Induction Week 2018

We recommend that you do some warm-up reading before commencing your degree programme.

Primary texts

It is a good idea to read one or two books from Classical authors (in English translation). Here is a good selection: Euripides' Bacchae; Iliad 22 and 24; Ovid's Metamorphoses 1 and 4; Plutarch's or Suetonius' biography of Julius Caesar; Cicero, On behalf of the poet Archias; Plato's Ion; Tacitus, On the Germans and Annals 1; Herodotus, Histories 2 (on the marvels of Egypt).

General

James Davidson, Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens (Chicago)

Edith Hall, Introducing the Ancient Greeks: From Bronze Age Seafarers to Navigators of the Western Mind (New York 2014)

Classical Literature

Susanna Braund, Roman Literature (New York 2001)

Stephen Harrison, A Companion to Latin Literature (Malden MA, 2005)

Barbara Graziosi and Johannes Haubold, Homer: The Resonance of Epic (London 2005)

Tim Whitmarsh, Ancient Greek Literature (London 2004)

Classical Art

Mary Beard / John Henderson, Classical Art: From Greece to Rome, Oxford 2001.

Archaeology

Colin Renfrew / Paul Bahn, Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice, London 2016 (7th ed.).

Don Henson, Doing Archaeology, London 2012.

Ancient History

Robin Osborne, Greek History: The basics, Oxford 2014.

Greg Woolf, Rome: An Empire's Story, Oxford 2012.

Mary Beard, SPQR (London 2015)

Ancient Philosophy

Julia Annas, Ancient Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford 2000.

Melissa Lane, Greek and Roman Political Ideas, Princeton 2014.

Reading Suggestions for students starting BA in Classics or Ancient World

Please invest some sessions in private study to ensure that you are comfortable with your starting level in Greek or Latin.

Students taking Classics will do Greek and Latin in their first year; students taking AWS will do Greek or Latin in their first year.

If you are a complete beginner, we have no expectations of prior knowledge, but it will be to your advantage to look at the text books for the language which you will be beginning:

Beginners' Greek: M. Balme and G. Lawall, Athenaze 1 and Athenaze 2, sections 17-20 (UK editions).
Beginners' Latin: A. Keller and S. Russell, Learn to Read Latin, sections 1-81 (Yale 2004).

If you have a GCSE in Latin or Greek, you will be entering Intermediate Latin or Greek.

In this case it is especially important that you refresh your memory, since several years have lapsed, and your Greek or Latin is likely to have rusted over.

For Greek, please review and consolidate the content (grammar and vocabulary) of M. Balme and G. Lawall, Athenaze 1 and Athenaze 2, sections 17-20 (UK editions). This is what first-year Beginners' Greek students will have done. If you cannot access this book easily, please review and consolidate the grammar and vocabulary in the books which you used.

For Latin, please review and consolidate the content (grammar and vocabulary) of A. Keller and S. Russell, Learn to Read Latin, sections 1-81 (Yale 2004). This is what first-year Beginners' Latin students will have done. If you cannot access this book easily, please review and

If you have an A Level, AS Level, International Baccalaureate or a Cambridge Pre-University Certificate in Latin or Greek, you will be entering Latin Texts 1 or Greek Texts 1.

For Latin, please review and consolidate the content (grammar and vocab) of A. Keller and S. Russell, Learn to Read Latin (Yale 2004). This will put you on the same level as those who have done Intermediate Latin. If you cannot access this book easily, please review and consolidate the grammar and vocabulary in the books which you used.

The set texts for Latin Texts 1 are Seneca, De Otio and De brevitate vitae (ed. G. Williams, Cambridge 2003), Catullus 61-68 (ed. K. Quinn, Bloomsbury 2013), and R. Colebourn, Latin Sentence and Idiom. A Composition Course, 1948, repr. 1987 Bristol.

For Greek, please review and consolidate the content (grammar and vocab) of M. Balme and G. Lawall, Athenaze 1 and Athenaze 2 (UK editions). This will put you on the same level as those who have done Intermediate Greek. If you cannot access this book easily, please review and consolidate the grammar and vocabulary in the books which you used.

The set texts for Greek Texts 1 are Odyssey 5 (ed. W. B. Stanford, Homer, Odyssey 1-12, London 1996); Herodotus 1 (ed. J. H. Sleeman, Bristol 2002); and North and Hillard, Greek Prose Composition, Duckworth 2013.

