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Elementary Courses
Two convictions are basic to the Elementary Latin Program of the Department of Classical Studies: (1) it is possible for every able-minded person to master the basic facts of a foreign language and (2) the learning experience leading to such a mastery is a privilege that is very specifically human and ought to be most satisfying. Essential facts of morphology, syntax, semantics, vocabulary, history and culture are taught, and a knowledge of these facts enables students to understand Latin written by the famous authors of the Golden Age. Since at least 50% of the vocabulary of an educated speaker of English is Latin in origin, English vocabulary improves as Latin stems and derivatives are learned. The program normally takes four terms to complete. A placement test may be taken at the beginning or end of a term, and a student may succeed in placing out of one or more courses in the introductory sequence.
In the Elementary Latin Program, the department is offering Latin 101, 102, 193, 231, and 232. Latin 101 (see below) is for students with little or no previous Latin. A placement examination will determine the appropriate course for other students who enter the elementary sequence. Students with questions about which course to elect are encouraged to visit 2147 Angell Hall, 764-8297.
101. Elementary Latin.
No credit granted to those who have completed or
are enrolled in 103, 193, or 502. (4). (LR).
All of the assigned tasks/exercises in Latin 101 are directed
toward the reading and translation of Classical Latin and not
toward writing or conversation. The course has as its primary
objective the acquisition of a fundamental understanding of basic
Latin grammar and the development of basic reading skills. The
text for the course is Knudsvig, Seligson, and Craig, Latin
for Reading. Latin 101 covers approximately the first half
of the text. Grading is based on quizzes, class participation, hour examinations, and a final. Cost:1
WL:3
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102. Elementary Latin.
Latin 101. No credit granted to those who have completed
or are enrolled in 193 or 502. (4). (LR).
All of the assigned tasks/exercises in Latin 102 are directed
toward the reading and translation of Classical Latin and not
toward writing or conversation. The course continues the presentation
of the essentials of the Latin language as it covers the last
half of Knudsvig, Seligson, and Craig, Latin for Reading.
Extended reading selections from Plautus (comedy) and Eutropius
(history) are introduced. Grading is based on class participation, quizzes, hour examinations, and a final. Cost:1
WL:3
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193. Intensive Elementary
Latin I. No credit granted to those who have completed
or are enrolled in 101, 102, 103 or 502. (4). (Excl).
This course is a rapid introduction to Latin and is intended for
students with little or no prior Latin. Upperclass undergraduates
in such fields as history, medieval or renaissance literature, or linguistics and who need to acquire a reading competence in
Latin as quickly and as efficiently as possible should elect this
course. So should other undergraduates who intend to continue the study of Latin and want a rapid introduction that enables them to take upper-level Latin courses as soon as possible. (Note:
completion of 193-194 alone does not satisfy the undergraduate
language requirement). This first term course covers elementary
grammar and syntax. Cost:1
WL:1 (D.O. Ross)
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231. Introduction to
Latin Prose. Latin 102 or 103. No credit granted
to those who have completed or are enrolled in 194, 222, or 503.
(4). (LR).
This course reviews grammar as it introduces students to extended
passages of classical Latin prose through selections from several
authors of the first centuries B.C. and A.D., but primarily from
Pliny the Younger. Class discussions center upon the readings.
Some course materials require the use of a computer. Grading is
based on class participation, quizzes, hour examinations, and a final. Cost:1
WL:3
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232. Vergil, Aeneid.
Latin 231 or 221. No credit granted to those who
have completed or are enrolled in 194, 222, or 503. (4). (LR).
The goal of this course is simple: to learn to read extensive
passages of the greatest work of Latin literature, Vergil's Aeneid,
with comprehension and enjoyment. This course will ask you to
bring together and apply the knowledge and skills you have acquired
up to this point and to build on these as you learn to read poetry.
There will be some grammar review as necessary. You will also
study Vergil's epic poem in English translation. By term's end
you should have both a good understanding and appreciation of
what the Aeneid is all about and an ability to handle
a Latin passage of the poem with control and comprehension. Grading
is based on class participation, quizzes, hour exams, and a final.
Cost:2 WL:1
(001: Staff; 002: Wallin)
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Intermediate Courses
301. Intermediate Latin
I. Latin 194, 222, or 232. (3). (HU).
The course aims to make a careful study of specific texts
and to assist students to acquire a coherent knowledge of Latin
grammar by a systematic review of morphology and syntax. Two Latin
books (one in prose, the other in verse) will be read and studied.
