Literae Humaniores is the name given to the study of Classics at Oxford and some other universities. Classics, particularly within the Western University tradition, when used as a singular noun, means the study of the language, literature, history, art, and other aspects of Greek and Roman culture during the time frame known as classical antiquity. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

The name means literally "more humane letters", but is perhaps better rendered as "Advanced Studies", since humaniores has the sense of "more refined" or "more learned", and literae means "learning" or "liberal education". It is the archetypical Humanities course. The humanities are a group of academic subjects united by a commitment to studying aspects of the human condition and a qualitative approach that generally prevents a single paradigm from coming to define any discipline. ...

Lit. Hum. at Oxford

The Oxford University classics course — also known as "Greats" — is divided into two parts that last four terms and seven terms respectively, the whole lasting four years in total. The course is normally taken as a first degree and leads to a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) qualification. The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B., from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ...

In the first part (Honour Moderations or Mods) students concentrate on Latin and Greek language; in the second part students choose two main subjects from Classical Literature, Greek and Roman History, and Philosophy. Throughout the course there is a strong emphasis on first hand study of primary sources in the original Greek or Latin. The teaching style is very traditional and consists of weekly tutorials in each subject, supplemented by a wide variety of lectures. The examinations at the end of the course are also very traditional with 11 or 12 three-hour papers set across seven consecutive days. Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... The term philosophy derives from a combination of the Greek words philos meaning love and sophia meaning wisdom. ... A tutorial may simply refer to a list of instructions or tips for how to do any of a wide variety of tasks. ... A lecture on linear algebra at the Helsinki University of Technology A lecture is a presentation on a particular subject given in order to teach people about that subject, for example by a university or college teacher. ...

Mods

During the four terms of the Mods course the students develop their ability to read Latin and Greek fluently. Students are expected to read widely including all of Virgil and Homer. Since 1980 candidates with strong Latin but little or no Greek have been able to apply for the Mods B course: in this variation they learn Greek from scratch during their first four terms. Since 2000 it has also been possible to do a Mods C course in which students learn both Latin and Greek from scratch. This has become necessary because Latin and Greek no longer feature in the British National Curriculum and the number of university applicants who have studied enough Latin or Greek to cope with traditional Mods has fallen sharply. All students who successfully pass Mods then go on to study the full Greats course in their remaining seven terms. For other uses see Virgil (disambiguation). ... Bust of Homer in the British Museum For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a nationwide education curriculum was introduced in the 1980s to ensure that certain basic material was covered by all pupils. ...

Greats

In the main part of the classics course students choose two subject groups from:

• Roman and Greek Literature
• Roman and Greek History (divided into several periods)
• Philosophy, both ancient (Plato and Aristotle) and modern

The main teaching mechanism is the weekly essay, one on each of the two chosen subjects, typically written to be read out at a one-to-one tutorial; this affords all students plenty of practice at writing short, clear, and well-researched papers. The literature of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire written in the Latin language. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that existed in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East between 753 BC and its downfall in AD 476. ... The term philosophy derives from a combination of the Greek words philos meaning love and sophia meaning wisdom. ... Statue of a philosopher, presumably Plato, in Delphi. ... Aristotle (sculpture) Aristotle (Greek: Αριστοτέλης Aristotelēs; 384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher. ...

There is a strong emphasis on study of the original texts (in Latin and Greek), which are examined by prepared translation and by gobbets. In a typical "set books" paper candidates will be expected first to translate into English three or four long passages selected at random from the set books; and secondly to comment on each of an extended set of short paragraphs or sentences from the same set texts; marks are awarded for recognising the context and the significance of each excerpt.

Even in the final examinations, students must also offer the unseen translation papers (Latin and Greek into English), and they may offer the prose and poetry composition papers (English into Latin and Greek) for extra credit.

External Links

• The Classics Faculty at Oxford University retrieved July 2005