Antiquity in Popular Culture

Timetable

Module aim (aims)

· to provide students with an overview of the most significant models of the reception of antiquity in popular culture.

· to impart knowledge of the most representative and characteristic examples of the reception of antiquity in film, TV series, games, literature, and so on.

· to familiarize students with the positive and negative role of artificial intelligence in creating antiquity in contemporary culture, literature, art, and so on.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

NO

Syllabus

1. Models and forms of the reception of antiquity in popular culture – an overview of the most important methodologies of reception, including the entertainment supersystem and transmedia storytelling.

2. Presentation of examples of the reception of antiquity in popular culture: films, TV series, literature, and video games

3. Discussion on the use of AI in the creation of antiquity in popular culture.

 

‘Antiquity in Pop Culture’ is an original course developed by faculty members from the Faculty of Polish and Classical Philology, and Faculty of History, at AMU. The course introduces students to three key themes related to the reception of Greco-Roman culture in popular culture, such as films, TV series, literature, video games and new media. It will primarily address the question of contemporary reception and its forms, tracing the path that ancient motifs and themes take from antiquity to the present day. It will also explore how individual authors and creators transform and adapt these motifs and themes, and the role played by the media and users in this process. The second part of the course will provide an overview of the most frequently adapted ancient motifs and themes, as well as their reception. Participants will be encouraged to engage in discussion and present their own examples. The final part will focus on the important issue of creating contemporary pop culture using AI, and consider the positive or negative impact of artificial intelligence algorithms on the topics and issues addressed during the course.

Reading list

Reading list

· Lorna Hardwick and Christopher Stray (eds.), A Companion to Classical Receptions, Malden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell, 2008.

· Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture. Where Old and New Media Collide, New York: New York University Press, 2006.

· Konrad Dominas, “Mechanism of ancient literature reception in the digital media. Methodological context.” Scripta Classica, vol. 11 (2014): 101-111.

· Konrad Dominas, Elżbieta Wesołowska and Bogdan Trocha (eds.), Antiquity in popular literature and culture, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2016.

· Ł. Różycki, Video games in the process of historical education at the academic level, Colloquium, t. 4/2012, p. 75-82.

· Seduction and Power: Antiquity in the Visual and Performing Arts, ed. Silke Knippschild, Marta Garcia Morcillo, 2013.