Module manager: Regine May
Email: r.may@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
| CLAS3002 | The Ancient Novel |
CLAS2370 Satyrs and Donkeys: The Latin Novel CLAS2430 The Ancient Greek Novel
This module is approved as a discovery module
The module introduces students to the Greek and Latin novels of the imperial period, from the first to the fifth century AD. Students will encounter examples of both Greek and Latin novels and a selection of related fictional texts. The module aims to promote understanding of the nature of the ancient novel as a distinct literary genre and the origins of the novel in Western literature. The novels are set into their historical and cultural context of Greek and Latin authors writing under the Roman empire. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
By taking this module, students will study narrative fictions of the ancient world, and how these texts came into existence. They will explore the historical and cultural contexts in which these texts were written and consumed, and better understand the development of the ‘novel’ genre from the Greco-Roman imperial period up to now.
While the Greek novels typically portray idealised love stories between aristocratic boys and girls set in the idealised past, the Latin novels satirise the aspirations of the contemporary newly rich and their social and literary aspirations. Students will study and compare these different forms of narrative fiction and how they engage with each other.
Issues of narratology and gender, religion and class are explored with the help of suitable secondary literature, in order to contextualise these novels from various literary-historical, political, religious, philosophical, social and intertextual perspectives. Students will be equipped to explore these texts through lectures which will provide an overview over specific texts and genres as a whole to set them into the wider context, and seminars which will allow students to apply their knowledge to specific case studies and to practice close readings and commentaries.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Discuss and critically examine a representative selection of Greek and Latin novels in the context of their historical, cultural, and literary background.
2. Critically examine and discuss the nature of the ancient novel as a literary genre, and the narrative techniques used by selected authors.
3. Assess and apply a variety of contemporary approaches to the selected texts and the ancient novel as a genre
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Analyse critically various forms of primary evidence and relate them to each other and their historical and cultural and literary context.
5. Discuss and critically evaluate complex arguments and ideas
6. Communicate clearly and effectively and formulate persuasive, evidence-based lines of reasoning.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 20 | 1 | 20 |
| Seminar | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Private study hours | 174 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 26 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
There are ongoing opportunities for formative feedback through participation in seminars. There will be a seminar session dedicated to preparing each of the assessment. Students are also given the opportunity to contact tutors for face-to-face meetings, for example in office hours. Feedback from the first coursework will afford a formal opportunity to monitor student progress.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 50 |
| Coursework | Written Assignment | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 09/04/2025
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