Latin 340: Vergil (Independent Study)
Fall 2011
MWF 4:00
Pawling Hall 102
Instructor:
Office:
Hours:
John Henkel
john_henkel@georgetowncollege.edu
Pawling 210 (863-7955)
TBA
Course Description
In this course we will read from Vergil’s Aeneid, beginning with daily assignments of
approximately 20 lines and moving rapidly to longer readings. At the end of the semester, we
will be reading 40–50 lines per class session. Since the course provides an introduction to
reading Latin poetry, we will be reading the Aeneid not only as Latin but also as poetry: we will
regularly conduct discussions of the poem, so we will read the entire work in translation by [date
TBA] at the latest.
Plan to spend 5–6 hours per week on homework, about 2 hours of work per class hour. If
the amount of time you spend varies significantly from that figure, you should consult with me
soon: if you spend less time, your performance will suffer. Hints for studying: read the Latin
through at least three times before coming to class. Do not write out a translation. Do not expect
the translation to work as an equivalent to the Latin. Do not try to read while looking up every
other word as you go: make vocabulary lists in advance, to prepare for reading. Do not read the
Latin, with your vocabulary list, only once. You must read through twice, for full
comprehension. This is very beautiful poetry, and you will find yourself enjoying it, so you’ll
want to do it justice. For this level and beyond, you will need a good Latin-English dictionary. I
recommend Chambers-Murray, Lewis (An Elementary Latin Dictionary), or Cassell’s. You can
easily order these on-line, or find them at the student bookstore. Pocket dictionaries will not help
you.
Course requirements: in-class work; two hour-long in-class exams; a final exam; and
regular quizzes. In-class work includes attendance and participation, preparation for class, inclass reading of Latin, and an oral presentation.
Outcomes
1. Students will read, understand, and interpret written Latin.
2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the perspectives of Greek and Roman
culture as revealed in the practices of the Greeks and Romans.
3. Students will advance and reinforce their knowledge of other disciplines through their
study of Latin and Greco-Roman culture.
4. Students will recognize and use elements of the Latin language to increase their
knowledge of English.
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Texts:
R. Ganniban, ed., Virgil: Aeneid 1 (Focus, 2009). ISBN 978-1585102259.
J. O’Hara, ed. Virgil: Aeneid 4 (Focus, forthcoming). Available by coursepack.
F. Ahl, trans., Virgil: Aeneid (Oxford World’s Classics, 2007). ISBN 978-0199231959.
Attendance and Participation
Diligent repetition is extremely important in learning a language. For this reason, it is
imperative that you prepare for and attend class each day. Class participation will constitute a
significant portion of your grade (20%), and you cannot receive credit for participating on
days that you do not attend class, so your participation/attendance average will include zeroes
for those days. This average will also reflect the quality of your readiness and participation on a
daily basis (homework, etc.). If, therefore, you missed 10% of class meetings (4 or 5) and you
had an 85% (B) participation average on days when you were present, your participation grade
will be 76.5% (C); if you missed 20% of class meetings (8 or 9) your 85% average (B) would
drop to 68% (D). In addition, absences will naturally cause your performance on quizzes and
tests to suffer. Absences in excess of 10 for whatever reason (excused or unexcused) will
cause automatic failure of the course. As a courtesy, please see me in advance when you
know that you will have to miss class; I will do likewise and let you know in advance if I have to
cancel class.
Studying:
Language learning is a cumulative process. You will not learn Latin by cramming for tests,
nor by putting aside your Latin between classes. Whenever possible, you should read
assignments three times: once as pre-reading to survey the lay of the passage (read all the way
through without worrying yet about details), again to do all the work of translating (parsing,
looking up vocabulary, etc.), and finally for comprehension once you have done all this. During
your second read-through, you should keep a running list of vocabulary words in your notebook.
This way you avoid writing words on your text, so that you are looking at a clean Latin text each
time you look at your book. You should also scan the text during this second read-through: this
will not only help you appreciate the text as poetry, but will also give you important information
about the quantity of each syllable.
I also strongly encourage you to reread the assignment in the evening after we have gone
over it in class. If you follow this regimen, it will obviate much of the need to study heavily for
the midterm tests. I remind you that cramming is largely ineffectual in this type of class.
Learning Latin is a demanding process, and when you are ultimately successful, it will be as
much from constant re-exposure and review as from memorizing grammar and vocabulary
(although this last is a prerequisite).
