Module manager: Dr. Bev Back
Email: b.back@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
None (though some knowledge of the Aeneid and Homeric epics would be useful)
| CLAS2120 | Traversing Time: Argo |
This module is approved as a discovery module
The story of Jason and the Argonauts’ quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece has endured in myth for millennia. Originating from the pen of the Ancient Greeks, the story was later transformed and manipulated by a host of Roman writers who considered the Argo to be the first ship in existence. After orientation in the Greek versions, we’ll focus on two Roman ones: Flavian poet Valerius Flaccus’ epic poem Argonautica, and Seneca’s famous tragedy Medea (both studied in English). We’ll also consider why later science fiction writers saw the Argo as emblematic of the hubristic technological advances made by the human race. Those interested in ancient myth and literature, as well as modern film, technology and the relationship between ancient and modern, should enjoy this module. 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.
Students taking this module will be able to understand and critique some prominent and contested concepts and creations of human culture in ancient Rome and, to an extent, in more modern history. Issues of power, gender, race, identity, ethics, morals, representation, and freedom are contested in these works, and study of them opens the doors to new ways of thinking about not only a prominent ancient Greek myth, but also its retelling through the Roman lens, and as a result, aspects of Roman life, but their literary and artistic culture, and society. It aims to equip students to be able to engage with them in detail through close readings of the set texts in translation, as well as to situate the works in their literary, socio-political, and historical contexts. Students will learn how to compare the texts with one another and to literary predecessors, as well as being introduced to other selected works which utilise aspects of the storyline, characters, or imagery shown in set material. The course will also introduce and prepare students to identify and evaluate secondary scholarship and literary critical approaches, especially e.g. narratology, considerations of genre, intertextuality, and reception theory.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Identify, appraise and evaluate appropriate sources.
2. Differentiate between and critically reflect upon selected texts, their predecessors and other ancient sources.
3. Compare, examine, and explain the effects of later versions of the myth on the earlier material through an understanding of reception theory, exploring various interpretations of the set material.
4. Use close reading techniques to produce useful and nuanced critical appreciations of passages from the set texts in commentary form.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
5. Critically analyse and appraise a range of primary sources;
6. Engage appropriately with a curated reading list to identify and evaluate a range of analytical approaches to the primary materials;
7. Communicate effectively using reasoned, nuanced, and well-supported arguments in a variety of formats.
Demonstration of a sound understanding of the concepts and techniques in the discipline, including an ability to analyse critically various forms of texts (especially different genres of literature) and relate them to each other (where appropriate).
The Argonautic myth has been retold many times and in a variety of formats, both in antiquity and in the modern era. By exploring two first-century Roman works centred on the myth, we shall see that the Romans saw the Argo as the first ever ship, the invention of which permitted travel to unknown lands and thus permitted expansion and trade, but also led to the cultivation of greed and the beginnings of human toil. This is an important difference to the Greek perception of Argo’s importance, and the Romans used the myth to raise questions about breaking boundaries, the passage of time from a peaceful Golden Age to an era of labor, and the end of innocence. Similarly, modern writers and filmmakers have seen in the myth opportunities to discuss anxieties about enemy nations, technology, progress, and the folly of human ambition. Reading the Roman material through these receptions heightens the sense of transgression in which the Romans seemed to be intensely interested, and the Argo as the perfect vessel for exploring these anxieties.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 14 | 1 | 14 |
| Seminar | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Students will have the opportunity to receive formative feedback during module contact hours, both at lectures via in-class exercises and group discussion, and especially in seminar classes via feedback on contributions to class activities and formative presentations linked with the module coursework. Several seminars will support preparatory work for the coursework, for discussion with the seminar tutor and the group. These will give students a chance to explore what the module assessment requires, to practice and receive feedback on work which should improve their ability to complete the module assessments, and to gain a good sense of their progress on the module and on their preparatory work for the coursework well in advance of when it is due. Students will also be encouraged to book a one-to-one meeting to discuss their work on the module and formative feedback they have received to date with the module tutor(s) in greater detail. Further opportunities are as follows:
· in-lecture ‘minute papers’, assessing impact of said lecture;
· post-it notes in-session for instant, anonymous feedback;
· via a mid-term informal questionnaire, where students can self-assess their progress and performance halfway through the course;
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Wiki entry | 50 |
| Coursework | Literary Commentary | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Coursework 1: Wiki Entry - Alternative Resit Format: Essay Title to be provided
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 25/04/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team