Taster Materials for Classical Studies

The resources below are divided into things that will help you prepare for study, extracts from Open University study materials and free-standing study materials.

Preparatory material

Online language resources

Interactive Latin
This lets you quiz yourself on noun, verb and adjective endings. This was designed to support students' revision for Reading Classical Latin (A297) and the words you will meet are key vocabulary items which feature in most beginner's courses. If you are about to start A397 you may find it provides some useful consolidation practice.

Introducing Ancient Greek
This site will help you prepare for a Beginner's Ancient Greek course such as Reading Classical Greek: language and literature (A275). You can review the letters of the alphabet, listen to the sounds of the alphabet, recognise the letters, memorise the sequence of letters, use letters to form words and use words to form simple sentences.

Our Reading Classical Greek website has interactive quizzes designed for students studying Ancient Greek using the Reading Greek series of textbooks (JACT/Cambridge University Press).  The quizzes allow you to test yourself on the grammar you meet at different stages of the course.

The Reading Greek Vocabulary Tester set up by Eton College in collaboration with the Open University is a useful tool for helping to consolidate your knowledge of relevant vocabulary.

Reading classical Greek: language and literature (A275)

Watch a brief video introduction by the course chair, Dr James Robson, on YouTube. The Introducing Ancient Greek website is designed to help you prepare for a beginner's course like A275.

 

A397 Preparatory Booklet

The booklet will be sent to you as part of the course material, but if you would like it before you register, you can download it now as a PDF file [340 KB]. If you are unable to access this file, please send an A4, self-addressed envelope marked ‘A397 preparation’ to the A397 Course Manager, The Faculty of Arts, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, and you will be sent a print copy. No postage is required.

 

Extracts from Open University study materials

The Arts past and present (AA100)

• iTunesU albums are available on The Diva (study week 8), Ireland - heritage and collective identity (study week 15) and Mosaics from Brading Villa on the Isle of Wight (study week 28); or go to the OU podcasts version (search for aa100)
• the OpenLearn unit on Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus is from Book 1, Reputations, which you would study in week 3 (15 hours).

Exploring the Classical World (A219)

• Introducing the Classical world on OpenLearn aims to get you started by introducing you to the sources upon which you can build your knowledge and understanding (20 hours)
• there are albums on iTunes U on the following topics: Buildings of ancient Rome; Exploring the classical world; Greek Theatre; Learning from human remains: Seianti's skeleton; Power and people in ancient Rome; Roman funerary monuments; the Acroplois and the Parthenon; and the Graeco-Roman city of Paestum. Or go to the OU podcasts versions (search for a219)

World Archaeology (A251)

• the world archaeology iTunes U album features audio tracks on Origins of Agriculture, Differentiating Cities, Defining a City, The Characteristics of Empire, Monumental and Residential , Archaeology: an Overview, Pompeii and the Roman Empire, The Development of Society, The methodology of archaeology, The theories of human development, What is a city?, The definition of an Empire; or go to the OU podcasts versions (search for a251).

Myth in the Greek and Roman worlds (A330)

• the course information website features a Google Earth map showing some of the major sites discussed in ‘Myth in the Greek and Roman Worlds’.
• there are four iTunes U albums: A tribute to the world of myth: Ovid and Holkham Hall; Myth at the heart of the Roman Empire; Myth in the Greek and Roman Worlds: the Temple of Diana at Nemi and Pygmalion meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
  These are also available in OU podcasts versions (A tribute to the world of myth: Ovid and Holkham Hall; Myth at the heart of the Roman Empire; Myth in the Greek and Roman Worlds: the Temple of Diana at Nemi and Pygmalion meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

 

Reading Classical Latin (A297)

• the OpenLearn unit on Getting started on Classical Latin (10 hours) prepares you for the kind of learning that takes place on a classical language course, gives you a taster of what is involved in the very early stages of learning Latin and offers you the opportunity to put in some early practice.

Continuing Classical Latin (A397)

• Interactive Latin is aimed more at intermediate level and provides some useful consolidation practice if you are about to start A397.

Free-standing study materials

The Ancient Olympics: Bridging Past and Present

• The Ancient Olympics: Bridging past and present is part of an OU outreach programme in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics, overseen by Dr Aarón Alzola Romero of the Department of Classical Studies. It aims to bring the ancient Olympics to life in anticipation of London 2012.  The site allows users to engage with the history and heritage of the Olympics experientially, through audio, animations, interactive maps and images.  The content, which was written in collaboration with various external institutions, is freely available under a Creative Commons licence.