LATN 286/289: The Age of Nero Fall Semester 2007

Our work this term will have two central aims (plus the third, of having fun with them):

• To develop facility at reading Latin (acquiring and solidifying knowledge of syntax, vocabulary, and verse form, and honing skills for integrating them)
• To make inquiry into Roman history and culture at the end of the Julio-Claudian period

• Required: Suetonius, Nero, ed. B. Warmington (Bristol Classical Press 1977)
• Required: Lucan, De Bello Civili Book II, ed. E. Fantham (Cambridge University Press 1992)
• Recommended: J. H. Allen et al., Allen & Greenough's New Latin Grammar (Dover Books 2006); e-text available through Perseus

• Latin reading assignments will be determined by the class's progress; additional exercises polishing points of syntax and vocabulary will be assigned as needed. We will aim to build strong reading skills, historical understanding, and literary-critical acuteness. Short quizzes check in on nuts and bolts of the Latin. Prepared "literary translation" and "researched commentary" give scope to develop ideas about what our Latin texts are saying, how they say it, and why it matters; they are due in hand, at the start of the class period, on the days for which they are assigned.
• Dates to watch out for:

Attendance and other policies

• We are a cooperative endeavor. Your insights, your questions, and your thoughtful help in working out answers together all contribute to your own and to your colleagues' learning, including mine. We all need your active, courteous, wise participation, every meeting. Language skills, particularly, grow by practice: if you miss work, you lose momentum, and lost momentum blocks your growth. Attendance and preparation are a matter of respect. Far more importantly, they are a matter of self-respect.
  • Concessions: Prepared is better than unprepared, and prompt is better than late, but even unprepared attendance or late arrival is better than missing out completely - just don't disrupt your fellow students.
  • Since unregulated self-interest, as set forth above, doesn't always motivate quite enough, and since being absent makes it impossible for you to contribute to everyone's learning and the loss to us all is real, a small penalty in the participation grade has been instituted for excessive absences. Absences shall be defined as excessive, as follows:
    • Each unexcused absence beyone a total of three absences, excused or unexcused. That is, even excused absences kill your budget of unexcused absences.
    • Although it is better to attend even part of a class than to miss it entirely (provided, of course, you avoid disrupting the work of your colleagues), repeated chronic lateness (more than 10 minutes) shall be counted as partial absences.
    • Absences will be totalled over the whole semester.
  • If despite all this motivation, absolute, non-negotiable necessity nevertheless intemperately demands that you must miss class, please let me know as far in advance as possible. Legitimate absences (serious illness, court appearances) should be documented in writing (n.b.: appointments with Loyola faculty and administrators should be scheduled at times that do not conflict with courses for which you are registered).
• Quizzes and exams can be rescheduled only for truly dire and documented reasons. Bring clean, lined paper and pens that don't smear.
• Written homework (literary translations, researched commentaries, and any other exercises that get to looking like they will give you helpful practice) is due at the beginning of class; it cannot be accepted late.
• Legibility always helps. Please type or word-process literary translations and researched commentaries - double-spacing is especially good for translations - and hand-write as clearly as you can manage when you need to use hand-writing. I hereby issue the first blanket apology of the semester for my own handwriting, and my eternally standing offer of aid in decipherment.
• "Correct" grammar and spelling tell the rest of the world you have mastered rules that define important parts of higher education's game. They also give you access to a system by which you can communicate your ideas clearly - which is really the point..
• Thanks!

• Substantive-hunt grid: model for some written homework.
• Verb-hunt grid: model for some written homework.
• Text of Suetonius, Nero, on-line from The Latin Library. It doesn't include commentary, so it's no substitute for the required text, but it's a resource when you need a quick look at the Latin.
• Text of Lucan, De Bello Civili Book 2, on-line from The Latin Library. Same caveat, same saving grace.
• "Nero (A.D. 54-68)", Herbert W. Benario, De Imperatoribus Romanis.

• Allen & Greenough (also a recommended text, in print) is a good reference grammar on-line. Consult its sections on forms and syntax as often as the mood strikes you - they're always worth knowing. Scroll down the Table of Contents to which this link takes you, and click on the link for each item you wish to consult. Part of the Perseus Project.
• Lewis & Short On-Line offers look-up access to a detailed reference dictionary. Type in the character string for which you wish to search (preferably, the dictionary-entry form of the word you want) and "submit query". Warning! This page was initially set up for people working with Greek, so many of its directions and responses will come to you in terms of Greek words and transliterations. Do not be alarmed! Your instructor will endeavor to help unsnarl any confusions: just ask. Another helpful part of the Perseus Project.
• Early Roman Calendar, an overview presented by Calendars through the Ages.
• Nuntii Latini offers current news briefs in Latin. Produced by FYI, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, edited by Professor Emeritus Tuomo Pekkanen and Docent Reijo Pitkäranta of Helsinki University.
• latin.wunderground.com offers weather reports in Latin. Produced by The Weather Underground, Inc..

Additional University resources

• Loyola's Learning Assistance Services, on the Web and in the Sullivan Center for Student Services on the Lakeshore Campus, offers workshops on topics such as study skills and test taking. They will also help arrange accommodations for students with disabilities.
• The Tutoring Center (physically in the Sullivan Center; peer-counselors) and the Writing Centers (sponsored by the Department of English: graduate students with expertise in writing pedagogy; Sullivan Center 245 and on the Water Tower Campus in 25 East Pearson 605) both offer consultation services.

Academic honesty

Any practice of academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, obstructing the work of other students, etc.) perpetrated in this course will result in failure of the course. Do not do it.

For basic principles and definitions, see the subsection on "Academic Integrity" in the General Academic Standards and Regulations. Many websites offer fuller information and strategies by which you can keep yourself clear from plagiarism: for example, from Oregon State University, from Indiana University, and from Purdue University. Learning is wholly personal: it only happens if you do it yourself. Your University record should be certifying only what has really happened.

Loyola University requires that all instances of academic dishonesty must be reported to the chairperson of the department involved and to the academic Dean of the student's College.

Revised 28 September 2007 by jlong1@luc.edu
http://www.luc.edu/depts/classics/