Unit information: Greece, Rome and the Historical Novel in 2008/09

Unit name	Greece, Rome and the Historical Novel
Unit code	CLAS20069
Credit points	20
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. O'Gorman
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Classics & Ancient History
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

The 'historical novel', a work of fiction set in the past, and incorporating the events of history, arose as a genre in the mid-nineteenth century, and continues to be popular today. In this unit we shall be reading a selection of historical novels set different periods of Greek and Roman history. We will consider the different ways these works of fiction draw upon historical knowledge of the different periods, and what this tells us of ideas about history, the past, knowledge and entertainment in antiquity and modernity. We will look at how each novel works with 'sources' from the past (ancient texts, places and artefacts), and also how each novel deploys different novelistic features in its presentation of the past (epistolary fiction, autobiography, detective fiction, magical realism).

Aims:

To introduce students to the development of historical fiction in the 19th and 20th centuries, and to develop their awareness of the theoretical issues arising from the interplay of historical and novelistic writing.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students should:

• be familiar with the development of the historical novel, and have a sophisticated awareness of the theoretical concepts arising from the consideration of fiction in relation to history.

• have had further experience of considering how different theories are used in reading novels and reading history, and assessing the implications of different approaches.

• be able to use the knowledge acquired in lectures and through their own researches to construct coherent, relevant, persuasive and sophisticated arguments on the novelistic approach to history.

• have had the opportunity to develop their skills in oral and written communication, in small groups and in general discussion. They should also have gained further experience in developing their own ideas, identifying key issues and evaluating novels critically.

Teaching Information

Lectures, seminars.

Assessment Information

• One essay of 2,500 words (50%);

• One examination of 90 minutes (50%).

Reading and References

• Mary Renault, The Persian Boy (1972 repr. 2003)

• Jose Carlos Somoza, The Athenian Murders (2002)

• Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, The Last Days of Pompeii (1884 repr. 2005)

• Robert Graves, I, Claudius (1934 repr. 2006)

• Georg Lukacs, The Historical Novel (1962)

• Ruth Glynn, Contesting the Moment: the anti-illusionist Italian historical novel (2005)