Aims

By the end of this course, the students should be able to "read" a Latin text in the original. Meeting this goal presupposes a multiple process encompassing translating and commenting on the grammatical, linguistic, historical, literary, and, more broadly, on the cultural aspects of the text. Beyond translating and explaining a Latin author, the course attempts to root the linguistic and cultural values of present day society in the literary output of Ancient Rome.

Main themes

This course is based on the reading of a prose writer from the republican or imperial periods. An overview of the course is distributed and explained to the students at the beginning of the academic year. The method of the course can be described as follows: 1) a lecture course (30 hours): preceded by rigorous translation work, the exegesis of the author studied highlights many aspects: the philological critique, grammatical observations and commentary upon remarkable linguistic features, biographical information, the history and culture of the work, the documentary and human value of the message, introduction to the problems of literary critique when applied to Latin texts, study of literary genres, the exemplary value of a Latin text in the history of thought or of literary aesthetics, realia; 2) small group tutorials: we shall organize a series of practical tutorials, devoted mainly to the "sight-reading" of large portions of the text discussed during the lecture course. The emphasis here is on translation. A session devoted to reading historical and medieval texts will be organized for those students contemplating studying history or archaeology. We shall attempt to make homogenous groups. 3) personal study, a significant part of the work (40 hours): for the students to organize their course notes, prepare the "sight-reading," and report on the readings.

Content and teaching methods

Intended for students of the first polyvalent semester, this course introduces to the reading in the original text of a latin prose writer from the republican or imperial period. This work supposes a multiple approach which combines translation with grammatical, linguistic, historical, literary and more broadly cultural commentaries. On the occasion of the latin author translation and explanation, this course must emphasize the linguistic and cultural roots of the modern man in the literary production of latin antiquity. A series of exercises is devoted to the reading of medieval texts. This course is available on the Internet.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Prerequisites: This course is open to students showing a sufficient knowledge of Latin at the beginning of the year. Practically speaking, students taking this course should have had at least 4 hours of Latin a week in the last fours years of their high school education or have passed an orientation exam at the beginning of the year. Students who do not meet these conditions should take the general introduction to Latin course.
Assessment: The teaching team will organize assessment units integrated into the following parameters, further explained and commented upon in the course outline: 1. Written assessment at the end of the semester on the lecture part of the course. 2. Continuous assessment of sight-reading assignments: participation in group work and individual interventions. 3. Reading reports will be typed and handed in on the day of the written exam according to the guidelines given in the course outline.
Course holder: 4 people, two of which are student tutors; a person will be specifically designated in this team to lead the tutorial on the reading of historical texts.

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