A level Classic Civilization... ?!

Classics is not only HUGELY respected at University level regardless of the subject you apply for, but it also the most interesting, enthralling and mind-broadening subject anybody could possibly study (Apart from philosophy that is, but then I am being biased here . . )

English Language is probably more respected than geography because whereas geography has a relatively small uptake and thousands of people 'do' English Language; few are able enough to 'do' english well. Its a very technical subject and hard to get right and get right consistently.

Reply 2

Oddjob39A

Classics is not only HUGELY respected at University level regardless of the subject you apply for, but it also the most interesting, enthralling and mind-broadening subject anybody could possibly study (Apart from philosophy that is, but then I am being biased here . . )

English Language is probably more respected than geography because whereas geography has a relatively small uptake and thousands of people 'do' English Language; few are able enough to 'do' english well. Its a very technical subject and hard to get right and get right consistently.

WTF gawd no!!!! English Literature* is, but not english language. It's been blacklisted by the top universities. Geography's a respected A Level, perhaps not so much as say: Maths or Chemistry, but its a good qualitiy humanity if you want to do something arty at univeristy later in life!

Reply 3

Joe555

WTF gawd no!!!! English Literature* is, but not english language. It's been blacklisted by the top universities. Geography's a respected A Level, perhaps not so much as say: Maths or Chemistry, but its a good qualitiy humanity if you want to do something arty at univeristy later in life!

Read my post. It has been blacklisted because so many people take it that it has become a invalid 'yardstick' of capability. That does not mean it is not respected. University admission staff are increasingly looking for students that stand out; unique applicants.

English Literature is about respected as Drama im afraid. English Lit. graduates are some of the lowest paid, 'non-graduate job' graduates!

Geography is 'respected' because hardly anyone takes it and as such is seen as making the candidate stand out, that does not make it more applicable or relevant to academia than English language, if anything the opposite is true.

I personally think EVERY university applicant should sit some form of basic english lang. class to improve their grammar, essay writing skills, semantic and syntactic style and analysis and simply the ability to use English well!

Reply 4

Wtf....which country do you come from? English LITERATURE is a very respected A level!! Maybe the degree gets hardly any money, but the A Levels itself is notoriously hard, and if Oxbridge say its on their 'good list' then that's just dandy. Drama is respected in its own field, but not for its academic qualities. And English Language is not respected, not because of the amount of people taking it, but due to it only recently being presented as an A Level and the 'easyness' of the subejct. (Although people may debate about this).

Reply 5

Cambridge say:

"If you have not yet decided on a course that you would like to study at university, we recommend that to maximise your potential course choice at Cambridge, you select at least two traditional academic subjects among your A levels. Certain A level subjects are considered essential or useful for a number of courses at Cambridge, therefore choosing one or more of these will help you keep your higher education options open. These subjects include:
Chemistry
English Literature
History
Mathematics
Languages
Physics "

and they then go on to provide their blacklisted subjects. This doesn't just apply to Cambridge but to the top universities in England. I dunno about "international Brigades" but this is what it is here....

http://www.cam.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/requirements/

Eng Language is not on the "blacklist" but is on the, 'okay'ish' list.

Reply 6

Joe555

Wtf....which country do you come from? English LITERATURE is a very respected A level!! Maybe the degree gets hardly any money, but the A Levels itself is notoriously hard, and if Oxbridge say its on their 'good list' then that's just dandy. Drama is respected in its own field, but not for its academic qualities. And English Language is not respected, not because of the amount of people taking it, but due to it only recently being presented as an A Level and the 'easyness' of the subejct. (Although people may debate about this).

If you think English Language is easy, you've clearly never studied it.
Try telling Chomsky or Steven Pinker that A Level English is 'easy'

I come (unfortunately) from Britain and I studied AS level Literature and gained full marks but decided to drop it at A2 in favour of English Language because it is a million times more useful and interesting. ( I also took AEA literature and got a merit, so there :P)

The International Brigades were a series of international militias who fought in the Spanish Civil War against the Franco Dictatorship for the rights of common sense and liberty . . .

