LAT381A: Advanced Latin Horace’s Odes/Catullus’ poems

Fall 2015 Credits: 4

Instructor: Tina Chronopoulos Office: Library Tower 1105 (= 11th floor) Office Hours: Wednesdays 16:40-18:40 Also by appointment: tchronop@binghamton.edu Class meetings: T Th 14:50-16:15, Student Services Wing 313 Course Synopsis The Latin lyric poetry of Catullus and Horace represent two disctinct but nevertheless closely related and extremely influential models of lyric expression. This course will focus on Book 1 of Horace’s Odes and a selection of poems from Catullus, with particular attention to sub-types of lyric including erotic verse, invitation poems, poems of abuse, political praise poetry, hymns and so on. We will begin by considering what makes a Latin poem “lyric” and the relationship between the Latin lyric project and Ancient Greek lyric. Throughout the course we will combine close attention to the text (through translation and analysis) with attention to the social, political, and cultural contexts in which these poems were written, and the various ways in which they have been interpreted. Learning Goals Our main focus in this course will be on getting to know Horace’s poetry by translating and analysing his Latin, concentrating on book one of the Odes, and reading poems by Catullus for comparison and contrast. We will revise and practice specific grammar constructions as they occur in the text. We will also think about some of the litrerary aspects of the poems: the function of the lyrical form, the effectiveness of the characterization, the rhetorical flavour of

the poetry, and so on. Finally, we will pay attention to the contexts in which this poetry was created and consumed. This course meets the Harpur W requirement since students are required to write three essays of 1,500 words each that count, collectively, towards 30% of the final grade. This course meets the GenEd H requirement in that students will read a substantial amount of Latin poetry against the backdrop of the social, political, and cultural contexts in which it was written. Required text R. Mayer, Horace: Odes Book 1 (Cambridge, 2012) Selections from Catullus provided by instructor **A composition note-book Additional Bibliography Grammar P.R. Taylor-Briggs, Via Plana: Graduated readings in Advanced Latin (2000)

E. Woodcock, A New Latin syntax (1959) Dictionary It is important to own or have access to a good Latin dictionary. If you’re in

the library use the Oxford Latin Dictionary or Lewis and Short (the latter can also be found online at the Perseus website).

Secondary J. Haig Gaisser, Blackwell Introduction to Catullus (2012) reading S. Harrison ed., Cambridge Companion to Horace (2007) Penguin editions Catullus in English and Horace in English Assessement Attendance, prep & participation 30% Critical analysis essays (three) 30% Presentations (two) 20% Final exam 20% Grading scale: A (93-100), A- (90-92), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79), C (73-76), C- (70-72), D (60-69), F (0-59). The policy on grades, incompletes, withdrawals etc. will be in accordance with official university policy. Attendance We begin each class by drawing a 2-minute selfportrait on an index card (dated). The cards serve as a record of your attendance. If you come in after attendance has been taken, you are late to class. If you miss 5 or more classes without a valid excuse you will not be allowed to receive a passing grade (you will either fail or have to withdraw). I will also often ask you to write out on the back of the card any observations on what you have read or new vocabulary, so be ready! E-mail me when ill; proof may be required, and you are responsible for finding out from a fellow student what you missed. Any make-up work or accommodations (e.g. quizzes, homework) for reasons of illness, university business, or religious observance will need to be discussed with me and arranged in advance.

Participation and homework Your composition note-book is your new best friend! In it you will write and keep all notes from this course – your translations and notes for class, your observations and thoughts on Latin poetry, etc. The content of and the way in which you use your composition notebook will factor into your grade for this part of the assessment. Make sure you do not lose it since I will ask to see it at various points during the semester. To get an A-range grade you must not only spend more time on assignments and demonstrate active engagement with the work, you must also find something original during the course of the semester. This “finding something original” is hard to define, but can entail something like a new approach to translating or analyzing Latin poetry that you did not know before and that extends beyond the limits of our class time. Those who spend more time on assignments and demonstrate engagement with the work will get a B. Those who do the minimum amount of required work will get a C. Your homework and participation grade will be based on the percentage of classes that you attended and the assessment of your performance when you were present (I expect you to participate fully in class activities), plus the content and use of your composition notebook. Critical Analysis essays You will write three critical analysis essays during the course of the semester. Each essay will examine two short poems side by side (on by Horace, the other by Catullus) or one longer one. You will practice doing this in your composition notebook in class first. Bring a print-out to class AND send it to me via email before class. Due dates: 1 October, 3 November, 1 December Length: 1500 words, 5-6 pages Font size: 11 or 12 (Times New Roman or similar). Line spacing: 1.5 Bibliography: supply this, properly formatted, at the end of your essay Latin/English: all quotations should be in Latin; provide English translations in footnotes. Presentations You will give two presentations during the course of the semester. In consultation with me, for each presentation you will choose an Horation Ode or a Catullan poem that is not part of the assigned readings but that relates in some way to what we are reading during the week for which you are scheduled to present. Your presentation will entail leading group translation of the poem and discussion of its form and style. Final Exam You will take one final at the end of the semester. The final will consist of passages for translations from the texts we have read in class. In addition, you will be asked to identify/analyze words/grammatical constructions. Extra Credit You can earn extra credit in two ways: 1) if you have perfect attendance at the end of the semester, I will add 1.5 points to your final grade. I start counting the second week of classes. 2) If you recite in class, from memory, a poem by Horace or Catullus, to be chosen in consultation with me, I will add 1.5 points to your final grade. Classroom Rules We don’t use our real names in class. We go by character names. We bring our composition notebooks and all our books to every class.

We sit in a different seat for each class beside different classmates. We do not activate electronic devices in class. Ever. We don’t just get up and leave the classroom (to use the phone or bathroom). We stay put unless there is an emergency. Daily workload You may need to spend about two-three hours outside of class for every hour in class. That means at least 9 hours a week according to university guidelines. E-mail correspondence Please apply epistolary conventions when you write me an e-mail. I will not answer emails that do not follow this structure:

- Dear Professor/Dr … - your message - Yours/Best wishes/Kind regards/etc - your name

You are welcome to email me with quick questions. I try to respond to emails within 24 hours, but please note that I do not check student email after 5pm or on weekends. Weightier issues will be referred to a face-to-face meeting. I will not discuss grades (potential or disputed) by email. Please check the syllabus, Blackboard, and any handouts before asking routine questions about course requirements – I won’t respond to such emails. Please use your university email addresses. Adaptations and accommodations If you have a disability that may require an accommodation for taking this course, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities (http://www2.binghamton.edu/ssd/index.html; 607.777.2686). Students who need accommodation should present me with an SSD authorization letter and contact me to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential. Accommodations cannot be made retroactively. Academic dishonesty Don’t cheat, plagiarize, have somebody else do your work for you, or turn in work from another course. If you are caught, you may fail the course, in addition to any university-mandated penalties for plagiarism and academic dishonesty. Familiarize yourself with Binghamton’s Student Academic Honesty Code: http://www2.binghamton.edu/harpur/faculty/acad-honesty.html If you are confused about what might constitute academic dishonesty or plagiarism, please see me or a librarian.

Class Schedule *Note: this schedule is provisional and subject to change. (In fact, it almost certainly will change. Stay tuned…) Please do ALL of these exercises & preps in your composition notebook. September Tue 1 Sept. first class – introduction Ode 11, Catullus 85 Thur 3 Sept. The Beginning prep: Ode 1, Catullus 1

write out Catullus 1 in your notebook, highlight verbs and nouns with two different colours

Tue 8 Sept. Invitation Poems prep: Ode 20, Catullus 13 write out Ode 20: highlight verbs, nouns, adjectives in diff. colours draw a map of Italy and plot place names from Ode 20 draw five items from Catullus 13 and label them in Latin Thur 10 Sept. Invitation Poems prep: Odes 9 & 17 write out the bare bones of Ode 9 – just verbs & nouns go back to your Italy map and add details from Ode 9 draw a map of Greece and plot place names from Ode 17 Tue 15 Sept. no class, Rosh Hashanah Thur 17 Sept. More ‘invitation’ poems prep: Odes 27 & 38

write out Ode 38: highlight verbs, nouns, adjectives & pronouns in diff. colours draw Charybdis, Chimaera, and Pegasus (I don’t want you to look them up, just draw what you think they look like)

Tue 22 Sept. no class, Yom Kippur Thur 24 Sept. Erotic verse prep: Ode 13, Catullus 51, Sappho 31

draw the scene the narrator sees in each of the poems with Latin labels draw what the narrator of each poem looks like & what he is doing

BI-WEEKLY STUDENT PRESENTATIONS START on 29 Sept. Tue 29 Sept. Erotic verse prep: Odes 5 & 8

write out Ode 5 into your notebook: using differently coloured pens to highlight the different people involved (their actions, characteristics, anything that describes them)

draw the scene of Ode 5 and label in Latin draw a map of Rome and plot places mentioned in Ode 8 October Thurs 1 Oct. Essay 1 due in class

Erotic verse prep: Odes 22 & 23 plot on a map the places mentioned in Ode 22

write out Ode 22: highlight w. different colours the various kinds of words in this poem, including their relationships to each other

draw the scene of Ode 23 and label in Latin Tue 6 Oct. More Erotic verse prep: Odes 33, Catullus 45 draw the various relationships bw the people of Ode 33 draw the characters of Catullus 45 & label in Latin Thur 8 Oct. Even more erotic verse prep: Catullus 5, 7, 48, 99

write out poems 5 & 7: highlight diff. kinds of words w. different colours and draw arrows to show how they all relate to each other

can you draw a kiss? kisses? people kissing? Tue 13 Oct. Hymns prep: Ode 10, 21, Catullus 34 draw the characters mentioned in Ode 10 make a list of who sings in praise of what in Ode 21

write out or type & print out & glue into your notebook the text of Catullus 34: highlight any words in this poem that Horace uses in Ode 21

Thur 15 Oct. (Political) praise prep: Ode 2 draw the animals in this poem & label them in Latin

make a list of the gods mentioned, draw them with their attributes or doing their actions

Tue 20 Oct. (Political) praise prep: Odes 7 & 14 make a list of the place names in Ode 7 & plot them on your maps draw the ship

Thur 22 Oct. (Political) praise prep: Ode 12.1-32 write out the first 32 lines, highlight all verbs Tue 27 Oct. (Political) praise prep: Ode 12.33-end write out the remaining lines, highlight all verbs Thur 29 Oct. (Political) praise

prep: Ode 35 pick out seven things from this poem, draw them, label them in Latin

November Tue 3 Nov. Essay 2 due in class

More praise prep: Catullus 49 & 50

write out Catullus 50 as if it were in English word order - but in Latin. Thur 5 Nov. Praise/Deities prep: Ode 6 & 26 write out the narrators actions (in Latin) write out Ode 12 in English word order but in Latin Tue 10 Nov. Deities prep: Ode 26 & 32, Catullus 35 write out Ode 32: highlight names, verbs, things

draw the different contexts in which the lyre is being used in Ode 32 plot the place names from Catullus 35 on your Italy map

Thur 12 Nov. Muses prep: Ode 19 & 30, Catullus 3 draw the story of the sparrow s in Catullus 3 Tue 17 Nov. Muses prep: Odes 24 & 31, Catullus 101 plot the place names in 31 on your maps draw the foods the narrator eats & label them in Latin Thur 19 Nov. Travel prep: Ode 3, Catullus 46 draw 7 things from Ode 3 and label them in Latin write out Catullus 46 = highlight all verbs Tue 24 Nov. Abuse prep: Ode 25, Catullus 11 draw what you see in the first two stanzas of Ode 25 plot the places in Catullus 11 on a map

write out Catullus 11 and highlight verbs, nouns, and adjectives in different colours.

Thur 26 Nov. no class, Thanksgiving December Tue 1 Dec. Essay 3 due in class

Abuse prep: Catullus 12 & 84 draw the story of poem 12 Thur 3 Dec. Abuse prep: Catullus 39 & 69 draw the various scenes in which Egnatius is depicted Tue 8 Dec. Horace’s birthday

Wine & Friends prep: Odes 18 & 36, Catullus 9 draw seven things from Ode 18 and label them in Latin Thur 10 Dec. Writing poetry Catullus 14 & 42 draw the main scene of 42 – what do hendecasyllables look like? Tue 15 Dec. The End prep: Catullus 116 Exam – to be scheduled