Postgraduate Prospectus

This course has a start date in September

This innovative degree course is concerned with the visual culture of classical antiquity and modern theories of its study – Greek and Roman sculpture, architecture, mosaics, painting, urbanism. It brings together archaeological, art historical and historical approaches to examine how visual material was treated and understood in antiquity and reinvented for centuries to come.  As well as learning how to look at ancient visual evidence and to use it to construct art-historical and historical arguments, students also study a range of responses to and theories around it  – from various periods of classicism in antiquity to modern advertising; from stylistic analysis to modern media studies. The course includes study trips to sites in the region, such as Kedleston Hall and Castle Howard, as well as to the British Museum and museums in Oxford, Cambridge and Liverpool.

Nottingham, with established degrees in classical civilisation, archaeology and art history, is fast becoming an international force in the field of ancient visual culture. Staff teaching on this course have specialisms in: visual narrative in Greece and Rome, especially mythological imagery; image-text relations and 3D reconstructions of ancient material culture (Katharina Lorenz); art and archaeology of the Roman Empire, especially the Near East in the Hellenistic and Roman periods (Andreas Kropp); visual and intellectual culture of imperial Rome (Mark Bradley): Roman epic, the Gaze (Helen Lovatt) and literary and visual narratives (Lynn Fotheringham).

The department has a vibrant research culture, including weekly research papers by national and international specialists, with a particular emphasis on aspects of visual culture. With our Showing Seeing Centre, including a digital slide collection and a range of cameras, scanners and projection equipment, we offer excellent facilities for studying and digitizing visual material, and for producing presentations, project posters and exhibition elements. 

There is close collaboration with the departments of Archaeology and Art History which offer complementary modules, and with the Nottingham Institute for Research into Visual Culture (NIRVC). Campus facilities include a museum and an art gallery, and off-campus our collaboration with the Nottingham City Museums and Galleries offers the chance to study actual ancient material.

This MA is a fulfilling experience for those interested in the art and architecture of the classical past as well as excellent training for anyone considering doctoral research.

Course-specific entry requirements

Applicants who do not meet the typical entry requirements for this course may be considered at the discretion of the Faculty of Arts and the Department of Classics.

• Nottingham's vibrant Classics department has special strengths in Greek drama; Greek economic, social, institutional and intellectual history; Roman republican history; late Antiquity; Latin epic and prose literature; and ancient art and visual culture.
• The Department of Classics has a strong reputation in both teaching and research. It achieved the maximum possible teaching quality rating (24/24) in 2000, and a grade of 4 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, since when it has greatly expanded and broadened its research activity.
• This course enjoys close collaboration with the Departments of Archaeology and Art History and the Nottingham Institute for Research into Visual Culture (NIRV).

The courses and research opportunities listed on this website are subject to change. While we will do all we can to ensure the information on these pages is accurate and up-to-date, The University of Nottingham reserves the right to change the content, modules and titles of any courses and research opportunities listed here without prior warning.