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 examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view. ...

Lit. Hum. at Oxford

The Oxford University classics course – also known as "Greats" – is divided into two parts that last five 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/or Greek language; in the second part students choose eight papers from the varied disciplines of Classical Literature, Greek and Roman History, Philosophy, Archaeology, and Linguistics. 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. Consisting until recently of 11 or 12 three-hour papers set across seven consecutive days the final examination at the end of the course was notoriously intensive; this is no longer the case thanks to the wide-ranging redesign of the way Classics is taught at Oxford necessitated by the removal of Latin and Greek from the British National Curriculum. Honour Moderations (or Mods) are a first set of examinations at Oxford University, normally during the first half of the degree course for some courses (e. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Ancient history is the study of significant cultural and political events from the beginning of human history until the Early Middle Ages. ... Philosopher in Meditation (detail), by Rembrandt Philosophy is a field of study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics, in which people ask questions such as whether God exists, whether knowledge is possible, and what makes actions right or wrong. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and someone who engages in this study is called a linguist. ... // Academia In British academic parlance, a tutorial is a small class of one, or only a few, students, in which the tutor (a professor or other academic staff member) gives individual attention to the students. ... 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. ... The National Curriculum was introduced into England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as a nationwide curriculum for primary and secondary state schools following the Education Reform Act 1988. ...

Mods

The Mods course runs for the first the five terms of the whole course. The traditional aim was for students to develop their ability to read fluently in Latin (especially the Aeneid of Virgil) and Greek (the Iliad and the Odyssey); this remains the case today, but the course has changed to reflect the continuing decline in the numbers of applicants who have had the opportunity to study Greek and Latin at school. The Aeneid is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC (between 29 and 19 BC) that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans. ... A sculpture of Virgil, probably from the 1st century AD. For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ... The Iliad (Ancient Greek Ιλιάς, Ilias) is, along with the Odyssey, one of the two major Greek epic poems traditionally attributed to Homer, a supposedly blind Ionian poet. ... Odysseus and Nausicaä - by Charles Gleyre For other uses, see Odyssey (disambiguation). ...

Since the early 1970s it has been possible to learn Greek from scratch during Mods (this was originally called Mods-B, and was the brain child of the late John Griffiths of Jesus). More recently options have been added for those without Latin either. College name Jesus College Named after Jesus of Nazareth Established 1571 Sister College Jesus College, Cambridge Principal Sir John Krebs JCR President John-Michael Arnold Undergraduates 344 Graduates 134 Homepage Boatclub Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeths Foundation) is one of...

There are now five alternative paths through Mods.

• Students with both Latin and Greek at A-level take the traditional route, Mods IA.
• Those with only one language do Mods IB (Latin plus beginners' Greek) or Mods IC (Greek plus beginners' Latin).
• Students with a strong aptitude for languages but who have not had the opportunity to do Latin or Greek can take either Mods IIA (beginners' Latin only) or Mods IIB (beginners' Greek only).

Language tuition is now organized centrally by the Faculty of Classics; this leaves the colleges free to concentrate on teaching classical literature, history, and philosophy. An A-level, short for Advanced Level, is a General Certificate of Education usually taken during Further Education and after GCSEs. ...

All students who successfully pass Mods then go on to study the full Greats course in their remaining seven terms. Those doing a Course II version of the course are expected to read as many of their Finals texts in the original of their chosen language as those on Course I; there is, moreover, the option of studying the second Classical language as two papers at Finals.

Greats

The traditional Greats course consisted of detailed study of Roman and Greek History and Philosophy, both ancient (Plato and Aristotle) and modern. In 1968 a new course in Roman and Greek Literature was added, and students chose two of these three options. Since then various combined courses have also been developed, including Classics & Modern Languages, Ancient & Modern History, and Classical Archæology & Ancient History (CAAH). The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ... Philosopher in Meditation (detail), by Rembrandt Philosophy is a field of study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics, in which people ask questions such as whether God exists, whether knowledge is possible, and what makes actions right or wrong. ... Plato ( Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, wide, broad-shouldered) (c. ... Aristotle (Ancient Greek: AristotélÄ“s 384 – March 7, 322 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Latin literature, the body of written works in the Latin language, remains an enduring legacy of the culture of ancient Rome. ...

As of 2004 the full Lit. Hum. course has been revised; students (who will be first examined in 2008) now choose eight papers from a wide range of subject areas. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Ancient history — "period" papers ranging from the pre-history of Greece to the first Flavian Emperors in Rome; or "topic" papers, on such subjects as Gender and Sexuality in the Ancient World or Athenian Democracy.
• Philosophy — from Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics to more modern philosophers, such as Kant and Wittgenstein
• Ancient literature — including optional "core" papers on mainstream Greek and Latin texts, plus various individual authors and other topics
• Philology (classical linguistics) — including such papers as Lyric Greek, Oscan & Umbrian or General Linguistics and Comparative Philology
• Classical art and archaeology from vases to buildings
• Second classical language — for those who only offered one language at Mods
• Optional special thesis as a ninth paper; theses can be offered within each of the first five options

The regulations governing the combinations of papers are moderately simple: students must take at least four papers based on the study of ancient texts in the original Latin or Greek; otherwise they can choose what they want, provided only that if they offer literature papers, they must offer the appropriate "core" papers too, and if they choose to offer "period" papers in history then they must offer one of the approved combinations. Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian philosopher, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ... Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), pictured here in 1930, made influential contributions to Logic and the philosophy of language, critically examining the task of conventional philosophy and its relation to the nature of language. ...

The main teaching mechanism remains the weekly essay, one on each of the two main 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. // Academia In British academic parlance, a tutorial is a small class of one, or only a few, students, in which the tutor (a professor or other academic staff member) gives individual attention to the students. ...

Despite the changes, there is still 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 "text" paper candidates will be expected first to translate into English three or four long passages selected by the examiners 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.

In the past it was compulsory also to offer papers in unprepared translation from Latin and Greek into English; these papers counted "below the line" — candidates were required to pass them, but they did not otherwise affect the overall class of the degree. This requirement has now been dropped, and it is possible to pass Greats without offering any unprepared translation papers. The formerly optional prose and verse composition papers (English into Latin and Greek) have been removed from the Greats syllabus entirely.

See also

• Modern Greats
• Quadrivium
• Trivium

Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) is a degree which is one of the most famous and prestigious at the University of Oxford. ... The quadrivium comprised the four subjects taught in medieval universities after the trivium. ... ...

External links

• "Tempora mutantur", Peter Brown, Oxford Today, Hilary 2002, checked Jan 2006

• The Classics Faculty at Oxford University retrieved July 2005