Course Description

Greek 203 reviews and builds upon the basic elements of the Attic dialect of the ancient Greek language, including high frequency vocabulary and fundamental grammar. Students will read Plato's Symposium in the original Greek and discuss it in ancient Greek; students will also practice writing through daily questions on the Symposium, weekly composition exercises, and writing letters amongst themselves.

Language Skills Objectives

We have now covered all the grammar and syntax of the Greek language; we shall review points that need review as they arise. The main focus of this class will be acquiring vocabulary, practicing reading, and building conversation and presentational skills around the material we read.

Plato's style in the dialogue of the Συμπόσιον varies greatly from speaker to speaker: some parts are more prosaic and conversations, while some speeches (particularly Agathon's) present elevated rhetoric akin to poetry.  It should be a challenging but fun read.

Active Language Use

Ancient Greek is a language, like French or Spanish. The fact that ancient Greek is an older language does not make it a code or logic puzzle instead of a language: it is still a language, and you should approach learning it as you would any other language. You wouldn't try to learn Spanish by reading some grammar instructions, memorizing a list of vocabulary, and taking a quiz—you learn Spanish by using the language to get increasingly more complex points across to another human being. The same applies to Greek: the more you use the language to express your thoughts, both in speech and writing, the better you will get at it.

Class Meetings

Greek 203 meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the spring quarter, from Wednesday, April 3, until Friday, June 7, from 8:30 AM to 9:50 AM, in Miller Hall 114 (first floor, on the exterior hall closest to the fine arts building). We do not meet on Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day).

The Final Examination will be held on Wednesday, June 12, from 10:30 PM to 12:30 PM in the usual classroom.

Instructor

Miller Krause ( miller.krause@wwu.edu )

Office: Miller Hall 122D

Office Hours:

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

Course Materials

We shall read Plato's Symposium.  I've already supplied you with a copy of the following text:

Steadman, G.  2009.  Plato's Symposium.  ISBN ‎978-0984306510.

You won't need to purchase any books for this class.

Academic Honesty and Integrity

Western has a policy on academic honesty. Unusually, and quite Platonically, Western does not focus on the negative consequences of cheating or plagiarism, but on the positive results of honesty and integrity. There are many forms that dishonest academic behavior might take, from plagiarism to having another write your papers for you: honesty, though, has but one form, namely putting in the required work, and one consequence, namely learning.

Course Requirements and Grading

Grading Scale

Course Requirements

συνουσία καὶ μετάληψις (Attendance and Participation; 20%)

Classes will give you time to interact with other students in Greek, and this will be the primary way that you learn ancient Greek. You need the practice in interpersonal communication, including listening and speaking, that class provides, so you need to come to class. I understand that sometimes problems do arise, so Canvas will automatically excuse two absences.

If you plan to miss class to undertake military service, observe religious holidays, or travel for sports or other University-sponsored activities, let me know in writing during the first two weeks of class, so that I can excuse your absences and work with you to change due dates for your assignments.

For each class of the Συμπόσιον you'll need to come to class prepared to discuss (in Greek) the reading assigned. Be sure you've prepared your readings before class!

μελετήματα καθ' ἡμέραν (Daily Assignments; 25%)

There will be short, nearly daily assignments. Each will have five questions in Greek about the next day's readings: while you read to prepare for class, you should answer those questions in Greek. You should be able to answer each in a sentence at most. This should help you think about how you'll talk about the reading passage in Greek the next day.

Turn in μελετήματα on paper at the beginning of class. If you miss class, turn in your μελέτημα for that class the next time you're in class.  The μελετήματα are to help you prepare for class, so I won't accept them late. Canvas will excuse two μελετήματα.

έπιστολαί (Letters; 10%)

This quarter you'll also send ἐπιστολαὶ (letters) in Greek to each other, via the ἐσωτερικὴ ἐπιστολοθήκη, located on the first floor of Miller Hall near Miller Mart.  You must write eight letters, but you can write more if you like.  As last year, you'll be given code names to hide your identity, but you can write to anyone you want in class.  Your μελετήματα are single-sentence answers, your συγγράμματα longer compositions for display, but ἐπιστολαί are meant to be interpersonal communications between yourself and other students.

Don't seal the first two letters, because I'll want to check their formatting; after that, feel free to seal your other letters.  I'll read over the first two letters when you send them, and I'll read the rest at the end of the quarter to see how much progress you're making in writing.

At the end of the quarter, give me the letters you've received (which will have been sent by other students), and I'll arrange them by sender and look over them during the last week of classes.  On the last day, we'll all look at them and see how brilliant you are.

συγγράμματα ἑβδομαδικά (Weekly Compositions; 25%)

Each weekend, you will have a writing prompt for compositions, relating to the subject matter we are covering. This quarter, I'd like to focus on imitating Lucian in the συγγράμματα. Write your συγγράμματα in the ἐγχειρίδιον that you received your first year. Work on writing longer, more complex material, and feel free to use the σχόλια, lsj.gr, or other resources to aid you. You should be able to judge your own progression in using the language by looking back at what you have done.

ἡ ἐσχάτη ἐξέτασις (Final Examination; 20%)

There will be a final examination, to be taken in class on paper. The final exam will be collaborative like those in the past: you may talk to each other during the exam and about the exam, so long as you speak only in ancient Greek. The final examination will be administered according to the Registrar's schedule for final examinations :

• Wednesday, June 12, from 10:30 PM to 12:30 PM in Miller Hall 114