Course Syllabus
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 read and discuss two ancient adventures, the "Cena Trimalchionis" from Petronius' Satyricon and the tale of Cupid and Psyche from Apuleius' Metamorphoses. These continuous narratives will give you ample practice in reading as well as material to discuss (in Latin) in class. They also both belong to the genre of the ancient novel, which allows you to build on your experiences with the Historia Apollonii (and if you've been reading it, the Ἐφεσίακα in Greek); these works are a bridge between ancient genres and modern. We shall also progress through much of P. Rutilius Lupus' Σχήματα λέξεως or Figūræ ōrātiōnis as we shift our focus from the grammar needed to make a correct sentence to the styles that allow us to make better sentences.
HUM GUR Credit
Intermediate Latin (LAT 202) provides you with five of the twelve necessary General University Requirement (GUR) credits in Humanities (HUM). The University requires the following description of the Humanities be given on the syllabus:
Whenever you tell a story, see a film or a work of art, or ponder an ethical question, you are encountering the humanities. The humanities include academic disciplines that use critical, historical, and aesthetic approaches to explore how people experience and document their lives, examine and question the values of their societies, and creatively engage with their world. Currently, our courses in the humanities address the languages, literatures, fine arts, history, philosophies, and religions of Western cultural traditions.
It also requires that I include a "literacies cluster."
These literacy practices focus on reading, interpreting, and communicating information through oral, print, and digital media and genres for audiences, both specialized and general.
In addition to reading, you will engage in writing exercises and discussions that will engage you both analytically and creatively.
Language Skills Objectives
Our main goals will be to ramp up reading speed and conversational skills, which also involves acquiring new vocabulary. Building on the Latin 100-level series and 201, we shall also progress in the following areas:
Syntax
- Review coordination (parataxis) and subordination (hypotaxis);
- review types of phrases and clauses by function (final/purpose, consecutive/result, temporal, relative, concessive, conditional etc.); and
- learn σχήματα or figuræ, sentence patterns that provide scaffolding to help you build complex sentences and thoughts according to ancient rhetorical precepts.
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. The stories we read in Latin are not necessarily descriptive of ancient values or normative, and in fact may be quite transgressive (especially in the case of satire like Petronius' Satyricon. These may not align with your modern values, so keep an open mind: tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis.
Class Times and Location
LAT 203: Intermediate Latin meets every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:00 AM until 11:20 AM in Miller Hall 022 (basement).
Classes begin Wednesday, April 2, and continue through Friday, June 6. The University will be closed Monday, May 26, for Memorial Day. Our class will also not meet on May 14 or 16, as I shall be out of the country.
The Final Examination will be held on Monday, June 9, from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
Instructor
- Office
- Miller Hall 122D
- Office Hours
- Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 12:00–1:00 PM
- miller.krause@wwu.edu
- Office Phone
- (360) 650-4269 (email is better)
Textbooks
We shall read the story of Cupid and Psyche, an allegorical masterwork inset in Apuelius' Metamorphoses, and the "Cena Trimalchionis," the longest and most complex of the Roman dinner satires (cf. Horace' "Cena Nasidieni"). Students have already been provided with books, so there will be nothing to purchase. Both are also available as PDF files on the Modules page, as is P. Rutilius Lupus' Σχήματα λέξεως.
Academic Honesty
Don't commit academic dishonesty. See the University's website on Academic HonestyLinks to an external site..
Grading
Traditional Letter Grading Scale
Course Requirements
This course is set up to give you constant, low-intensity practice in reading, writing, and speaking Latin. You will have reading and short writing assignments every night. Every Monday (or Wednesday, if there is no class on Monday), you will also have a longer composition assignment due.
Præsentia Participātiōque (20%)
As you are aware from your previous 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.
Silence is a grave you dig for yourself: the more you talk in Latin in class, the more you will learn. There are no penalties for grammar or Latin mistakes in speaking in class, so there is no reason not to try to express yourself in Latin at every possible opportunity. Hiding quietly in a corner will profit you nothing.
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.
Athletes and 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 Cottīdiāna (20%)
Each reading has exercises on Canvas to help you hone your skills in Latin. When you read "Cupid and Psyche" or the "Cēna Trimalchiōnis," you should complete the written exercises that accompany those chapters. Please double-space what you write: I shall make corrections. Be ready in class to discuss your answers.
You should focus your efforts outside of class on understanding the reading for the next class and answering the questions in its exercises. If something is unclear in the reading, you should ask about it at the beginning of class.
These exercises are meant to be constant and low-intensity, much like physical exercise. You would not work out once in the gym for ten hours, but rather spend a little time there every day: the former only wearies you and leaves you weaker than before, while the latter strengthens you.
Figūræ Ōrātiōnis (20%)
On days that you don't have commentārīola, you will be defining and giving examples of figures of speech, based on P. Rutilius Lupus' Σχήματα λέξεως or Figūræ Ōrātiōnis, which is available as a PDF file on the Modules page. You know grammar and syntax: the Figūræ Ōrātiōnis are an introduction to styling your thoughts with balance and ornament. Once you've learned a few, you'll begin noticing them everywhere in Āpulējus' work. These aren't meant to take much time, but, like the daily questions on the reading, they provide frequent, low-intensity practice.
Commentāriola (20%)
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, compositions will be due on Mondays normally, or Wednesdays if Monday is a holiday. These weekly compositions are important, because they give you a chance to develop long-form writing skills, as opposed to the short-form answers of the daily exercises.
Please double-space what you write.
Probātiō Ultima (20%)
The final examination will cover both Āpulējus and Petrōnius. Be familiar with the characters and events in the stories, and be prepared to describe them in Latin. As always, you may take the final examination with others as a social activity, so long as you speak only in Latin.
For all assignments and examinations, please double-space your writing.
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.
Course Summary:
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