Finally, please do not use an English translation (called a “trot”) to help you read the
Latin. Your textbook has plenty of notes and grammatical aids in it, and the glossary in the back
gives you specific definitions for all the words you will need. Using an English trot will only
prevent you from dealing earnestly with the Latin text, and your performance in class and on
tests will suffer as a result.
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Assessments (Grade Composition)






First Midterm
Second Midterm
Final Exam
Quizzes
Attendance, Participation
Article Reviews
15 %
15 %
25 %
20 %
20 %
5%
Exams and Quizzes: In addition to two hour-long midterms and a two-hour final, we will also
have regular periodic quizzes. Exams will ask you to translate from Latin to English and answer
grammatical questions on selected words or passages; the final exam will also include a short
essay based on Latin and English readings. Exams will also cover poetic meter. Quizzes will
cover grammar review material, as well as translation if needed. Quizzes and tests must be
taken at the day and time indicated on the syllabus and cannot be made up without prior
written permission.
Attendence and Participation: See guidelines above.
Article Reviews: Over the course of the term, I will ask each student to read at least two
scholarly articles and present them to the class. This assignment is designed both to help
contextualize Vergil’s poetry, and to practice engaging critically with professional-level work on
Latin poetry. Further details on this assignment will follow early in the term, and students will
be able to select articles from a list of several possibilities.
Recitation: In order better to learn Latin quantitative meters, students will be asked to
memorize the first eleven (11) lines of the Aeneid in Latin. This exercise will count as two quiz
grades. This exercise will both increase students’ proficiency at reading meter on a daily basis
and, it is hoped, help them to remember some of this important poetry in future years.
Outcomes Assessment: Translation assignments and grammatical questions on exams and
quizzes will test students’ ability to understand Latin in written form, while analysis of poetic
meter will assess students’ understanding of the text as heard poetry (outcome #1). Regular
reading assignments and in-class discussions will not only reinforce these skills, but will develop
students understanding of Greco-Roman society, and particularly the period of the late Roman
Republic (outcome #2), and encourage students to connect the grammar, vocabulary, history, and
culture that they are learning both to their own language and culture and to others as relevant
(outcomes #3-4).
Academic Honesty
On any assignment that you turn in to be graded, you are bound by the Honor System not
to cheat, plagiarize, or collaborate illicitly. If you are having trouble with ungraded work, I
encourage you to consult your peers, but only in the interest of clarifying your own
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understanding of the material. Cheating on homework will do you no good, since you will learn
nothing, and your lack of preparation will be apparent in class.
Grading Scale:
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
100–92.5
92–87.5
87–82.5
82–77.5
77–70
69–60
Finally, please do not hesitate to email me or to come see me if you have any problems or
questions. I will be happy to help you with passages you find difficult, or to answer any
questions you may have. If my office hours are inconvenient, I will be happy to schedule
another time at our mutual convenience. –JHH
TENTATIVE DAILY SYLLABUS
(subject to change with notice; more detailed assignments available through Moodle)
Daily readings will not be set for the term until it becomes clear what pace is appropriate.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Introduction to Vergil, Aeneid. Discuss First Words in Epic (handout).
Introduction to dactylic hexameter. Read Aen. 1.1–11. (Read Aen. 1 in English.)
Read Aen. 1.12–33 in Latin. (Read Aen. 2 in English.)
Aen. 1.34–52. (Read Aen. 3 in English.)
Aen. 1.53–70. (Read Aen. 4 in English.)
Aen. 1.71–91. (Read Aen. 4 in English.)
(Read Aen. 5 in English.) Quiz on Latin and on Aen. 1–4 in English. [Further Latin
readings TBA until roughly middle of the course, when I will revise the syllabus based on
our progress.]
8. (Read Aen. 6 in English.)
9. (Read Aen. 7 in English.)
10. (Read Aen. 8 in English.) Discuss Aen. 5–8 in class.
11. (Read Aen. 9 in English.) Quiz on Latin and on Aen. 5–8 in English.
12. (Read Aen. 10 in English.)
13. (Read Aen. 11 in English.)
14. (Read Aen. 12 in English.) Discuss Aen. 9–12 in class.
15. First Midterm (includes section on Aen. 9–12 in English).
16.
17.
18.
19. Quiz
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20.
21.
22.
23. Quiz
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30. Second Midterm
31.
32.
33.
34. Quiz
35.
36.
37.
38. Quiz
39.
40.
41.
42.
EXAM: TBA
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