GRE4102 – Greek Palaeography and Textual Criticism
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The course provides insight into the philological method and the procedures of editing Ancient Greek literary texts from antiquity until today. You will also work with original Greek manuscripts (papyri) from the collection of the University of Oslo Library.
The teaching will cover the following topics:
- the tradition of Ancient Greek literature
- manuscripts from antiquity and the middle ages seen from a historical and philological point of view
- Greek palaeography (from the fourth century BCE to the first printed editions)
- Textual criticism in antiquity
- Textual criticism in modern times: textual constitution in a historical perspective, principles and methods textual criticism.
Learning outcome
After you have completed the course, you will be able to:
- work practically with Greek manuscripts (palaeographic description, transcription, dating)
- explain the manuscripts` relations to other manuscripts and other sources (inscriptions, quotations in Greek or other languages etc.)
- explain the methods and principles of textual criticism applied by editors of Greek texts and for their historical background.
- account for the text critical problems of specific text passages and/or texts, and recognize the principles used by the the editors.
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
You must be admitted to Classical Studies (master's two years) to sign up for this course. Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
At least 60 ECTS credits in Ancient Greek.
Overlapping courses
- 5 credits overlap with GRE4109 – Gresk edisjonsfilologi (discontinued).
Teaching
10 double hours of seminar instruction.
We expect you to prepare for the seminars and to participate actively.
Before you can sit for the examination, the following compulsory activities must be approved by the teacher:
- Attendance: You must attend at least 7 of the 10 seminars.
- You must submit drafts of the papers that will be included in the portfolio.
Examination
Portfolio, consisting of two parts:
- Part 1: Paleographic exercise (given topic)
- Part 2: Paper on a topic within textual critcism or edition philology (given topic or topic or your own choice)
In order for you to sit for the examination, all compulsory activities must be approved.
Assessment guidelines autumn 2019 (in Norwegian)
Language of examination
You may submit your response in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English. If you would prefer to have the exam text in English, you may apply to the course administrators.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Resit an examination
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.