Objectives
This innovative degree course is concerned with the visual culture of classical antiquity and modern theories of its study (Greek and Roman sculpture, architecture, mosaics, painting, urbanism). It brings together archaeological, art historical and historical approaches to examine how visual material was treated and understood in antiquity and reinvented for centuries to come. As well as learning how to look at ancient visual evidence and to use it to construct art-historical and historical arguments, students will also study a range of responses to and theories around it (from various periods of classicism in antiquity to modern advertising; from stylistic analysis to modern media studies). The course includes study trips to sites in the region, such as Kedleston Hall and Castle Howard, as well as to the British Museum and museums in Oxford, Cambridge and Liverpool. Nottingham, with established undergraduate degrees in classical civilisation, archaeology and art history, is fast becoming an international force in the field of ancient visual culture. Staff teaching on this course have specialisms in : visual narrative in Greece and Rome (especially mythological imagery), image-text relations and 3D reconstructions of ancient material culture (Katharina Lorenz); art and archaeology of the Roman Empire, and especially the Near East in the Hellenistic and Roman periods (Andreas Kropp); visual and intellectual culture of imperial Rome (Mark Bradley): Roman epic, the Gaze (Helen Lovatt) and literary and visual narratives (Lynn Fotheringham). The department has a vibrant research culture, including weekly research papers by national and international specialists, with a particular emphasis on aspects of visual culture. With our Showing Seeing Centre, including a digital slide collection and a range of cameras, scanners and projection equipment, we offer excellent facilities for studying and digitizing visual material, and for producing presentations, project posters and exhibtion elements. There is close collaboration with the Departments of Archaeology and Art History who are offering complementary modules, and with the Nottingham Institute for Research into Visual Culture (NIRVC). Campus facilities include a museum and an art gallery; and off-campus our collaboration with the Nottingham City Museums & Galleries offers the chance to study actual ancient material.
Course description
The Visual Culture of Classical Antiquity (MA)
Duration: 1 year
Course Content
This course will enable you to develop your understanding of the visual culture of classical antiquity.
It combines iconographical, theoretical and cultural approaches to a wide range of visual material to examine both its functions and resonances in antiquity, and its restoration, decontextualisation and reinvention in the modern world.
Through core modules in Researching the Ancient World and Seeing the Ancient World, you will be given a strong foundation in the skills and techniques necessary for effective research in this field.
In addition, you will have the option to study two optional modules from an annually changing menu on subjects such as:
• Ancient Art and its Reception
• Mythologies
• The Gaze and ancient literature
• Visualising the body and the politics of difference
Please note that all module details are subject to change. You will be informed of the coming session’s modules long before the session begins.
Finally, you will undertake a dissertation on your chosen specialism.
Course Structure
This course can be taken over one-year, full-time (September to September) or over two years, part-time.
You will take two core modules: Researching the Ancient World and Seeing the Ancient World; plus two optional modules.
You also have the option to start or continue studying a classical language.
The completion of a 10,000 to 15,000-word dissertation completes the MA.
Assessment on this course is by one or more pieces of coursework, except for language modules, plus the dissertation.
Key facts
-Nottingham's vibrant Classics department has special strengths in Greek drama; Greek economic, social, institutional and intellectual history; Roman republican history; late Antiquity; Latin epic and prose literature; and ancient art and visual culture.
-The Department of Classics has a strong reputation in both teaching and research. It achieved the maximum possible teaching quality rating (24/24) in 2000, and a grade of 4 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, since when it has greatly expanded and broadened its research activity.
-This course enjoys close collaboration with the Departments of Archaeology and Art History and the Nottingham Institute for Research into Visual Culture (NIRV).
