CAC3064 : Dreams and Dreaming in the Ancient World
- Offered for Year: 2021/22
- Module Leader(s): Dr Stephanie Holton
- Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
Aims
Can we ‘unlock’ the meaning of our dreams and improve our lives? How do we ‘see’ anything while we are asleep? Can dreams be trusted? Do they come from our soul? Our brain? The gods? Is dreaming really a 'universal' human experience?
Dreams and their interpretation posed as many questions in antiquity as they do today, and the dreams themselves took many forms: there was not simply the one standardised ‘ancient dream’. This module, then, examines the multitude of ways dreams and the dream experience appear across a wide variety of texts and sources from the ancient world and beyond, led by two key questions: where do dreams come from, and what – if anything – do they mean?
All materials will be studied in translation; there is no expectation or requirement that students have any knowledge of Ancient Greek or Latin.
Outline Of Syllabus
Texts/works studied during the semester may include:
+ Epic Dreams: Gilgamesh, Homer, Virgil
+ Dream Books: the Ramesside Dream Book, Assyrian Dream Book, Artemidorus' Oneirocritica
+ Dreams on Stage: Aeschylus' Oresteia
+ Perils of Interpretation: Herodotus
+ How Dreams Work: Presocratics, Aristotle, Cicero, Lucretius
+ Dreams and the Body, Dreams and the Soul: Hippocratic Corpus
+ Healing through Dreams: Therapeutic Incubation
+ Anxieties of the Modern Age: Freud, Mass Observation Project
+ Dreams on Screen: 20th/21st century receptions
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 11 | 1:00 | 11:00 | 1 Lecture p/w |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 66 | 1:00 | 66:00 | For 3 assessment components (split as needed) |
| Structured Guided Learning | Lecture materials | 11 | 1:00 | 11:00 | Part of student contact hours (e.g. 1 hour recordings and/or resources per week) |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 33 | 1:00 | 33:00 | 3 hrs reading p/w (Module reading list) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 9 | 1:00 | 9:00 | 1 Seminar p/w (except first/last week) |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 9 | 2:00 | 18:00 | Weekly preparation (reading, tasks) for seminars |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | Student-led assessment workshops (2 per semester) |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 50 | 1:00 | 50:00 | General consolidation activities |
| Total | 200:00 |
Jointly Taught With
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| CAC2064 | Dreams and Dreaming in the Ancient World |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures and lecture materials are used to introduce students to a wide range of authors and texts. The content will be supported by relevant contextual and historical information where necessary. They also introduce methods of interpretation and analysis, and draw attention to comparative models. Elements of group-work and student-teacher interaction will reinforce the delivered material.
Seminars are used to facilitate student-led discussion on a particular text and pre-circulated questions in a small structured environment. It provides the opportunity for students to explore the material for themselves, drawing on weekly lectures, and to enter into a dialogue with each other on the multifaceted nature of meaning and interpretation.
Workshops are used to ensure the assessment aims are clearly articulated and understood by students ahead of their submissions, and provide focused instruction and practice in developing specific skills: structuring an argument, finding relevant bibliographical sources, referencing classical texts, etc. They also allow for student-teacher dialogue on expectations, marking criteria, and feedback.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | A | 60 | 2500-word independent research project |
| Reflective log | 1 | M | 40 | 1000-word reflective logbook |
Formative Assessments
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written exercise | 1 | M | 500-word research project proposal |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The logbook is an opportunity for students to accrue credit throughout the semester for their ongoing seminar preparation work; set tasks target skills of close reading, reflection, and evaluation.
The final project supports and encourages independent research, using lecture and seminar content as a foundation on which to build one’s own avenue of investigation and critical analysis. It provides an authentic opportunity to apply skills and knowledge at a level of detail and understanding far beyond what is possible in a written exam, while also allowing engagement with the material over a sustained period of time. The formative assignment provides support during the initial planning period for the final project, giving an opportunity for feedback and guidance in the critical stages of preparation.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- CAC3064's Timetable