Classical Art & Archaeology

Course detail Description

Through this Classical Art & Archaeology MA you will examine painting, pottery, sculpture and mosaics, and explore the craftsmanship that produced archeologically significant works. Traditionally, classical archaeology has focused on the art history of Classical Greece and Italy, but has more recently branched out geographically and chronologically. Archaeology has also become more theoretical in recent decades.

This course explores the relationship between humans and their material environment. We consider engagement in field projects as essential for the continuing health of the discipline. All trends are well represented here at King’s.

Our expert staff cover an extraordinarily wide range of specialisms including Bronze Age Aegean, Late Antique and Byzantine archaeology and architecture, Roman Britain, Persian monuments, Greek pottery and Roman mosaics, while many other staff members employ art historical and archaeological methods in their work.

The MA course consists of a wide range of optional modules and a research dissertation. You will be trained in a variety of research skills and the unique opportunity to acquire technical skills in the handling of documentary evidence through modules in Greek Papyrology and Greek & Roman Epigraphy. Greek & Latin Palaeography will be particularly valuable to students who intend to pursue further research in classical archaeology or art history.

As well as archaeological and art-historical topics, you can also choose modules from MA courses across the university, including Ancient History, Classics, and Late Antique & Byzantine Studies. Students also have the opportunity to study Latin and Ancient Greek.

We offer our MA on an intercollegiate basis, combining the expertise of staff in all three of the participating colleges – King’s, UCL and Royal Holloway. It centres on the University’s Institute of Classical Studies, which not only contains a world-class research library, but also hosts the richest programme of seminars, conferences, and occasional lectures for this subject area in the UK.

Research seminars
In the Department of Classics we run a research seminar series (which we encourage MA students to attend), where you will learn about the current research of our academic staff and PhD students. Our Department also regularly hosts major research conferences with speakers from around the world.

Personal tutor
We will assign you a personal tutor in the Department of Classics, who will advise you and help you decide which modules to take, and can answer any questions or concerns you may have whilst at King's.

Dissertation supervision
During your first term at King's you will need to decide on your MA dissertation subject, if you have not done so before you arrive. The dissertation can be related to work you are doing for a taught module, or it can be in a completely different area.

Teaching
We will typically provide you with six to eight hours of teaching through lectures and seminars each week, and we will expect you to undertake 35 hours of independent study. For your dissertation, we will provide five hours of supervision from a member of the Department, depending on your chosen topic, who will oversee your work on it. We will expect you to undertake 575 hours of independent study.

Typically one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

Assessment
We typically assess our modules through a combination of coursework and examinations, and the amount of coursework we expect you to produce will be greater for modules which are worth more credits. For your dissertation module you will write a 12,000-word thesis.

Regulating body
King's College London is regulated by the Office for Students.

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Structure

Year 1 Courses are divided into modules. Each year you will normally take modules totalling 180 credits. Required Modules

You are required to take:

• Research Training & Dissertation in Classical Archaeology (60 credits)

In addition, students are required to choose modules totalling 40 credits from a range of Archaeology modules that typically includes:

• The Classical Art of the Body: Greek Sculpture & its Legacy (40 credits)
• The Art of Making: Craft Production from Classical Antiquity to Today (40 credits)
• Roman Britain (40 credits)• Exhibiting Classical Antiquities (20 credits)
• Living in Byzantium I: Material Culture & Built Environment in Late Antiquity (20 credits)
• Living in Byzantium II: Material Culture & Built Environment in the Middle Ages (20 credits)
• Classical Frontiers: Northern Black Sea in Antiquity (20 credits)

Choose two to four modules totalling 80 credits from a range of options that typically includes:

• Beginners’ Ancient Greek for Research (40 credits)
• Intermediate Ancient Greek for Research (40 credits)
• Medieval Latin Literature (40 credits)
• Skills for Medievalists: Palaeography (20 credits)
• Homer (40 credits)
• The Reception of Roman Comedy (20 credits)
• Homeric Presences in Greek Poetry & Shorter Prose Since 1890 (20 credits)
• Modern Greek Poetry & the Epic Tradition (20 credits)
• CP Cavafy: the Making of a Modernist (20 credits)
• Early Modern Latin Poetry I (20 credits)
• Tacitus & Nero (40 credits)
• Latin Epigraphy (40 credits)
• Roman Britain (40 credits)
• Roman Egypt (40 credits)
• One God, One Sea: Byzantium & Islam, 600–800 (20 credits)
• Persepolis (20 credits)• Greek Religion: Myth & Meaning (20 credits)
• Greek Religion: Culture & Cognition (20 credits)
• The City of Rome (British School at Rome Annual Postgraduate Course) (40 credits)
• Up to 20 credits from King’s Modern Language Centre
• Master’s modules offered by:
- UCL Department of Greek & Latin
- UCL Department of History
- UCL Institute of Archaeology
- RHUL Department of Classics
- RHUL Department of History

All subject to approvals.

If you are a part-time student, you will take the required module in your second year along with 40 credits of optional modules. In your first year, you will take 40 credits of Archaeology modules and 40 credits of optional modules.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-to-date, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on the course finder on our website for updates.