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LINGVA LATINA CII
(Latin 102) Spring 2014 Monday/Wednesday -
1:10-2:10 PM, Science 2 – 260 Tuesday/Thursday -
1:15-2:15 PM, Science 2 - 243 jstarks@binghamton.edu Tutors: All meet in LT
1107 unless otherwise arranged Lyla Cerulli lcerull1@binghamton.edu M 2-3 PM, F 1-2 PM Robbie Oakes roakes1@binghamton.edu W 4-5 PM, F 12-1 PM Tasfia Rahman trahman3@binghamton.edu M 11:30-12:30 PM, T
2:30-3:30 PM
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Course Synopsis and
Student Learning Goals:
Welcome to first year
Latin! In spite of what you may have heard, Latin is not dead; it is alive and
well, and you are proof. It is also a myth that 'You can't speak Latin.' Of
course you can speak Latin - why would Romans have developed a language they
couldn't speak? You can and will speak some Latin this term – useful for
all those moments when you want to appear exquisitely learned and do not want
all within earshot to understand every word.
This course will continue your introduction to a language
that served a tiny village on the Tiber River in Italy, then a massive empire
that reached from the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf, from Scotland and Germany
to Morocco and Sudan. Long after it ceased to be spoken widely by Italians, it
served Europe as the international language of diplomacy, education, and
professional skills, such as law, medicine, science, and theology into modern
times. The Latin language will open your eyes to elements of world culture and
history, social, philosophical, and artistic understanding, and the roots of
language itself, including your own native language, whatever that may be.
English owes some 40-50% of its vocabulary directly to Latin roots and French,
a Romance language, and if you add the Greek learning that many Romans adopted,
another 10% of English vocabulary can be better understood. Through study of
grammar, and readings that teach Roman culture, we will learn a great deal
about an influential foreign culture, and ultimately about world culture and
American heritage.
This will not always be a pure translation class - we will
vary exercises, learning styles, and material as often as possible, from
discussion of topics in English to presentation of short texts in Latin. We
will try to laugh often, even when we're working hard. During this semester,
you will be reading some original Latin or slightly adapted sentences from
famous poems (epic, lyric) and prose (speeches, histories, philosophy). You
will learn foundational elements of Latin grammar and syntax, and we will spend
significant time discussing the roots of English grammar as a support to our
learning of Latin grammar. You will also enhance your English vocabulary while
learning the meaning of Latin vocabulary, and you will begin to understand some
of the most important principles of Roman life and society.
Student Learning Goals /Course Objectives
At the end of the semester students will
- have a basic understanding of Latin
grammar
- have acquired a Latin vocabulary for
translating simple and some complex sentences
- have a deeper appreciation for English
vocabulary and grammar
- have met a number of Latin authors,
via their writings, and thus gained some knowledge of Roman culture
Course
Requirements:
Required Texts:
J.C. McKeown, Classical Latin: an introductory course, Hackett, 2010
_____. Classical Latin:
introductory course workbook, Hackett, 2010
Class
Participation: ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED. Beginning the first week of class, you
will receive a daily grade for participation in class that suggests your level
of preparation on material covered (A, B, C, D or 0) and your involvement in
class activities. Participation includes questions, exchange of ideas, and
responses to directed or general questions from the
instructor or others. An absence from class for ANY REASON must be counted as a
0 since you cannot participate if you are absent. Four (4) absences or your
lowest participation grades will be dropped, no questions asked, at the end of
the term allowing 1 week of class days for illness, family matters, etc, or just dropping your 4 worst days of Latin
performance for the term. In general, I do not distinguish between excused and
unexcused absences for purposes of daily participation grades, but PLEASE
always contact me by email or phone before class if you MUST be absent on a
given day. I want to know when and why you need to miss class, and make sure
that you don't get too far behind.
It is important to understand that participation can include
informed questions, requests for further explanation, offering to answer
specific questions, or any contributions that foster learning in the classroom
environment.
GROUP WORK PROVISO: I will utilize different groupings of
students from time to time in class to facilitate peer learning and review. Be
prepared any given day to form groups quickly and efficiently as instructed. I
encourage those of you who benefit from group study to create a working study
group for out-of-class work.
HOMEWORK PROVISO - I
generally check homework by asking questions of students in class or asking
what questions you have. There is no way we will translate every word of every
assignment in class. Homework may include exercises and readings from Latin to
English or English to Latin, either in the McKeown
text or supplementary exercises found in the Workbook and at http://www.jcmckeown.com as well as reading
of grammatical explanations, review of vocabulary, and other assignments. When
possible, the answers to significant unfinished assignments will be posted on Blackboard; the Workbook exercise answers
are in the back of the book and the supplementary on-line exercises are
designed for self-study, including self-correcting exercises on vocabulary,
word forms and translation. DAILY HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS ARE THE ONE TYPE OF
WRITTEN WORK ON WHICH I ENCOURAGE YOU TO WORK WITH OTHERS, BUT MAKE SURE YOU
UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING FOR YOURSELF BY THE TIME YOU GET TO A QUIZ OR EXAM.
