CAC3064 : Dreams and Dreaming in Ancient Greece
- Offered for Year: 2019/20
- 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?
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 ‘Greek dream’. This module, then, examines the multitude of ways dreams and the dream experience appear across a wide variety of sources from Ancient Greece and beyond, led by two key questions: where do dreams come from, and what – if anything – do they mean?
The first half of the module focuses on literary depictions - taking a thematic approach through authors such as Homer, Hesiod, Aeschylus, Pindar, Herodotus, Aristophanes, Euripides - to establish the range of ‘dream-types’ and their usages across Greek literature. The second half of the module then looks at how the natural philosophers and early medical writers also treated dreams as part of their growing investigations into natural phenomena. Focusing on the Presocratics, Aristotle, and several Hippocratic texts, we will consider how dreams were understood to function – physiologically, psychologically, or both – and to what extent, if any, traditional literary depictions were resituated in this ‘scientific’ approach.
Alongside this, students will also be introduced to comparative beliefs and evidence from other ancient cultures to allow for critical reflection on ideas such as the culture-pattern, Hellenocentricism, and acculturation. Towards the end of the module, we’ll reflect on the longevity of our findings as we move from antiquity to the modern age, and consider whether dreaming is really, as it is so often called, a ‘universal’ human experience.
All texts will be studied in translation; there is no expectation or requirement that students have any knowledge of Ancient Greek or Latin.
Outline Of Syllabus
Week 1 Setting the Scene
Week 2 Visitors in the Night
Week 3 Culture Patterns
Week 4 Human Error, Divine Wisdom?
Week 5 Crossing the Boundary
Week 6 Early Greek ‘Science’
Week 7 Philosophical Dreams
Week 8 Doctors and Patients
Week 9 Gods and Patients
Week 10 Collecting and Classifying
Week 11 From Virgil to Vienna
Week 12 Commonality, Universality?
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 66 | 1:00 | 66:00 | 40% of guided independent study |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 22 | 1:00 | 22:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 32 | 1:00 | 32:00 | 20% of guided independent study |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 66 | 1:00 | 66:00 | 40% of guided independent study |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 9 | 1:00 | 9:00 | Seminar |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 2 | 2:00 | 4:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 1 | 1:00 | 1:00 | Surgery hours for final assessment |
| Total | 200:00 |
Jointly Taught With
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| CAC2064 | Dreams and Dreaming in Ancient Greece |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case study | 1 | M | 25 | 750 word case study due mid-semester |
| Essay | 1 | A | 50 | 2500 word essay due during assessment period |
| Reflective log | 1 | M | 25 | 1200 word reflective log due Week 15 |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The case study tests students’ ability to read and analyse relevant features of a text; it also encourages students to reflect creatively on the challenges of interpreting cultural meaning in a society much removed from our own. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for feedback and reflection ahead of the larger assessed component at the end of the semester.
The essay will encourage independent research, using lecture and seminar content as a foundation on which to build one’s own critical analysis. It provides an opportunity to test intended skills and learning outcomes at a level of detail and understanding beyond what is possible in a written exam, and allows engagement with the material over a sustained period of time.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- CAC3064's Timetable