This year UCL will be asking new students to register their module choices prior to arrival on the online system 'Portico'. Before this occurs we like to gather your intentions using our Opinio survey so we know if we have secured suitable rooms for the potential class sizes. 

Below is some guidance on making your selections - do bear in mind that all selections will be double-checked and approved and changes can be made once you have arrived, but it is very useful to have done as much of the process as possible in advance. Details of individual modules within the Department of Greek and Latin (and modules available for our students in the Department of History and the Institute of Archaeology) can be found at 'Modules for 2018-19'. Information on modules from other departments will be available on the relevant Departmental website (but note that you will often need to check with the relevant Department whether you are permitted to take their modules).

• All full-time undergraduates are required to take 120 new credits every year - some modules constitute 30 credits, some 15 credits.

• All compulsory modules will be added to your selection automatically. To see the compulsory modules, please visit the Degree Structures page. We have only outlined the selection of your option modules on this page and which language modules you will be placed in.

• Only some modules are suitable for Year 1 students. In the Department of Greek and Latin, modules in translation for Year 1 students are clearly identified at the webpage (i.e. you may not select modules listed for Second- and Final-Year students).

• The selection of your modules in Greek and Latin language will depend on your qualifications and experience, rather than the fact that you are in Year 1 (i.e. those with A Levels in Greek or Latin will take higher level modules than beginners). For example:

1. If you have an A Level (or AS Level, International Baccalaureate or a Cambridge Pre-University Certificate) in Greek and/or Latin, you will be placed in 'Texts 1' modules (GREK0008 and/or LATN0005).
2. If you have a GCSE (or equivalent) in Greek and/or Latin, you you will be placed in 'Intermediate' modules (GREK0005 and GREK0040 and/or LATN0039 and LATN0035).
3. If you have no (or only a very little) experience of either Greek or Latin, you will be placed in 'Beginners' modules (GREK0002 and GREK0039 and/or LATN0034 and LATN0038).

• Be mindful of timetable clashes with modules taken outside of the Department of Greek and Latin. You can check the timetable for all modules at the UCL Common Timetable. A good idea is to Switch Module Info from 'enter module name' to 'enter module code'. 
• A useful guide to recommended modules which are available from other Departments exists at the Undergraduate Degree structures page under the heading 'Recommended modules outside of the Department of Greek and Latin'.

WHAT TO CHOOSE

BA ANCIENT WORLD:

Students taking Ancient World should select:

1. At least 15 credits units from the modules offered by the History Department for Year 1 students within the Ancient World field of study (Note that HIST0010 Sources for Greek History and HIST0009 The Romans and their Past and are recommended for Ancient World students and that you should select at least one of them).
2. At least 15 credits from the modules offered by the Institute of Archaeology for Year 1 students within the Ancient World field of study.
3. 30 credits of either Greek or Latin (modules beginning with GREK- or LATN-) at the appropriate level (see above for language module guidance)

You can then complete your selection (if you have units left) from other modules in Greek and Latin or (up to 1 unit) of modules entirely outside the Ancient World field of study.

You should not start both Latin and Greek from beginners' level in 1st year. If you wish to learn both languages from scratch, you can take up your 2nd beginners' level language in 2nd year (alongside intermediate level of your 1st language).

Courses within the Ancient World need not be based in the Department of Greek and Latin and may relate to any aspect of Greco-Roman antiquity, the Ancient Near East, ancient Egypt, the ancient languages of this area and other Indo-European languages.

BA ANCIENT WORLD WITH A YEAR ABROAD:

As for Ancient World, students taking Ancient World with a Year Abroad should select:

1. At least 15 credits units from the modules offered by the History Department for Year 1 students within the Ancient World field of study (Note that HIST0010 Sources for Greek History and HIST0009 The Romans and their Past and are recommended for Ancient World students and that you should select at least one of them).
2. At least 15 credits from the modules offered by the Institute of Archaeology for Year 1 students within the Ancient World field of study.
3. 30 credits of either Greek or Latin (modules beginning with GREK- or LATN-) at the appropriate level (see above for language module guidance)
4. At least 15 credits of the modern language of the country you hope to visit in Year 3 (you will discuss this with the Year Abroad Tutor in Induction Week and can alter your selection then if necessary) at the appropriate level (you will be asked to attend an interview with a Language Tutor at the Language Centre at the beginning of term to check your level). For information on modern language modules, see the CLIE website.  

