Workers Educational Association
South West Region, Bradninch Court, Castle Street, Exeter, EX4 3PL. Tel. 01392 457300
Fax. 01392 457344 Email southwest@wea.org.uk
Course information sheet
Course Title:
The Iliad: Gods, Men and War
Course Ref:
C3524766
Title of qualification to
be gained (if any):
N/A
Awarding Body (if any):
N/A
Tutor:
Tim Hammond
Venue: Manvers Street Baptist Church, Manvers Street, Bath, BA1 1JW
Start date: 26th February 2014
Essential materials
End date: 2nd April 2014
It is desirable but not essential that students obtain a
copy of The Iliad translated by Stanley Lombardo
(Hackett). Access to any translation would be helpful.
No of sessions: 6 sessions
Hours per session: 2 hours
Day(s)/time(s): Wednesdays, 10:00am –
12noon
Each session will focus upon specified extracts that will
be made available to all students in advance of each
session.
Course Aims
Introduce students to the text and context of The Iliad and some of the areas that Homer scholarship (and this
course) is concerned with;
Stimulate intelligent engagement with and enjoyment of The Iliad.
Course Description
This course is about The Iliad, Homer’s epic of the tangled affairs of gods and men and the brutal conflict of the
Trojan War. It has inspired the imagination for more than 2,000 years. Is European literature’s oldest work also its
greatest?
Entry Requirements
There are no formal requirements for entry on this course.
Who is the course for?
This course is for anyone who is curious about the oldest and one of most influential of works of European
literature: its qualities as a work of poetic literature that presents an ambitious, rich and exciting narrative; the
world from which the work comes and what its continuing significance to modern readers might be.
The content of the course will inform powerfully students’ interests in a range of Literature, History and Art History
topics.
Main topics covered
Key characters / events –gods and mortals of The Iliad;
The Iliad and myth;
Historical basis of the Trojan War;
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Identity of Homer / author (s) of The Iliad;
Origins of the text and its transmission;
Translations of The Iliad in context;
Homeric language.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course learners will be able to:
Provide an outline of the key narrative events of The Iliad;
Identify some key characteristics of some of the major participants in the narrative;
Recognise the way that text reflects the culture, values and beliefs of Greek pre-Classical and Classical society
Carry out simple analysis of the language of the text;
Discriminate – in basic terms – between different translations of The Iliad;
Participate in and make informed contributions to discussions about the meaning and value of The Iliad from a
personal perspective.
Teaching and learning methods used
Each session will comprise a combination of
Tutor led, illustrated presentation;
Guided group analysis of selected extracts from the text;
Group activities relating visual and other materials (E.g. contemporary artefacts and painting, sculpture and film
from subsequent eras) to selected extracts from the text;
Group discussion about topics related to the text.
How your work will be assessed
There is no formal assessment on this course;
Sessions will include short tests and quizzes for purposes of embedding basic knowledge;
Tutor will provide feedback on student participation in an end of course discussion.
Suggested progression routes
WEA:
‘The Odyssey’ [If the Iliad course were to prove successful, I’d be pleased to run a follow-up course focused upon
The Odyssey or some other aspect of Classical Literature such as Tragic Drama.]; other WEA courses with a
focus upon literature or history
Open University:
‘Making Sense of the Arts’ (Y180) – a short ‘openings’ course offering a general introduction to the study of Arts /
Humanities disciplines; successful students achieve credit that can be put towards a degree qualification.
Other OU courses : AA100 and A150
Pre-course reading/preparation
Students are encouraged to read some of The Iliad prior to the course start, preferably in the translation specified
above. A reading guide with summaries of the narrative will be provided by the tutor.
A list of other reading including freely accessible online translations and other background materials will similarly
be made available to all students.
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