Overview
This is a two-year programme, designed to provide graduates with in-depth study of a range of areas within the field of Classics, and with the skills necessary for carrying out research in one or more classical disciplines. The study of ancient Greek or Latin is compulsory in the first year, and may be continued in the second; prior knowledge of the language is not required.
In this programme the Maynooth University Department of Ancient Classics offers Greek and Latin at both introductory and higher levels, and a wide range of topics on a variety of aspects of classical Antiquity (literary, historical, philosophical), which students investigate and discuss in seminars under the guidance of academic staff. The Department has an excellent reputation both inside and outside Ireland, and while each staff member is active in research, the size of the Department allows for more personal attention to students' needs than is sometimes possible in larger departments. A general aim is to produce graduates who are flexible, creative, openminded, critically aware, and articulate - qualities known to be fostered by studying Classics.
https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/ancient-classics
Course Structure
In the first year, all candidates include in their programme modules in Greek or Latin; normally these will be at the introductory level, though modules at higher levels will be prescribed for candidates who already possess introductory-level qualifications. Further language modules may be taken (and are taken by most candidates) in the second year of study. Candidates also take a number of 'non-language' modules from a range which currently includes:
•GC631 Texts and Interpretation: An Introduction to Classical Scholarship
•GC634 Literature and Learning in the Second Century AD: Apuleius and His Contemporaries
•GC637 Herodotus and his World
•GC638 Cosmology in Antiquity
•GC641 Popular Culture in Classical Athens
•GC645 Judaea from Herod to Hadrian
Please note that modules are subject to change.
Candidates are also required to write a dissertation of 15,000-20,000 words on a topic approved by the Head of the Department of Ancient Classics under the supervision of a designated supervisor.
Comment
Ancient Classics
Ancient Classics has been taught in Maynooth since the first foundation of a college in the town in 1795. It forms an indispensable background for understanding our European heritage and as such can make us more reflective and independentminded citizens of the world. It equips students with the ability to deal with a variety of material, to read analytically, to think 'outside the box', to conduct independent research, and to write and communicate effectively—these are skills that are valued in many fields, including education, journalism, law, politics, publishing, and business.