13275 - Latin Language (1) (A-D)

Learning outcomes

Knowledge to be obtained by the end of the course 1) the student knows elements of phonetics of the Latin language 2) he knows morphology, syntax and basic vocabulary of the Latin language 3) he knows some basic elements of the history of the Latin language aimed to provide a full understanding of the main morphological structures. Skills to be obtained by the end of the course: 1) the student can pronounce the Latin language correctly 2) he can recognize and describe the main morphosyntatic structures 3) he can decline nouns, pronouns, adjectives and conjugate verbs correctly 4) he can translate and analyze previously seen texts.

Course contents

I. SPECIAL FOCUS COURSE
Latin philosophical Prose: Seneca's De otio and its 'dramatic style'.

II. ELEMENTS OF LATIN: phonetics, morphology, vocabulary, syntax.

III. AUTHORS: (in Latin) Suetonius, Caesar, parr. 1-44, 55-56, 76-78.

IV. CRITICAL ESSAYS see Bibliography

SEMINARS
First semester: beginners (OFA students) are required to attend basic-level seminars.

Second semester:
- Suetonius (E. Mattioni): to be defined.
- Morphology and introduction to Latin Syntax (A. Bertocchi): to be defined.

Readings/Bibliography

I. SPECIAL FOCUS COURSE
Seneca, De otio, La fermezza del saggio. La vita ritirata, introduzione, traduzione e note di N. Lanzarone, Rizzoli (BUR), Milano 2001, or Seneca, Moral Essays, with and English translation by J.W. Basore, London-Cambridge Mass., Harvard UP, 1958, vol. II, pp. 180-201, or Seneca, De otio. De brevitate vitae, edited by G.Williams, Cambridge, UP, 2003.

II. ELEMENTS OF LATIN
I. Dionigi – E. Riganti – L. Morisi, Il latino, Bari, Laterza 2011, or Verba et res. Morfosintassi e lessico del latino, 2 voll., Bari, Laterza, 1999 and A. Traina – G. Bernardi Perini, Propedeutica al latino universitario, Bologna, Pàtron, 1995, capp. I-VI (on peculiar topics of phonetics, morphology, syntax).

III. AUTHORS
Svetonio, Vita di Cesare, introd., trad. e commento di C. Scandamburlo, Pisa, Plus Università di Pisa, 2011; Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars; translated with an introduction and notes by Catharine Edwards, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2000.

IV. CRITICAL ESSAYS
Students are required to read one of the following essays: A. Traina, Lo stile “drammatico” del filosofo Seneca, Bologna, Patron, 1987; I. Dionigi, I diversi volti di Seneca, in Seneca nella Coscienza dell'Europa, a c. di I. Dionigi, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 1999, pp. VII-XXXII e Seneca linguista, ibid., pp. 431-442; F. Citti - C. Neri, Seneca nel Novecento. Sondaggi sulla fortuna di un classico, Roma, Carocci, 2001, pp. 15-79 (cap. Seneca morale); R. Scott Smith, De otio, in Brill’s Companion to Seneca Philosopher and Dramatist, edited by G. Damschen - A. Heil, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2004, pp. 147-152.

Students who don't attend the course are required to read also: M. Fruyt, Word-Formation in Classical Latin, in A companion to the latin language, edited by James Clackson, Maiden (MA)-Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, pp. 157-175 (available among the teaching materials).

Teaching methods

Lecture is the teaching approach adopted for the special focus course; interactive lessons are used in the seminars: here the students are more active participants to the learning process, which includes exercises and periodical tests.

Assessment methods

The exam has two parts:
- a written multiple choice Latin test, performed on the computer, concerning morphology and elemets of syntax.
N.B. The written test is compulsory and must be overcome before the oral exam of Lingua Latina. A negative mark prevents from accessing to the viva voce examination.
- A viva voce examination: the students will be tested in Latin phonetics, morphology and syntax through the reading and translation of the Latin texts dealt with in class and listed in the program. - the exam can be divided into to parts (special focus course and core course and taken on two different sessions. The exam on core course has to be taken before the exam on special focus course (the second part has to be taken within two sessions)

Assessment guidelines:
- failing grades:lack of basic linguistic knowledge (phonetics, morphology, basic syntax) and inability to produce a correct translation and a correct interpretation of the texts.
- passing grades: proficiency in the basic linguistic skills; translation and interpretation of texts mostly correct, but inaccurate and lacking in autonomy.
- positive grades: language proficiency at an intermediate level; translation and interpretation of the texts fully correct, but not always accurate and autonomous.
- excellent grades: language proficiency at an upper-mid level; translation and interpretation of the texts not only correct but performed with autonomy and precision.

Teaching tools

1. Online teaching materials (e.g. slides)
2. Seminars (cf. course content) aimed to the introduction to the bases of the Latin language (phonetics, morphology and syntax) and to the texts belonging to the program (Suetonius).
3. Beginners can access the e-learning course (login with unibo username and password).

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Citti