Module manager: Fabio Sarranito
Email: f.sarranito@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
| CLAS2760 | Thinkers and Storytellers: Myth and Reason in the Ancient Wo |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
For many students and lovers of Classics, myths are often the first contact they have with the Ancient Greek and Roman Worlds. This module gives students the opportunity to revisit some of the myths that triggered their interest in Classics and to expand their knowledge of the myths and stories of the Greeks and Romans. But this module will look at myths as more than imaginative tales from distant and long-dead cultures or as found cultural artefacts. Rather, in this module students will engage with myths as ways of understanding reality, and of debating and thinking through ethical, social and political issues. Students will learn how the Ancient Greeks and Romans could think about, with and through myths, and will explore how myths could be created, changed and adapted for specific purposes and in a variety of different genres and media. Students will experience the plasticity and flexibility of myth and their multiple uses in the Greek and Roman Worlds, and interrogate the supposed opposition between reason and myth. 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.
This module aims to introduce students to the application, interpretation and criticism of myth and mythmaking in Antiquity. Students will gain a deeper understanding of how myth were created, modified and adapted for different purposes and in different contexts and literary genres and intellectual disciplines, as well as how myths were received during different time periods in Antiquity. Students will explore myth and mythmaking as thinking of thinking, and will interrogate the supposed opposition between myth and reason. Students will also become familiar with different versions of myths in a variety of formats and genres, as well with different ways of reading and interpreting myths. Lectures will introduce key concepts, fundamental problems and historical and material aspects that are relevant for the understanding of myth and mythmaking in Antiquity. Lectures will also introduce a selection of crucial themes, which may include, for example: the supposed quarrel between philosophy and poetry, the use of myth in philosophy, aetiological myths and their connection with specific cults and religious practices, the political use of myths, myths of city foundations, myth as sources of ethical examples, criticism and ‘rational’ interpretation and discussion of myths, as well as the ways in which visual media adapt and transmit myth. Seminars will be dedicated to close reading, analysis and discussion of selected primary sources (either textual or material) which will contribute to deepen students’ understanding of the different aspects of the subject. These may include selections of philosophical texts, epic poetry, lyric poetry, tragedy, comedy, historiography, medical writings, etc., as well as material and archaeological evidence.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Compare, examine and evaluate the use of myths and mythmaking in different Ancient literary genres, intellectual disciplines and art, as well as the ancient debates on the influence of myth in Ancient Greek and Roman cultures and societies;
2. Compare and appraise the reception of ancient Greek and Roman myths in a variety of media, genres and time periods;
3. Examine and debate a range of scholarly views on myth and mythmaking, and their role in Ancient Greek and Roman cultures.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Analyse and evaluate a range of primary and secondary sources;
5. Discuss and debate complex and nuanced arguments and ideas;
6. Examine and justify the creative, critical and programmatic choices associated with the making, adaptation and reception of myths within creative writing.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 12 | 1 | 12 |
| Seminar | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
There are ongoing opportunities for formative feedback through participation in seminars, where primary and secondary sources will be discussed. These seminars will inform student engagement with the sources analysed in the first piece of assessment, which may also serve as the basis for the second assessment. There will also be a seminar session dedicated especially to preparation for the second assessment. Students are also given the opportunity to contact tutors to help plan the source analysis task as well as the creative task and reflection. Feedback from first coursework will afford a formal opportunity to monitor student progress in preparation for the second assessment.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 40 |
| Coursework | Written Assignment | 60 |
| 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: 25/04/2025
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