Course Description and Objectives

In Latin 203, 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 will give you ample practice in reading as well as material to discuss (in Latin) in class.

Intermediate Latin (LAT 203) 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 203) 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 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.

Synchronous Class Times

LAT 203: Intermediate Latin meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1:00 PM until 2:20 PM Pacific Time on Microsoft Teams.

Classes begin Wednesday, March 30, and continue through Friday, June 4. We do not meet on Memorial Day, which is Monday, May 31. You'll submit the final examination online during exam week.

Instructor

Miller Krause ( miller.krause@wwu.edu )
Office Hours: I can meet via Discord, Jitsi, or Microsoft Teams—just e-mail me to set up a time.

Textbooks

We shall continue to read the Historia Apollonii regis Tyri. There is a PDF file available: Historia Apollonii.pdf.  Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with paper copies, because the virus keeps you from coming to campus.  Still, there's nothing wrong with a PDF file, and you can always print for yourself the pages that you wish to read.

Those who struggle with the text might consider Konstan and Roberts' helpful Bryn Mawr commentary (ISBN 978-0-929524-40-5; about $10), but it is by no means required.

University Services for Students

I am more than happy to make accommodations for students with disabilities or other special needs. So that the Disability Access Center (DAC, formerly DRS) office can ensure that your needs are being met appropriately, all requests for accommodation must be made through the MyDAC system every quarter: accommodations do not automatically roll-over into future quaters. New students should enroll with the DAC office to receive accommodations.

Web: disability.wwu.edu
Email: drs@wwu.edu
Phone: (360) 650-3083

The Student Health Cetner not only provides primary care serveices but also handles documentation of medical issues for you, making your life easier.

Web: studenthealth.wwu.edu
Phone: (360) 650-3400

In the case of a family or personal crisis or emergency, please contact the Office of Student Life. During a personal or family crisis, the Office of Student Life can coordinate arrangements with all of your professors for you, making your life easier.

Web: wp.wwu.edu/officeofstudentlife
E-mail: student.life@wwu.edu
Phone: (360) 650-3706

Academic Honesty

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

Grading

Spring 2021 Undergraduate Gracing Policy

The Provost's Office has gathered all the COVID grading policies on one convenient page.

Traditional Letter Grading Scale

Course Requirements

For all assignments, please double-space your writing.

Præsentia Participātiōque (20%)

This is a small class that moves quickly: you need to be in class and participate actively. You need conversational time to practice your speaking and listening skills.

Canvas is set to excuse three absences (roughly 10% of the classes we have) automagically. Anyone planning on missing class for athletics, university-sponsored events, military duty, or religious holidays should inform me of absences in advance. That lets me excuse absences and add time to Canvas assignments for those students in advance. Within the first two weeks of class, give me a letter listing the games/matches/meets, events, military service, or holidays requiring absences for the quarter, so that I can plan ahead to help you stay on track. I like planning ahead.

Pēnsa diurna (25%)

Questions (five in number), given on Canvas, are due at the beginning of every class (with a couple of exceptions—some readings are long enough to justify skipping the questions). You can submit these online through Canvas, either as a Word document or PDF or as a scan of a hand-written document. The questions are designed to help you read the passage, not to review it: answer them while you read before class.  Answers can be as short as single sentences, because the focus here is not on composition but on reading comprehension. Like with all assignments, these have a due date (the day of class at 12:56pm, just before the beginning of class) and a deadline (midnight the same night). 

Pēnsa in pugillāribus scrībenda (25%)

Since Latin 101, you have been writing in pugillāribus to practice writing longer compositions that make coherent arguments spanning more than single sentences—that is a different skill than writing individual sentences. These assignments now have minimum length requirements. This quarter, a composition will be due every Monday, or on Wednesday if there is no class on Monday.  These assignments close on the day of the next class after the due date.  You can submit this as a file (like a Word document or a scan of a written page), a URL (if you have a public blog or vlog), or a media upload if you want to vlog but not share your vlog with the world.  

Probātiōnēs (20%)

I have divided the course into five exciting, suspenseful modules; the first four each end with a quiz (probātiō), while the fifth module culminates in the climactic Ultima Probātiō. Probātiōnēs will be brief, and you'll submit them on line as Word or PDF documents (no scans for these please).

Probātiō Ultima (10%)

The final exam will be online during exam week.  You'll have all week to take it online and submit it through Canvas.  You may consult your books, dictionaries, the internet, and each other as long as you speak in Latin and maintain appropriate social distancing (conversing online would be a good idea).  Submit online as a Word or PDF document (no scans).

Weekly Schedule

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.

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.