Archaeology and Classical Languages

Please note that the ‘last booking’ date is only a guide. Courses may close earlier. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure to enrol as soon as possible. Registrations may not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm. 

This course comprises a weekly 1 hour live online meeting (via Microsoft Teams) and online learning materials for you to engage with before and after each live session.

Aeschylus' Oresteia: A house drenched in vengeance, a legacy forged in fire.
Join Dr Guen Taietti and delve into the only surviving Greek trilogy in all its tragic glory. In this module you will read the whole trilogy, discuss a timeless story full of drama, revenge, justice, and explore ancient Greek culture.

Number of Meetings

4

Course Leader

Dr Guendalina Taietti

CRN 28260/ALGY000

Course Fees

Course Fee: Standard Fee: £60/Concession £30

Please note that the ‘last booking’ date is only a guide. Courses may close earlier. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure to enrol as soon as possible. Registrations may not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm. 

The Reading Group builds on students’ knowledge of Greek grammar and vocabulary, and enables them to read original texts of Greek literature. Students will develop a reading proficiency by implementing and refining techniques to translate for accuracy, comprehension, and retention. Through learning the Greek language, students will explore Hellenic culture and history and its impact on modern languages and societies. 

An intermediate knowledge of Greek is required to attend the Reading Group.

Number of Meetings

3

Course Leader

Dr Guen Taietti

CRN 28274/CLAH000

Course Fees

Course Fee: Standard Fee: £70/Concession £35

Please note that the ‘last booking’ date is only a guide. Courses may close earlier. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure to enrol as soon as possible. Registrations may not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm. 

Heka, badly translated in Western culture as ‘magic’ was a divine force, a creative energy, in ancient Egypt. It could be used for good or bad, private or state purposes. Heka was also a deity within the pantheon of Egyptian Gods. This course will examine the objects and images created to channel the power of heka, including execration figurines, amulets, wands, birth bricks and the books of the netherworld. 

Number of Meetings

6

Course Leader

Dr Joanne Backhouse

CRN 28146/ALGY000

Course Fees

Course Fee: Standard Fee: £95/Concession £50

Please note that the ‘last booking’ date is only a guide. Courses may close earlier. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure to enrol as soon as possible. Registrations may not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm. 

The Reading Group builds on students’ knowledge of Latin grammar and vocabulary, and enables them to read original texts of Latin literature. Students will develop a reading proficiency by implementing and refining techniques to translate for accuracy, comprehension, and retention. Through learning the Latin language, students will explore Roman culture and history and its impact on modern languages and societies. 

An intermediate knowledge of Latin is required to attend the Reading Group.

Number of Meetings

3

Course Leader

Dr Guen Taietti

CRN 28275/CLAH000

Course Fees

Course Fee: Standard Fee: £70/Concession £35

Please note that the ‘last booking’ date is only a guide. Courses may close earlier. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure to enrol as soon as possible. Registrations may not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm. 

In the year 1200 the fading Byzantine Empire faced both the power of the Seljuk Turks in the east and the western crusading powers in the west. It was on the path to decline and after the brief period of Mongol invasion in the 13th century it was a new Turkish group the Ottomans who would be in the ascendant. In 1453 Constantinople fell and the period of Ottoman expansion under rulers like Suleiman the Magnificent began. But by the 19th century Turkey was the “sick man of Europe” and after the First World War Ataturk helped to create the Turkish Republic which continues to this day. This course will examine the last 825 years of the History of Turkey.

The course aims to explore the origin and development of the Ottoman Empire and its successor the Turkish Republic. The history and architecture of the period will be the focus of the study.

This course is for anyone with a general interest in history and archaeology.

Number of Meetings

6

Course Leader

Mr Michael Tunnicliffe

CRN 28263/ALGY000

Course Fees

Course Fee: Standard Fee: £95/Concession £50

Please note that the ‘last booking’ date is only a guide. Courses may close earlier. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure to enrol as soon as possible. Registrations may not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm. 

Pompeii and Herculaneum were Roman towns on the Bay of Naples in southern Italy. The daily life of these towns, and others in their hinterland, came to a sudden stop by the eruption of long-dormant Vesuvius in AD79, most likely in the month of October. The course, which draws on new evidence from recent excavations and the latest research, reconstructs the lives and violent deaths of the inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, along with the neighbouring villas and farmsteads at Stabiae, Oplontis and Boscoreale. 

Number of Meetings

3

Course Leader

Dr Georgina Muskett

CRN 28147/ALGY000

Course Fees

Course Fee: Standard Fee: £50/Concession £30

Please note that the ‘last booking’ date is only a guide. Courses may close earlier. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure to enrol as soon as possible. Registrations may not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm. 

The course continues a close reading of the book of the prophet Jeremiah. It concentrates on chapters 21-30 and seeks to understand what the words of Jeremiah might have meant to his first hearers either side of 600BCE. But we also need to ask what we make of the words today and whether they have any relevance for contemporary readers.

The course aims to read chapters 21-30 of Jeremiah covering 2 chapters per session and to explore the potential meanings and the different interpretations of a number of commentators. 

Anyone with an interest in biblical studies will enjoy this course. 

Number of Meetings

6

Course Leader

Mr Michael Tunnicliffe

CRN 28265/ALGY000

Course Fees

Course Fee: Standard Fee: £95/Concession £50

Please note that the ‘last booking’ date is only a guide. Courses may close earlier. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure to enrol as soon as possible. Registrations may not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm. 

We will also discuss the economic, social, and political context and consequences of slavery, to work towards a deeper understanding of the reasons why it became so entrenched in Roman society – and why it still poses moral questions today.

Number of Meetings

3

Course Leader

Dr Joanne Ball

CRN 28149/ALGY000

Course Fees

Course Fee: Standard Fee: £50/£concession £30

Please note that the ‘last booking’ date is only a guide. Courses may close earlier. In order to avoid disappointment, please be sure to enrol as soon as possible. Registrations may not be processed until the following day if received after 3pm. 

In recent years Syria has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Historically it has played an important part in the story of the Ancient Near East. As part of the Fertile Crescent it has some of the earliest human settlements. Its capital Damascus is one of the oldest constantly inhabited cities, while on the coast the port of Ugarit flourished in the Bronze Age. During the Iron Age it was the ancestral home of the Arameans and interacted with the Israelites to the west and the Assyrians to the east. It became part of the Roman Empire, as the story of the city of Palmyra demonstrates. Islam too has left its mark in more recent centuries with the spectacular Mosque of Damascus. This course will explore the archaeology and architecture of this fascinating land.

To give an overview of the history of Syria through the archaeology and architecture of a series of sites. 

Anyone with an interest in the history of the Middle East and the influence of cultures on a region. 

Number of Meetings

1

Course Leader

Mr Michael Tunnicliffe

CRN 28148/ALGY000

Course Fees

Course Fee: Standard Fee: £55