UNISA Classical Culture Course Module

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UNISA Classical Culture Course Module

Major combinations:
NQF Level: 5: CLS1501, CLS1502
NQF Level: 6: CLS2601, CLS2602, CLS2603
NQF Level: 7: CLS3701, CLS3702, CLS3704, CLS3705, CLS3706


Greek Mythology in Context – CLS1501
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 5 Credits: 12
Module presented in English
Purpose: To introduce students to ancient Greek mythology and to investigate its enduring value within the ancient context as well as in the modern world.
Ancient Rome: Society, Myth and Literature – CLS1502
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 5 Credits: 12
Module presented in English
Purpose: To gain insight into ancient Roman society, its myths and its literature, with a view to appreciating the enduring influence of the ancient Roman Culture on modern civilisation and intellectual endeavour. Instead of their final examination, students are required to present a portfolio of their work.
Perspectives on Roman Africa and the Ancient Environment – CLS2601
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in English
Purpose: to introduce students to the political and cultural developments in North Africa and Egypt from 500 BC to 700 AD through critical reading of ancient tets (in English translation) relating to selected socio-historical and cultural topics. Qualifying students can gain an understanding of the nature of cultural development and integration in a multicultural and imperialistic context, and by comparison in a (post-)modern African context.
Material Testimonies to the Classical World – CLS2602
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in English
Purpose: To introduce students to the classical world through its art, architecture and visual source materials. Students of Ancient History will engage with the original source material (in translation) in the forms of texts, coins and inscriptions. Students specialising in Classical Culture will study the main accomplishments in architecture and art, including vase painting, sculpture, mosaics and murals in the Greco-Roman period.
Ancient Empires – CLS2603
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 6 Credits: 12
Module presented in English
Purpose: To familiarise students with the basic concept of imperialism and acquaint them with the main Graeco-Roman texts on this topic. Students will also study modern interpretations of ancient imperialism, and develop awareness of how modern periods have influenced scholarly reception of this aspect of the ancient world. The ancient empires which will be looked at are the Persian, Athenian, Alexandrian, Roman and Byzantine Empires.
Classical Historical Writings – CLS3701
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in English
Purpose: Purpose: To introduce students to the concept of history and the origins of historical thinking through the works of ancient historians and other prose writers. Students will focus on the writings of Herodotus, Thucydides, and Tacitus, and their value as sources for our knowledge of events in antiquity.
Ancient Democracy and Moral Thought – CLS3702
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in English
Purpose: Students in Ancient History study the origins of Greek democracy and its implementation in 5th century Athens. Students specialising in Classical Culture study selected texts in translation from Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Lucretius as well as Stoic authors.
Classical Heroes in Fact and Fiction – CLS3704
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in English
Purpose: Students of Ancient History will engage in a detailed study of the sources on the reign of Constantine the Great (AD 306 to 337) and his conversion to Christianity. Students specialising in Classical Culture study Homer’s Iliad and selections from Vergil’s Aeneid in translation from historical, cultural, literary and intertextual perspectives.
The Fall of Rome/Greco-Roman Drama – CLS3705
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in English
Purpose: Ancient History students will analyse the main factors in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and examine reasons why the West fell, while the East remained intact. Students specialising in Classical Culture are studying Graeco-Roman tragedy (Sophocles’ and Seneca’s renditions of the Oedipus myth), in order to establish how these genres was used to grapple with serious social issues.
Conquerors and Conquests in the Ancient World: from Text to Screen – CLS3706
Under Graduate Degree Semester module NQF level: 7 Credits: 12
Module presented in English
Purpose: The purpose of this module is to expose students to ancient source material and scholarly discussions on prominent military figures in the Greco-Roman world and the contexts in which they operated, and to guide students in critical reflection on ancient military culture, its main exponents, and their reception in subsequent eras including the present.