Course Description and Objectives

In Latin 202, you will consolidate the vocabulary, morphology and syntax that you have learned and build upon that knowledge to facilitate reading and discussing an ancient adventure, the Historia Apollonii regis Tyri. This continuous narrative, which you will finish in Latin 203, will give you ample practice in reading as well as material to discuss (in Latin) in class.

Intermediate Latin (LAT 202) provides you with five of the twelve necessary General University Requirement (GUR) credits in Humanities (HUM). The Humanities requirement provides an introduction to the subject matter, methods of inquiry and forms of expression of academic fields that treat language, literature, fine arts, history, philosophy and religion in the Western cultural tradition. The humanities study principal themes, issues and images concerning human beings and their place in the universe, as these have been shaped and expressed since ancient times, in thought, imagination and action.

Intermediate Latin (LAT 202) focuses on the following GUR competencies:

• GUR Competency 1: "Analyze and communicate ideas effectively in oral, written, and visual forms."
• GUR Competnecy 4: "Identify and analyze complex problems."
• GUR Competency 6: "Explore, imagine and create."
• GUR Competency 8: "Understand and evaluate assumptions, values, and beliefs in context of diverse local, national and global communities."
• GUR Competency 9: "Work collaboratively and manage projects to effective completion."
• GUR Competency 11: "Understand and assess the impacts of interactions among the individual,
  society, and the environment" (taking the "environment" in a broad sense as the cosmos, which by the Neoplatonist συμπάθεια τῶν ὅλων or "sympathy of the universe" reflects the microcosm of the human world)

In addition to reading the Historia Apollonii Tyri, you will engage in writing exercises and discussions that will engage you both analytically and creatively.

On Keeping an Open Mind

The ancient world lies at the roots of modern culture, yet it can seem very alien to our moral perspectives. In the middle ages the Historia Apollonii regis Tyri served as a morality tale, and monks frequently copied its disturbing first chapter as an example of terrible sin. The text contains many ideas that we, today, find distasteful or morally abhorrent—rape, incest, piracy, kidnapping, murder, slavery, and so forth. Be advised that this is not a Disney tale. The discomfort that we feel in encountering an ancient text should serve to remind us that tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis.

Class Times and Location

Intermediate Latin meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1:00 PM until 2:20 PM in Bond Hall 221. Classes begin Wednesday, January 10, 2018, and continue through Friday, March 16. We do not meet on Monday, January 15, or Monday, February 19. The final examination is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

Instructor

Miller Krause ( miller.krause@wwu.edu, +1-360-650-4269 )
Office: Miller Hall 122D
Office Hours:

• Tuesday and Thursday: 10:00 AM–11:00 AM
• Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 2:30 PM– 3:00 PM

Textbooks

We'll be using two chapters of Eduardus' course pack for Latin 202 and a text of the Historia Apollonii that I've prepared.  I'll issue the Historia Apollonii in two installments of ten chapters this quarter, with thirty-two chapters to follow in Latin 203.  They will be free—no course pack to buy.  I'll also post them on Canvas.

Disabilities and Accommodations

I am more than happy to make accommodations for students with disabilities or other special needs. So that the Disability Resources for Students (DRS) office can ensure that your needs are being met appropriately, all requests for accommodation must be made through DRS.

Web: www.wwu.edu/drs
Email: drs@wwu.edu
Phone: +1-360-650-3083

Student Services

Western Washington University encourages students to seek assistance and support at the onset of an illness, difficulty, or crisis.

In the case of a medical concern or question, please contact the Health Center. The Health Center can forward documentation of medical leaves-of-absence to all your professors for you, which students facing medical problems find to be a great help.

Web: wwu.edu/chw/student_health
Phone: +1-360-650-3400

In the case of an emotional or psychological concern or question, please contact the Counseling Center.

Web: wwu.edu/chw
Phone: +1-360-650-3400

In the case of a family or personal crisis or emergency, please contact the Dean of Students. The Dean of Students can forward documentation of your crisis to all your professors for you and coordinate make-up work.

Web: wp.wwu.edu/students
Phone: +1-360-650-3450

Academic Honesty

Don't commit academic dishonesty. See the University’s policy on Academic Honesty and explore the University's Integrity website.

Grading

Grading Scale

Grading Scale.png

Course Requirements

Attendance and Participation (20%)

As you are aware from your previous four quarters, the core of the Latin program at Western is active use of the Latin language in conversation with your instructors and fellow students.  Attendance and participation are therefore essential to the course and consequently carry a heavy weight in the grading.

I understand that emergencies arise, and so I have set Canvas to drop three absences (10% of the quarter) automatically. After that, you will need to show documentation of a good reason for missing class in order to avoid missing points for attendance.

Exercises and Assignments (20%)

The two final chapters of Eduardo's Latin sequence and each chapter of the Historia Apollōniī have exercises to help you hone your skills in Latin.

When you read chapters of the Historia Apollōniī, you should complete the written exercises that accompany those chapters and submit them on Canvas before class.  Be ready in class to discuss your answers.

Weekly Compositions (10%)

Since Latin 101, you have been writing in pugillāribus to practice applying Latin to situations beyond the classroom, often to your own, authentic life or some facsimile thereof.  This quarter, a composition will be due every Monday.  When we don't have Mondays, they will be due on Wednesday.

Quizzes (20%)

There will be brief, unannounced quizzes tied to major turning points in the Historia Apollonii.  When a major episode in the story concludes, we'll have a quiz on that episode.

Common Project (10%)

It has been a tradition that the LAT 202 class collaborates on a project to demonstrate students' ability to use Latin creatively. This felicitously meets the ninth GUR competency, which asks that students "work collaboratively and manage projects to effective completion." To that end, you will design, plan, and execute a class project together.

In the past, students have put together dramatic performances or short videos.  It will be for you collectively to decide how you wish to demonstrate your Latin skills.  I do require that your demonstration involve the entire class, that it include a significant oral component, and that it be creative (not just a reading).

As part of your planning process, I would like a prospectus that includes the class project's goal, milestones that you will have to meet to produce a finished product, and a timeline of when you plan to reach those milestones. I ask for this to ensure that the project is reasonably achievable within the remainder of the year.

Remember, you have a small class, limited time, and other things to do outside of this course (as do your fellow students even if you do not).  Do not overcommit yourself to a massive, epic undertaking.  Do not let the project turn into a time sink or a burden.  Establish reasonable goals that you know you can accomplish, schedule them, get the project done, and have fun doing it.  Perfectionism is a disease that can ruin both your project and your happiness.

Final Examination (20%)

The final examination will cover all the chapters of the Historia Apollonii that we read this quarter.  I'd like to get through twenty chapters, but that has never happened: seventeen is a more reasonable goal.  Know the characters and what happened in the episodes and be prepared to describe them in Latin.

Weekly Schedule

Because this is a skill-building class rather than a content-covering class, I have not (yet) scheduled chapters for predetermined days.  We shall progress through Eduardo's final chapters and the Historia Apollōniī as we are best able.

This syllabus is subject to change. Changes, if any, will be announced in class. Since the syllabus is on Canvas, students will have the latest information available at all times. Students will be held responsible for all changes.

Canvas provides feeds to which you can subscribe, to keep all your course info in your favorite calendar program like Apple's Calendar or Microsoft Outlook. For details, see the Canvas Guide on Calendar.