensive Latin

• Latin Language and Reading

Optional Modules

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

Year 1

• Beginner’s Greek

• Intermediate Greek

• Greek Language and Reading

• Key Themes in Roman History

• Studying Classical Antiquity

• Ancient History: Methods and Approaches

• Introduction to Roman Archaeology

• Roman Literature of the Republic

• Roman Literature of the Empire

• Introduction to Greek Literature

• Introduction to Ancient Philosophy

• Greek History and the City State

Year 2

• Horace

• Lucretius and Virgil

• Latin Love Elegy

• Roman Satire

• Latin Epic (in Latin)

• Latin Historiography

• Catullus and Horace

• Latin Letters (in Latin)

• Homer (In Translation)

• Greek Drama (In Translation)

• Cinema and Classics

• Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Art and Power in Augustan Rome

• Virgil’s Aeneid: The Empire in the Literary Imagination

• Gender in Classical Antiquity

• Greek Law and Lawcourts

• Greek History to 322 BC

• Spinning the Past: Greek Historiography from Herodotos to Diodoros

• Augustus: Propaganda and Power

• The Roman Republic: A Social and Economic History

• The Rise of the Roman Empire: An Economic and Social history

• Historiography of the Roman World

• Body and Soul in Ancient Philosophy

• The Good Life in Ancient Philosophy

• The Built Environment in Classical Antiquity

• Greek and Roman Art in Context

• Understanding Pompeii and Herculaneum

• Perspectives on Roman Britai

• Second Year Projects

Year 3

• Horace

• Lucretius and Virgil

• Latin Love Elegy

• Roman Satire

• Latin Epic (in Latin)

• Latin Historiography

• Catullus and Horace

• Latin Letters (in Latin)

• Cinema and Classics

• Roman Oratory

• Ancient Literary Criticism

• Roman Drama (In Translation)

• Greek Lyric, Eros and Social Order

• Nature and the Supernatural in Latin Literature

• Greek Literature under the Roman Empire

• Studying Ancient Myth

• Culture and Identity from Nero to Hadrian

• The Roman Novel

• Gender in Classical Antiquity

• Greek Law and Lawcourts

• Augustus

• The Roman Republic: A Social and Economic History

• The Rise of the Roman Empire: An Economic and Social history

• Alexander the Great

• The City from Augustus to Charlemagne: The Rise and Fall of Civilisation

• Body and Soul in Ancient Philosophy

• The Good Life in Ancient Philosophy II

• Understanding Pompeii and Herculaneum

• Perspectives on Roman Britain

• City of Rome

• City of Athens

• The Archaeology of the Roman Near East

• Extended Essay (Dissertation)

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/classics/latin/

The course has a modular structure, whereby students take 12 course units at the rate of four units per year. The second year project unit and the third year dissertation are compulsory but all other the end of each year. Your final year dissertation will also count towards your degree award.

You will be taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars and individual tutorials, depending on the subjects studied. Outside classes, you will undertake group projects and wide-ranging but guided independent study, including completing language exercises and reading prescribed and open material. Private study and preparation are essential parts of every course, and you will have access to many online resources and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle. When you start with us, you are assigned a Personal Tutor to support you academically and personally.

Most modules contain an element of assessed coursework, such as an essay, presentation and/or assessed seminar participation marks, which contributes to the final examination mark awarded. The results of the first year exams qualify you to progress to the second year but do not contribute to your final degree award. The second and final year results do contribute to the final degree result, with the final year work counting double that of the second year.