CL2RST: Roman Satire

Module code: CL2RST

Module provider: Classics; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Andreas Gavrielatos, email: a.gavrielatos@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

How funny is satire? This module will examine the origins and development of Roman satire, paying special attention to its social and political context. The module explores the idea of humour and invective in the Roman world, considering what caused the authors’ indignation and how they included mockery in their writings. The genre of satire was invented by the Romans and we will examine its origins, including influences from Greek literature. Aspects of the society that are being censured will also be discussed within the social and political context of the time, e.g. the hypocrisy of the higher social classes, accusations of cultural decadence, etc. The focus of the module will be the satires of Horace, Persius, and Juvenal, seeing how satire developed over time.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate some knowledge of a range of Roman satirical poetry in its social and political context
2. Analyse the influences of other genres on the writing of satire
3. Discuss the notion of satire as a social event
4. Compare Roman satire with later and modern forms satire

Module content

The module will focus on the study of satires of Horace, Persius, and Juvenal, looking however also at minor poets and fragmentary satires. The analyses of these texts will be informed by modern theories of satire and research on ancient satire and invective as well.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be taught in 9 sessions (2-hours) in the form of lectures and discussion/analysis of the texts. Students will also have an hour of 1-to-1 tutorial for their assignment. The final session of the term will consist of a demonstration of the students’ projects.

Study hours

At least 20 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs