LAT20170 Introduction to Latin Texts

Academic Year 2021/2022

*** Not available in the academic year indicated above ***

In this module students will read a range of texts in the original Latin, including the "Res Gestae", the political testament of the emperor Augustus, and selections from the Augustan love elegists Tibullus, Propertius and Ovid, using Catullus as a starting point. As well as developing their reading and translation skills, students will be expected to assess the literary and rhetorical qualities of all texts studied and evaluate where appropriate their importance as historical sources. The level of Latin is moderately advanced.

Students are expected to acquire:

Joan Booth, Catullus to Ovid: Reading Latin love elegy. A literary commentary with Latin text, translations by G. Lee and J. Booth (Bloomsbury Classical Press, 1999)

Res Gestae Divi Augusti, The Achievements of the Divine Augustus, edited by P. A. Brunt and J. M. Moore (Oxford University Press, 1967).

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
* translate the prescribed texts;
* understand the genres of the works studied and evaluate their structure and style;
* evaluate the texts in relation to the political, social, and cultural milieux of late Republican/early Imperial Rome (c.60BC-14AD).

Indicative Module Content:

This module is language-intensive and suitable for students with a moderately advanced understanding of Latin. Topics studied include:
* translation of Latin texts and review of grammar;
* historical and cultural contexts of the original texts;
* the relation between texts and public images;
* political and cultural history of the late Republican and early Imperial periods.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

36

Specified Learning Activities

108

Autonomous Student Learning

56

Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
In-class translation of the set texts, students having prepared sections in advance, with focus on the Latin sentence structure, review of grammar, and translating Latin into accurate and idiomatic English. Class discussion will also focus on points of historical and cultural interest, including the evidence of visual sources such as coins. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Recommendations:

Students taking this module should have studied Latin for at least one year. The module is an appropriate follow on from LAT20140 Intermediate Latin (but this is not a pre-requisite).


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
LAT20130 - Catullus, LAT20160 - Augustus: Res Gestae


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Essay: Take-home essay Unspecified n/a Graded No

15

Essay: Take home essay Unspecified n/a Graded No

15

Class Test: Translation and commentary test Week 6 n/a Graded No

18

Class Test: Translation and commentary test Week 4 n/a Graded No

17

Class Test: Translation and commentary test Week 10 n/a Graded No

17

Class Test: Translation and commentary test Week 12 n/a Graded No

18


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Augustan elegists: text and commentary
• Joan Booth, Catullus to Ovid: Reading Latin love elegy. A literary commentary with Latin text, translations by G. Lee and J. Booth (Bloomsbury Classical Press, 1999).

Res Gestae: text and commentary
• Res Gestae Divi Augusti: The Achievements of the Divine Augustus, edited by P. A. Brunt and J. M. Moore (Oxford University Press, 1967).
• Res Gestae Divi Augusti: Text, Translation, and Commentary, edited by Alison E. Cooley (Cambridge University Press, 2009).
• Res Gestae Divi Augusti, edited by Cynthia Damon (Bryn Mawr Latin Commentaries, 1995).

Background Reading:
• W. Eck, The Age of Augustus, 2nd edition (Blackwell Publishing 2007).
• K. Galinsky, Augustus: introduction to the life of an emperor (Cambridge 2012).
• R.O.A.M. Lyne, The Latin Love Poets from Catullus to Horace (Oxford, 1980)
• H. H. Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero: A history of Rome from 133 B.C. to A.D. 68 (Routledge 1959).
• T.S. Thorsen (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Latin Love Elegy (Cambridge, 2013)

Further Reading:
• J. Elsner, ‘Inventing Imperium: Texts and the Propaganda of Monuments in Augustan Rome’, in: Art and Text in Roman Culture (Cambridge University Press 1996) 32-53.
• S. Güven, ‘Displaying the Res Gestae of Augustus: A Monument of Imperial Image for All’, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 57 (1998) 30-45
• P. Hardie (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Ovid (Cambridge, 2002)
• D.F. Kennedy, The Arts of Love: Five Studies in the Discourse of Roman Love Elegy (Cambridge, 1993)
• L.Morgan, 'Escapes from Orthodoxy: Poetry of the Late Republic', In O.Taplin (ed.) Literature in the Greek and Roman Worlds (Oxford, 2000), pp.336-358.
• P. Lee-Steecum, Powerplay in Tibullus (Cambridge, 1998)
• E. S. Ramage, The Nature and Purpose of Augustus’ Res Gestae (Steiner 1987).
• R. Ridley, The Emperor’s Retrospect: Augustus’ ‘Res Gestae’ in Epigraphy, Historiography, and Commentary. Studia Hellenistica 39 (Peeters 2003).
• M. Wyke, The Roman Mistress (Oxford, 2002)
• Z. Yavetz, ‘The Res Gestae and Augustus’ public image.’ In: Caesar Augustus: Seven Aspects, eds. F. Millar and E. Segal (Oxford 1984),1-36.
Name Role
Dr Helen Dixon Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Assoc Professor Alexander Thein Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Martin Brady Tutor