Undergraduate students presenting in a philosophy seminar with Lina Jansson in the Humanities building

Classical Civilisation and Philosophy BA

University Park Campus, Nottingham, UK

Course overview

Explore the civilisations that gave birth to the thinking of Aristotle and Cicero, and the philosophies they were fundamental in developing.

No previous knowledge of either subject is needed - combine your enthusiasm and open mind with our quality teaching.

Different subjects - complementary themes

Our first year gives everyone a common standard of knowledge and skills. Later years provide options to explore widely. You can pick individual topics that grab your attention or follow a theme that complements both subjects. You could explore:

  • Gender - what it meant to be a man in Greece and Rome and how gender operates in today's society
  • Art - Greek and Roman painting and the philosophy of art

Indicative modules

Mandatory

Year 1

Reasoning, Argument, and Logic

Mandatory

Year 1

Mind, Knowledge, and Ethics

Mandatory

Year 1

Studying the Greek World

Mandatory

Year 1

Studying the Roman World

Optional

Year 1

Metaphysics, Science, and Language

Optional

Year 1

Philosophy of Religions

Optional

Year 1

Philosophy and the Contemporary World

Optional

Year 1

History of Philosophy: Ancient to Modern

Optional

Year 1

Gender, Justice, and Society

Optional

Year 1

Interpreting Ancient History

Optional

Year 1

Interpreting Ancient Literature

Optional

Year 1

Interpreting Ancient Art and Archaeology

Optional

Year 1

Greek and Roman Mythology

Optional

Year 1

Beginners' Latin or Greek: 1

Optional

Year 1

Beginners' Latin or Greek: 2

Optional

Year 1

Latin or Greek Texts: 1-6

Optional

Year 2

Beginners’ Latin or Greek for second and third years: 1 and 2

Optional

Year 2

Intermediate Latin or Greek: 1 and 2

Optional

Year 2

Greek Texts: 3 and 4

Optional

Year 2

Latin Texts: 3 and 4

Optional

Year 2

Communicating the Past

Optional

Year 2

Studying Classical Scholarship

Optional

Year 2

Extended Source Study

Optional

Year 2

The Silk Road: Cultural Interactions and Perceptions

Optional

Year 2

Conquerors, Caliphs, and Converts: The Making of the Islamic World, c.600-800

Optional

Year 2

Pompeii: Art and Culture in a Roman Town

Optional

Year 2

Christian Empire

Optional

Year 2

Virgil and the Epic Tradition

Optional

Year 2

Oedipus through the Ages

Optional

Year 2

Animals in the Ancient World

Optional

Year 2

Greece in the Archaic Age, c. 800-500 BC

Optional

Year 2

Greeks and Persians

Optional

Year 2

Classics and Film

Optional

Year 2

Coins, Cults and Cities: Coinage in the Eastern Roman Provinces (30 BC to AD 270)

Optional

Year 2

Mapping the Humanities

Optional

Year 2

Social Philosophy

Optional

Year 2

The Nature of Meaning

Optional

Year 2

Freedom and Obligation

Optional

Year 2

Mind and Consciousness

Optional

Year 2

Knowledge and Justification

Optional

Year 2

Normative Ethics

Optional

Year 2

Being, Becoming and Reality

Optional

Year 2

Philosophy of Art

Optional

Year 2

Intermediate Logic

Optional

Year 2

Continental Philosophy

Optional

Year 2

An Introduction to Metaethics

Optional

Year 2

Islamic Theology and Philosophy

Optional

Year 2

Topics in Asian Philosophy

Optional

Year 2

Buddhism and the World

Optional

Year 2

Space, Time, and Motion

Optional

Year 2

Employing the Arts

Optional

Year 2

Arts Work Placement Module

Optional

Year 3

Dissertation in Classics

Optional

Year 3

Beginners’ Latin or Greek for second and third years: 1 and 2

Optional

Year 3

Advanced Latin or Greek: 1 and 2

Optional

Year 3

The Silk Road: Cultural Interactions and Perceptions

Optional

Year 3

Pompeii: Art and Culture in a Roman Town

Optional

Year 3

Christian Empire

Optional

Year 3

Virgil and the Epic Tradition

Optional

Year 3

Oedipus through the Ages

Optional

Year 3

Animals in the Ancient World

Optional

Year 3

Greece in the Archaic Age, c. 800-500 BC

Optional

Year 3

Greeks and Persians

Optional

Year 3

Classics and Film

Optional

Year 3

Coins, Cults and Cities: Coinage in the Eastern Roman Provinces (30 BC to AD 270)

Optional

Year 3

Greek Tragedy

Optional

Year 3

Masculinity and Citizenship in Greece and Rome

Optional

Year 3

"Otherness" in Classical Art

Optional

Year 3

Dissertation in Philosophy

Optional

Year 3

Marx

Optional

Year 3

Oedipus Through the Ages

Optional

Year 3

Advanced Logic

Optional

Year 3

Environmental Ethics

Optional

Year 3

Communicating Philosophy

Optional

Year 3

Philosophy and Mortality

Optional

Year 3

Play, Games and Recreation

Optional

Year 3

Advanced Topics in Aesthetics

Optional

Year 3

Buddhist Philosophy

Optional

Year 3

Knowledge, Ignorance and Democracy

Optional

Year 3

Dirty Talk: Feminist Philosophy of Language

Optional

Year 3

Mind, Psychology and Mental Health

Optional

Year 3

Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence

Optional

Year 3

Authenticity and Existentialism

Optional

Year 3

Equality

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About modules

The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer, but is not intended to be construed or relied on as a definitive list of what might be available in any given year. This content was last updated on Wednesday 8 January 2025. Due to timetabling availability, there may be restrictions on some module combinations.

University undergraduate student Cole Pearce studying in Nightingale Hall accommodation's library, University Park. November 5th 2021.

I love what you can discover with this subject - it covers almost everything. I think they got the balance right between the classics and the new, current, happening philosophy that keeps the subject alive.

Tom Ivens

BA Philosophy

Course data

Open Day June 2022