Greek Tradition

Advanced study of the Greek-speaking world, from the second millennium BC to the modern day. Large number of staff with relevant expertise provides an exceptional range of research-led options in language, literature, culture, history and thought. Compulsory modules: Perceptions of the past & Retelling ancient myths. Leads to further research or careers in education, journalism, finance, politics and cultural sectors.

• Draws on the research expertise of the Centre for Hellenic Studies, which covers a chronological range of more than 4,000 years.
• World-leading reputation for research and teaching.
• Study in the heart of central London, with easy access to world-class resources.
• Students develop skills for autonomous study and research.

Follow King's Hellenic Studies on facebook. Student destinations Programme leader/s Awarding Institution Credit value (UK/ECTS equivalent) Duration Location Year of entry 2012
Offered by Closing date Intake Fees Contact information Email

The programme will appeal to students of the Classical world, and of Byzantine or Modern Greece, who are looking for a programme that will build upon their knowledge and broaden their perspective. It should also be of interest to those who wish to engage with the theoretical issues prompted by the investigation of an exceptionally well-documented cultural tradition and its reception. Students will be trained to develop skills of autonomous study and research.

The MA in Greek Tradition enables students to examine the Greek-speaking world from the second millennium BC to the modern day. It offers the possibility of discipline-based or interdisciplinary study, including Greek language, literature, visual and material culture, history and thought. Students have a unique opportunity to study the interactions within that culture, both diachronically and synchronically.

Students will learn to access information from a wide variety of sources, and from a variety of disciplines, and reflect critically upon that information. They will be helped to assess the complex of historical, political and cultural assumptions which have determined approaches to the subject area at every period.

Resources
King's boasts its own important resources for the study of the Greek world in both the Maughan Library and the Centre for Hellenic Studies, which hosts a research seminar and regular conferences and colloquia. Our central London location allows easy access to unmatched resources and University of London institutions (including the Warburg Institute, Institute of Classical Studies, Courtauld Institute of Art, Institute of Historical Studies, Senate House Library), as well as the British Library and world-class museums such as the Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Museum.

Greek Tradition staff
King's has an unusually large concentration of staff members with interests in the fields of Ancient, Byzantine and Modern Greek studies, including:

Language, Literature & Thought

• Professor Roderick Beaton, Koraes Professor of Modern Greek and Byzantine History
• Professor Giambattista D'Alessio, Professor of Greek Language and Literature
• Dr Alexandra Georgakopoulou, Reader in Modern Greek Language and Linguistics
• Ismene Lada-Richards, Reader in Greek Literature and Culture
• Dr Eleni Papargyriou, Lecturer in Modern Greek Literature
• Professor David Ricks, Professor of Modern Greek and Comparative Literature
• Professor Michael Trapp, Professor of Greek Literature and Thought

Art & Archaeology

• Dr Ellen Adams, Lecturer in Classical Art and Archaeology
• Dr Karim Arafat, Reader in Classical Archaeology
• Dr Tassos Papacostas, RCUK Fellow in Byzantine Material Culture
• Professor Catherine Morgan, Professor of Classical Archaeology

Ancient, Byzantine & Modern History

• Dr Lindsay Allen, Lecturer in Greek and Near Eastern History
• Dr Hugh Bowden, Senior Lecturer in Ancient History
• Dr Philip Carabott, Cyprus Hellenic Foundation Lecturer in Modern Greek History
• Dr Irene Polinskaya, RCUK Fellow in Greek History
• Professor Charlotte Roueché, Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine Studies
• Dr Dionysios Stathakopoulos, Lecturer in Byzantine Studies
• Professor Judith Herrin, Professor Emerita, Senior Research Fellow in Byzantine Studies

Core programme content
The MA Greek Tradition is taught as a one-year full-time programme or a two year part-time programme. Students take two compulsory modules, choose from a range of optional taught modules and write a dissertation.

Compulsory modules

• 7AABM111 Perceptions of the Past
• 7AABM112 Poetic geography: landmarks of the nation in the modern Greek poetic tradition, 1821-1940

Indicative non-core content

Optional modules
Typical optional modules are listed below. Please note: it cannot be guaranteed that all modules are offered in any particular academic year.

Language & linguistics

• 7AACM005 Beginners' ancient Greek for research
• 7AACM015 Intermediate ancient Greek for research
• 7AABMA10 Advanced Modern Greek
• 7AABMA17 Language, identity and culture
• 7AABMA15 Linguistic analysis of Modern Greek narrative
• Postgraduate Modern Greek (taught at King's Modern Language Centre)

Literature & thought

• 7AAN4036 Greek Philosophy: Plato & Aristotle
• 7AABMA26 The Greek Novel and its Influence (1st to 21st c.)
• 7AACK160 Hellenistic Poetry
• 7AABMA23 Cavafy Reader and Read
• 7AABMA24 Greek Modernism and the epic tradition (1900-1960)
• 7AABMA27 Greek literature and the modern city (1930-2000)
• 7AABMA20 Practical Criticism

History & material culture

• 7AACM730 Greek Epigraphy
• 7AACM420 Greek Religion: Myth & Meaning
• 7AACM421 Greek Religion: Culture & Cognition
• 7AACK410 Territory and Identity in Ancient Greece
• 7AACK806 Pausanias and the Archaeology of Greece
• 7AABMB10 Living in Byzantium: Material culture and built environment (c.AD300-1500)
• 7AACK814 Ancient Cyprus: Colonizations, Copper and City-kingdom
• 7AACK818 Ancient mosaics: making and meaning
• 7AACM830 Greek Pottery & Painting 800 – 300 BC
• 6AACAR02 Greek Sculpture 750-300 BC
• 7AABMB11 Cyprus from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance: A Byzantine island through the ages
• 7AABMB12 One God, One Sea: Byzantium and Islam, 600-800
• 7AABMB13 Byzantium and the West, A. D. 800-1000

Core and optional taught modules examined by coursework and/or examination, plus a dissertation. All teaching is carried out in small groups, with an important emphasis laid on discussion and the exchange of ideas. For most taught modules you will be expected to give at least one oral presentation of a paper.


General entry advice

Application
We ascribe great significance to the detail and coherence of the application documents. A full transcript of the undergraduate or, where applicable, any previous Masters degree should be provided, and the detail and quality of the academic references are crucial.
We aim to process all applications within four weeks although this may take longer in February and March, and over holiday periods.
There is no closing date for applications. However, those wishing to apply for accommodation in King's halls of residence must have been offered and have formally accepted an offer of a place no later than the end of May.

Interview
Whenever possible, an interview with one or more members of the academic staff is an important part of the admission process. Normally, in your own interest, you are advised to visit the Centre for Hellenic Studies at King's, and interviews can be conducted at any time in the year provided that your application papers have been received and sufficient time allowed for an interview to be arranged. Alternatively, it is sometimes possible for interviews to be arranged in Athens, Thessaloniki or Nicosia. Phone interviews are an alternative method for overseas students.

Knowledge of languages (ancient and/or modern).

Please see our website for funding opportunities: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/chs/study/fund/index.aspx