Whangarei Girls’ High School

Level 3 Classical Studies*

Course Description

Classical Studies is a course for students who are confident in their Classics knowledge. This course requires students to use their previous knowledge to critically analyse religions, Ancient Roman history, how this interweaves with mythology and research independently an ideology of the Ancient world, e.g. witchcraft, patriarchal society, glorification of warfare, death and the afterlife.

Learning Opportunities

In this course you will need to:

Develop these skills:	Explore this content:
Reading and writing - how to plan and write extended essays. Students will read chapters of the Aeneid and examine how the ideas and values of Ancient Rome are evident in the text. All assessments are written and it is strongly recommended that students are confident in their writing.	Virgil's Aeneid - Students will read Virgil's Aeneid (the Roman Odyssey) which tells the epic tale of Aeneas, the first Roman hero who flees the burning city of Troy to found what will become Rome. It is essential that students have read Homer’s Odyssey beforehand to ensure that they are familiar with the complex nature of Ancient epics. The study of this book focuses on Aeneas’ tortured love affair with Queen Dido, the divine intervention of the gods, heroism and the power of Aeneas as the first Roman hero. This is also used for an internal based on heroism.
Critical thinking - exploring ideas from ancient society and how these are reflected in modern society.	Ideology of the Ancient World - this is student led and you can choose which ideology you would like to focus on for the last internal. Ideologies can include: death and the afterlife, witchcraft, glorification of war, patriarchal society.
Communication skills - contributing to group and class discussions. Classics is a discussion based subject and students will learn through class and group discussions to develop their critical thinking of the content. Written communication is also important for success in this subject.
Research Skills - how to research credible information and integrate this into your written work. This is important for the assessments as well as class work.

Year Levels/Departments:

Classical Studies, Seniors

Resources Required

1B8 Exercise Book
Gluestick
Pens