Classical Studies BA (International Hons) 2021 entry

Ancient History and Archaeology pathway

Students on the Ancient History and Archaeology pathway who spend their second year at St Andrews must choose two of the following compulsory modules:

• The Roman Empire: explores the complex history of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Late Antiquity, an empire which, for the first and last time, united the whole Mediterranean and its diverse hinterlands. The history and archaeology of the empire are studied through themes such as power, society, cultures, the army and the frontiers, cities, economies, and religions.
• Mediterranean Communities: examines the history and archaeology of human settlement in the Mediterranean world throughout the whole of classical antiquity. From around 1000 BCE to 500 CE, the Mediterranean was transformed from a world of tiny peasant and tribal communities to a world of complexly connected cities, states and empires. This module brings together themes of ecology, economy, urbanism, networks and the state to ask big questions about how and why classical civilisation emerged when and where it did.
• Early Greek Poetry and Philosophy: studies the earliest phases of the Greek literary and philosophical tradition in the archaic and early classical Greek world. It explores the diversity of early Greek thought through the poetry and philosophy of the period, and explores themes of conflict, justice, love and the relationship between mortals and gods.
• Culture and Thought in the Late Roman Republic: studies the art and literature of Rome in the Late Republic (first century BCE). Key literary texts, such as the passionate poetry of Catullus and the stylish rhetoric of Cicero, are set against the broader backdrop of Roman political, cultural and social life in this turbulent period of civil war and dictatorship.

Students on the Ancient History and Archaeology pathway are also strongly encouraged to take two modules in either Latin or Greek in their second year.

Greek and Latin pathway

Students on the Greek and Latin pathway who spend their second year at St Andrews continue their exploration of Greek and Latin language and literature by choosing one of the following Latin or Greek module pathways:

• Latin in Progress 1 and 2: examines a wide range of texts in both prose and verse from the Republican and Imperial periods, and enhances Latin language skills through regular language classes.
• Latin Language and Literature 1 and 2 (only available to students who have studied Latin to SQA Higher, GCE A-Level or equivalent): builds on 'World of Latin 1 and 2'; examines a wide range of texts in both prose and verse from the Republican period and enhances Latin language skills through regular language classes.
• The Landscape of Greek Prose (B) and Poetry (B): examines a wide range of Greek prose texts and ancient poetry, and enhances Greek language skills through regular language classes.
• The Landscape of Greek Prose (A) and Poetry (A) (only available to students who have studied Greek to SQA Higher, GCE A-Level or equivalent): examines a wide range of Greek prose texts and ancient poetry, and enhances Greek language skills through regular language classes.

Students will spend either their third or fourth year in St Andrews. You will be able to choose from a wide variety of advanced options.

Here is a sample of Honours modules which have been offered at St Andrews in previous years:

Ancient History and Archaeology

• From Pompeii to Aquileia: The Archaeology of Roman Italy (50 BCE – 300 CE)
• In the Footsteps of the Ancients: Exploring the Archaeology and Topography of Greece
• The Art of the Roman Empire
• Greek Painted Pottery
• Magic in the Greco-Roman World
• Eight Scenes from the Life of Alexander the Great
• Greek Tyranny
• Persia and the Greeks
• Religious Communities in the Late Antique World

Greek and Latin

• Greek Tragedy
• ‘Satire’, Sex and Society: Greek ‘Old Comedy’
• The History of Ancient Greek from Homer to the New Testament.
• The Gods of Greek Literature
• Lies, History and Ideology
• Roman Satire
• Latin Oratory
• Floating Words: Anonymous Writing in Ancient Rome
• The Art of Translation: Ovid in English
• Roman Epic

If at St Andrews for fourth year, students will have the opportunity to undertake a 10,000-word dissertation on a topic of their choice. This independent project enables you to develop key research skills which are desired by both prospective employers and by graduate schools offering postgraduate degrees.