Reply 7

Jangrafess

Bloody hell.

You've pretty much mentioned the AS Levels I took AND used the same elimination process I did.

However, I'm not enjoying my Clas Civ A Level that much. (Philosophy however - :suith:

.)

In fact, nobody in my class likes it at all. :s-smilie:

AS Level course = Augustus Politics, Greek Women, The Iliad.
A Level course = Alexander the Great, Greek Tragedies, The Aeneid.

Make of that what you will. (The second course is more interesting, but my teachers are piss poor.)

Oooooh bad module choice on behalf of your teacher there! NO ODYSSEY?!

I feel your pain, the Iliad is a lot less interesting (in terms of literary analysis and historical significance) than the Odyssey and Greek women is downright boring . .(no offence to any women intended!)

Who are you studying for Greek Tragedies? We covered the comedies and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Reply 8

Jangrafess

19

Oddjob39A

Oooooh bad module choice on behalf of your teacher there! NO ODYSSEY?!

I feel your pain, the Iliad is a lot less interesting (in terms of literary analysis and historical significance) than the Odyssey and Greek women is downright boring . .(no offence to any women intended!)

Who are you studying for Greek Tragedies? We covered the comedies and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Ah, that could be the difference between us then. I would have far preferred the Odyssey, aye.

Oedipus the King, Antigone and Hippolytus.

Reply 9

Botticello

20

I wish I could have done Classciv, it sounds amazing! I did Latin though which was also fabulous

Reply 10

spicki_fence

1

I chose to do classical civilisation at A level when i'd had no previous experience and have loved every bit of it! It's a really enjoyable subject!! I would recommend it all the way!

I don't know about the respect levels but I loved English at GCSE and did English Language at AS and hated it! It's only my opinion but it was nothing like i expected it so if you do chose that then ask what you'll learn because i didn't and got a huge shock! Again it might only be personal but I hated it!

Reply 11

TonyJONES@HSFC

I am currently doing Classics at A2 Level, and personally, I find it can be rather difficult unless you have the will power to keep going. This is a subject that can be really enjoyable aslong as you are taught in a way that can keep you interested in the topic.

I have tow tutors for the subject and one of them is a complete and utter bore who insists on patronising me, he really does not know how to enthuse his students - bottom line, make sure you meet the teacher before you choose to do it lol! :wink:

BUT I would highly recommend history as a choice, because I take 17th century history at A2 Level and I have enjoyed both years and I have applied to uni for a history course. If you're not as bothered about drama as you are about history then i would highly recommend it.

Seriously, think well about choosing classics, it involves a lot of study and boredom.

Have a good time choosing your subjects!

Reply 12

TonyJONES@HSFC

I would also like to ask some of the other people who quoted on here, how comes some of you got to do the Iliad?! I really wanted to do that. had to read it myself in the end, which was superb anyway lol, but still!!

I would agree though that the Odyssey is much better because Homer really makes brilliant use of language and the translation by Richmond Lattimore is exquisite!

Reply 13

Kathryn128

8

Classics is AWESOME(at least so far, at AS). I wouldn't have survived this year had I not been able to do it.

I'm doing OCR, studying the Odyssey, Agamemnon, Electra, Oedipus the King, with an Art and Architecture coursework essay (2000 wds). This is for the AS year. It's comedies for my A2 year, can't remember which ones right this minute. All the wider reading is amazing too (I've been given some lovely Jason Griffin, Pericles and Xenophon etc)

It's really good, and combined with the amazing teachers I have (lessons are always hilarious and yet I actually learn, a first for my school!)

It is a very hard subject though, like a mixture of History and English, and without good teaching it may not be worth it. I hear History is good though, just depends on the course content :smile:

Reply 14

starcarton

10

I'd definitely go for classical civ! I'm doing the AS and am loving it doing the Iliad, Greek imperialism and Greek and Roman women finding it a blast! I find it quite a lot different to history in that its not so drilling facts into your mind but more interpreting the history which is much more juicy I think. Plus the amount of work you do in AS history is a disgrace compared to classical civ.

Reply 15