(The texts may change from year to year: examples are Cicero's Pro Caelio or In Catilinam and selections from
Catullus' poems.) In the translation of the texts, grammar and style will be emphasised and assignments drawn from the texts
will be given on these aspects. The interpretation will cover
matters literary, social, and historical, and thus provide a kind
of introduction to the study of Latin literature, and through
literature, of Roman culture. There will be quizzes, a mid-term, and a final examination. It is expected that at the end of the
course students will have mastered enough morphology and the most
important elements of Latin syntax to be able to tackle the more
advanced courses offered in Latin. Cost:3
WL:3/4 (K. Garbrah)
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401. Republican Prose.
Latin 301 or 302. (3). (HU). May be repeated for
a total of 9 credits.
Livy's history of Rome was written during the reign of Augustus
(31 B.C. to A.D. 14), and it is fundamental in creating the concept
of "Romanness" that the Emperor sought to establish.
We will read from the early books of Livy, which cover the period
from Rome's foundation down to the Gallic Sack of 390 B.C. Primary
emphasis will initially be on reading speed and comprehension, but later on analysis of content and prose style. Cost:1
(Frier)
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409. Augustan Poetry.
Latin 301 or 302. (3). (HU). May be repeated for
a total of 9 credits.
Readings in Augustan poetry with attention paid especially to
language and poetic context (specific texts to be announced).
Midterm and final exams. (Hershkowitz)
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Advanced Courses
421/EducationD 421. Teaching
of Latin. Junior standing in Latin and permission
of instructor. (3). (Excl).
A workshop-type course designed to provide prospective secondary
and college teachers with the skills necessary to analyze structures
and texts and to design instructional materials and class presentations.
The course will also introduce the students to those aspects of
modern linguistic theories that have practical application to
teaching and learning Latin. Cost:1
WL:3
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426. Practicum. Junior
or senior standing, and permission of instructor. (3). (Excl).
Permission of the instructor is required to elect Latin 426. Students
must submit a plan for a project related to the teaching of Latin.
The course is designed for students who wish to continue work
begun in Latin 421. Cost:1
WL:3
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466. Horace. Latin
301. (3). (Excl).
The ODES of Horace will be read, with attention to the diction, style, meter, and interpretation of the verse. Emphasis will be
placed on understanding the poems in their literary and historical
context. Familiarity with Greek lyric and contemporary Roman poetry
is desirable, but not essential. Readings in secondary literature
will be assigned. There will be a paper, midterm, and final. (Hershkowitz)
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506. Advanced Latin Composition.
Latin 403. (3). (Excl).
The writing of continuous Latin prose: includes the writing of
versions, i.e., rendering of original English passages into classical
Latin and free composition in Latin. Not open to undergraduates.
(Garbrah)
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558. Cicero, Philosophical
Works. (2). (Excl).
Section 001 – Cicero, Tusculanae disputationes. The work
(written during the summer of 45) is an endeavour by Cicero to
come to terms with grief: both over the death of his daughter
and over the course of Roman politics. Apart from rehearsing such
consolations as could be culled from Plato, the Stoics and Epicureans, Cicero turned to poets both Greek and Latin, and to his own feelings
and experiences to get to the bottom of the problem of inner pain.
Augustine of Hippo was one of the work's most attentive ancient
readers: what appealed to him was Cicero's ability to transcend
stereotypical opinions and to speak in a human voice capable of
transcending both time and conflicting religious allegiances.
In studying the Tusculanae, we will in the first instance follow
Cicero's line of reasoning, and will then turn to the work's content
in broader terms. Why did Cicero so frequently turn to poets to
explain his meaning, and what is the link between poetry and philosophy that he envisioned? In that light, what is the importance he attributed
to more conventional approaches towards the problem of grief?
How does he use his rhetorical powers to help and persuade the
reader? And finally, what is the reader expected to learn from the work? Time and student interest permitting, we might try to
contextualize the Tusculanae among Cicero's other philosophical
works, and in terms of its reception. (Sabine MacCormack)
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568. Reading of Augustan
Poetry. (3). (Excl).
Section 001 – Virgil's Eclogues. This course will focus primarily
on Virgil's Eclogues and will attempt to understand the
collection in as many ways as possible (literary background and purpose, historical setting, diction, meter, text, and so on).
We will read Theocritus and some later pastoral as well. Cost:1
WL:4 (D.O. Ross)
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