GRE4102 ¨C Greek Palaeography and Textual Criticism

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 of 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) 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

Specialization (80 ECTS credits) in Ancient Greek at the Bachelor's level.

Overlapping courses

• 5 credits overlap with GRE4109 ¨C Gresk edisjonsfilologi (discontinued).

Teaching

14 two-hour seminars.

In spring 2025 the teaching is common with GRE2431 ¨C Advanced Seminar in Greek II.

We expect you to prepare for the seminars and to participate actively.

NB: If no more than two students sign up for the course, the teaching may be given as guided reading.?

In order for you to be allowed to sit for the final examination,?the following compulsory tuition activities must be approved by the teacher:

• Attendance in?the Classics seminar, at least once during the semester

• Submission of a short report (1-2 pages) on one of the Classics seminars that you have attended

• Oral presentation as part of the ordinary course seminars

• Submission of a draft of the seminar paper

Approved attendance, report and oral presentation are valid also the next two semesters in which the course is offered. Draft of the seminar paper is valid only in the semester in which it has been approved. This means that if you would like to retake this course, you must submit a new draft.

Examination

Seminar paper, 10-15 pages (of 2300 characters each, without spaces. Title page and reference list not included).

You submit your assignment in the digital examination system Inspera. You must familiarize yourself with Inspera before the submission deadline.?Read about how to submit your assignment in Inspera.

In order for you to be allowed to submit the final paper, all compulsory tuition activities must be approved by the teacher.

Previous exams?

Assessment guidelines (in Norwegian)

Examination support material

You are required to?familiarize yourself with the rules for sources and citations. It may be considered cheating or attempted cheating to use other people's material without informing about it.

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.

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.