Graduate Courses in Latin
Latin 501: Cicero
The focus of this course is on Cicero’s orations, with special attention to the Catilinarians and the Pro Caelio. The course will emphasize careful analysis of Cicero’s Latin style and the political, legal, and literary issues that arise from these works. Students will be introduced to relevant scholarly literature.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Latin 503: Roman Comedy
This course focuses on readings in the comedies of Plautus and Terence. The course will entail intensive study of one representative play by each playwright; other plays will be read in English translation. Topics to be covered include: the influence of Menander and Greek new Comedy; the rise of a literary culture in second-century-BC Rome; and analysis of character, language, and plot.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Latin 510: Virgil
This course focuses on readings in the works of Virgil, with primary emphasis on the Aeneid. Significant attention is paid to historical and cultural context, literary history and epic genre, Virgil’s poetic and patriotic programmes and poetic diction, as well as to secondary, scholarly literature.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Latin 515: Methods of Teaching the Latin Language
This course focuses on the theory and practice of teaching Latin in the schools. Special emphasis is given to assessing the pedagogical approaches that have emerged in recent dceades and the textbooks they have produced. Thee will also be discussion of specific ways to integrate these approaches into the contemporary classroom.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Latin 520: Latin Letters
This course offers a survey of the epistolary genre in Latin literature. Readings will focus on Cicero, Seneca and Pliny; short examples from Horace, Ovid, Fronto and Petrarch will also be included. Letters will be considered in their historical, social and literary contexts. Students will evaluate the structure, content and evolution of the genre.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Latin 525: Literature in the Age of Nero
The Emperor Nero, despite his reputation for viciousness, presided over a literary renaissance in Rome of the first century AD. This course devotes attention to key figures in this renaissance, including Seneca, Petronius, Lucan, and Persius. Through extensive readings in selected Latin texts, students will find that literary, political and philosophical issues intersect.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Latin 530: Latin Love Poetry
This course focuses on readings in the amatory poetry of Catullus, Horace, Virgil and the Roman elegists. Significant attention is paid to historical, philosophical, and cultural context, literary history and genre distinctions, an the love poets’ use of poetry to reflect their constructions of self and society. Students are introduced to relevant secondary, scholarly literature.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Latin 535: Latin Historians
This course surveys the Latin historians, focusing primariliy on Sallust, Livy, and Tacitus. Earlier writers, such as Cato the Elder, and later ones, such as Ammianus Marcellinus, are briefly considered. These historians will be read in Latin and studied in their historical, social and literary contexts.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Latin 570: Active Learning Methodologies for Teachers of Latin
Two phenomena of recent decades--the emergence of a new body of research on second language acquisition and the re-emergence of conversational Latin as a pedagogical tool--have dramatic implications for the teaching of Latin. The purpose of this course is twofold: first, to introduce teachers of Latin to theories of second language acquisition, through which they may assess the effectiveness of various methods used in the Latin classroom; and, second, to engage them intensively with two major active methodologies for language learning: oral/aural communication and written composition. The course, designed as the first-year experience for attendees at the summer Conventiculum Bostoniense, provides a seven-day, full-immersion living-Latin experience, with full-time residence required of all participants. With the exception of nine hours of instruction in second language acquisition theory, students are reauired to communicate 24-7 in Latin.
3 Credits
Latin 575: Living Text
Designed for repeat attendees at the summer Conventiculum Bostoniense, this course engages students in intensive study of a single classical or medieval Latin texst, incorporating both traditional pedagogical approaches (grammar-translation method, study of relevant scholarship) and active learning methodologies (especially those that build competence in oral and written production of Latin, such as oral paraphrase, contextual discussion, Socratic questioning, written response anad rephrasing). For a significant portion of class time, students work in small groups to compose and perform a play whose content accurately reflects the style, themes, and literary, historical, and cultural contexts of the text studied in the course. This text varies each summer. Each student also completes an individual final paper, due six weeks after the last course session. The course provides a seven-day full-immersion living-Latin experience, with full-time residence required of all participants. Wth the exception of some of the direct instruction in the text and relevant scholarship, students are required to communicate 24-7 in Latin.
3 credits
Latin 597: Special Topics
This course offers intensive study of selected topics in Latin language and/or literature. Course content varies according to the topic, which will be announced prior to the advance pre-registration period.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Classics 597: Special Topics
This course offers intensive study of selected topics in Classical Humanities. Primary texts are read in English translation. Course content varies according to the topic, which will be announced prior to the advance pre-registration period.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits