MA in Ancient Philosophy

This is a specialist program geared towards preparing you for higher research in ancient philosophy - partly through direct research training, and partly through modules taught by experts in their field in small-group seminars. Durham has a longstanding tradition of international excellence in the field of ancient philosophy, with several recent doctoral students who have gone on to take up academic positions in the UK and abroad. The program lasts for one year full-time (two years part-time).

Course Structure

You will take modules to a total of 180 or 190 credits. The structure of the course is as follows:

• Core research training module (30 credits)
• Language module in an ancient or modern language relevant to research in the area of Classics (20-40 credits)
• Core module in Ancient Philosophy (30 credits)
• 15,000-word Dissertation (60 credits)
• Optional modules (20-30 credits).

MA modules are 30 credits; you may substitute two 20-credit undergraduate modules for one MA module. You may also take up to 40 credits of modules offered by other Departments (subject to approval).

Not all modules will be offered every year, and new modules (both elective and core) are added regularly.

Core Modules

• Classical Research Methods and Resources
• Language module in an ancient or modern language relevant to research in the area of Classics
• Core module in Ancient Philosophy (in 2016-17, options were Aristotle’s Systems or Plutarch the Philosopher)
• Dissertation.

Optional Modules

Optional modules are offered according to the current research interests of members of staff. In recent years, optional modules available in the Department have included:

• Akkadian
• Ancient Philosophers on Necessity, Fate and Free Will
• Ancient Philosophers on Origins
• Animals in Graeco-Roman Antiquity
• Forms After Plato
• Greek Text Seminar on Homeric Epic
• Greek Sacred Regulations
• Latin Love Elegy
• Latin Text Seminar on Roman Epic
• Life and Death on Roman Sarcophagi
• Monumental Architecture of the Roman East
• Religious Life in The Roman Near East
• Rewriting Empire: Eusebius of Caesarea and the First Christian History
• The Classical Tradition: Art, Literature, Thought
• The Queen of the Desert: Rise and Decline of Palmyra’s Civilization
• The Roman Republic: Debates and Approaches.