You can then complete your selection (if you have units left) from other modules in Greek and Latin or (up to 30 credits) of modules entirely outside the Ancient World field of study. NB. Your modern language modules count towards your allowance of credits outside the Ancient World field of study (i.e. if you take 3 credits of modern language modules, you cannot take any further external modules).

You should not start both Latin and Greek from beginners' level in 1st year. If you wish to learn both languages from scratch, you can take up your 2nd beginners' level language in 2nd year (alongside intermediate level of your 1st language).

Courses within the Ancient World need not be based in the Department of Greek and Latin and may relate to any aspect of Greco-Roman antiquity, the Ancient Near East, ancient Egypt, the ancient languages of this area and other Indo-European languages.

BA CLASSICS:

Students taking Classics should choose:

1. 30 credits of Latin (modules beginning with LATN-) at the appropriate level (see above for language module guidance)
2. 30 credits of Greek (modules beginning with GREK-) at the appropriate level (see above for language module guidance)

You can then complete your selection from other modules in Greek and Latin or (up to 30 creits) of modules entirely outside the Classics field of study.

BA CLASSICS WITH STUDY ABROAD:

As for Classics, students taking Classics with Study Abroad should select

1. 30 credits of Latin (modules beginning with LATN-) at the appropriate level (see above for language module guidance)
2. 30 credits of Greek (modules beginning with GREK-) at the appropriate level (see above for language module guidance)
3. At least 15 credits of the modern language of the country you hope to visit in Year 3 (you will discuss this with the Year Abroad Tutor in Induction Week and can alter your selection then if necessary) at the appropriate level (you will be asked to attend an interview with a Language Tutor at the Language Centre at the beginning of term to check your level). For information on modern language modules, see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/clie/CourseUnits/.

You can then complete your selection (if you have credits left) from other modules in Greek and Latin or (up to 30 credits) of modules entirely outside the Ancient World field of study. NB. Your modern language modules are counted within your allowance of credits outside the Classics field of study (i.e. if you take 30 credits of modern language modules, you cannot take any further external modules).

BA LATIN WITH GREEK/GREEK WITH LATIN:

Students taking Latin with Greek or Greek with Latin should select

1. 30 credits of Latin (modules beginning with LATN-) at the appropriate level (see above for language module guidance)
2. 30 credits of Greek (modules beginning with GREK-) at the appropriate level (see above for language module guidance)

You can then complete your selection from other modules in Greek and Latin or (up to 30 credits) of modules entirely outside the Classics field of study.

JOINT DEGREES (guidance only for the Greek/Latin side of your degree):

BA ANCIENT LANGUAGES:

Students taking Ancient Languages should select

1. 30 credits of Latin (LATN-) or Greek (GREK-) modules (see above for language module guidance)

along with the modules required by your home department (Hebrew and Jewish)

BA PHILOSOPHY AND GREEK:

Students taking Philosophy and Greek should select

1. 30 credits of Greek (GREK-) modules (see above for language module guidance)
2. 15 credits of modules from Greek and Latin (GREK-, LATN-, CLAS- and approved modules from History, Archaeology or Philosophy)

along with the modules required by your home department (Philosophy)

BA SELCS LANGUAGE with Latin

Students taking Modern Language Plus should select

1. 30 credits of Latin (LATN-) modules (see above for language module guidance)
2. 15 credits of modules from Greek and Latin (GREK-, LATN-, CLAS- and approved modules from History, Archaeology or Philosophy -) - this may be substituted with a 15 credit ELCS module (in which case a further ELCS elective can only be taken from the modern language side of your degree in Year 2)

along with the modules required by your home department in SELCS

BA LANGUAGES AND CULTURE:

Students taking Languages and Culture should select

1. 30 credits of Latin (LATN-) or Greek (GREK-) modules (see above for language module guidance)
2. Plus, if Latin/Greek is your main language, 15 credits of modules from Greek and Latin (GREK-, LATN-, CLAS- and approved modules from History, Archaeology or Philosophy)

along with the modules required by your home department in SELCS