Quizzes: Up to 10 quizzes will be given as listed on the syllabus
(I may, by consultation with the class prior to quiz day, decide to omit any
quiz, if we need more time to deal with topics before quizzing on them. A few
times during the term, these quizzes MAY be take-home format to allow for more
thorough answers or translation or to facilitate other in class needs. These
will always be administered at the END of each class session where they are
listed on the syllabus (generally at the beginning of each week not including an
Exam), so that additional time spent on quizzes by individuals does not impact
the entire class moving on. Quizzes will usually consist of translation from
Latin to English and some form identification and will cover material learned
from the day of the previous quiz to the end of the session prior to the quiz.
The lowest 2 quiz grades will be dropped at the end of the term, so makeup
quizzes will generally not be given. If a quiz is scheduled, and if you
absolutely cannot make it to class that day for legitimate reasons, and you
contact me appropriately before the class in question, I will consider whether
you may take the quiz at another time. Absence for religious holidays also
requires notification of the instructor prior to the absence. Again the basic
rule is to keep the line of communication open.
Tests: You will take three major term exams as listed on
the syllabus. These will test grammar recognition, word forms (morphology),
translation from Latin to English, and reading comprehension and the formats
will be partially derived by consensus of the class. Absence from a test FOR
ANY REASON is very serious and may result in a much more difficult makeup test
AT THE INSTRUCTOR's DISCRETION (I always reserve the right to refuse to give a
makeup exam) - again, absence from a test for serious illness or other
legitimate reasons demands prior notification of the instructor, at which time
I will consider whether you may take the same exam at an alternate time. That
said, if you show signs of being very studious and make solid progress through
the term, but you are obviously ailing so badly on a test day that your
performance would be unrepresentative of your regular work, please speak with
me and arrangements can usually be made for a makeup time – be fair with
me and I will extend you the same courtesies.
Final Exam: Of necessity, tests in language courses are always
comprehensive (Grammar forms and vocabulary don't go away, they just may
disappear for a while and return suddenly). The final will be even more so. I
will cover the last quarter of the class
material in some detail on the final, but there will also be a fair amount of
review material from throughout the term.
ACADEMIC HONESTY AND
WRITTEN WORK – I cannot stress enough (and you will see more mentioned
about this below) that every piece of work you turn in for a grade must be
yours and yours alone. Cheating, whether in class or out of class, is a
punishable offense at Binghamton University, and will be addressed very
seriously in accordance with university policy.
Grading: Your final grade will be determined as follows:
|
Final Exam |
25% |
|
Average of 3 Test scores |
35% |
|
Average of Quizzes |
25% |
|
Class Performance &
Participation |
15% |
I must insist on a firm grade scale as follows: 93-100 A,
90-92 A-, 87-89 B+, 83-86 B, 80-82 B-, 77-79 C+, 73-76 C, 70-72 C-, 60-69 D,
0-59 F. I especially reserve the right to consider borderline grades as falling
on either side of the divide that seems most appropriate given all grading
circumstances (i.e., a 92.5 or even a 92.9 cannot automatically be assumed to
round up, though I may determine that a student's overall performance may
warrant such rounding). Consult me about your progress in seemingly nebulous
areas such as class participation, etc. I am always available for questions
about your grade, even though you may not see it posted in the Blackboard
grading system. I do not post grades on that system because I do not like the
grading system tabulation format.
Other
Expectations:
You
may need to spend 2-4 hours outside of class for every hour in class (8-16
hours per week). Foreign languages often require significant preparation time
if you want to do well. Because we meet four times per week, you will have
significant amounts of time to ask questions of me and work
with peers in class and out of class.
Suggestions for Success:
1) ALL written work to be turned in for a grade must be
pledged with an affirmation of your adherence to the Student Academic Honesty
Code as described at
this site.
2) Make sure that you regularly consult your binghamton.edu
email and Blackboard, as these are the most efficient ways for me to
disseminate information to everyone enrolled in this class.
3) My only real pet peeves in classroom demeanor are CELL
PHONES and OTHER DEVICES used to access SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES or the WWW
(turn them off, unless they are required for class work from online exercises),
chronic tardiness, sleeping in class, and not informing me and others affected
if you have a schedule problem.
4) I guess the next closest thing to a peeve is my
frustration with being unable to read the minds of completely silent
students. Part of the joy of the classics is sharing what you think about
it - whether good or bad. There's always something that deserves discussion,
and the whole class can benefit from your insights. And (this is the lesson
I've had to learn over time), if you're a natural talker, know when to balance
your contribution with that of those around you. Be sensitive to the silences
that sometimes occur - someone may be thinking deeply. I have toyed with the
idea of using email chat rooms to help out those who are more inclined to
silence, but I continue to believe that oral human communication is a most
valuable gift and tool for all aspects of modern life, just as it was for the
even more orally oriented cultures of the ancient world.
5) Keep on your syllabus. This class will allow little time
for catching up if you fall behind. The syllabus/daily assignments
offers a guide and a goal. If you find yourself unable to get through
the assigned readings and exercises, let's discuss it as a group or
individually - work with others, divide the load and then make sure you teach
each other. I prefer to have a plan, and try to find the best way to get there.
CHECK YOUR SYLLABUS FREQUENTLY FOR ANY CHANGES I MAY NEED TO MAKE ALONG THE
WAY.
6) Bring all the appropriate books each day they are
required by the syllabus (to be safe bring BOTH books EVERY day). Try to mark
up your book as little as possible with answers, but often with extra info that
helps you understand. On longer readings, such as passages, do not bring your
fully written translations into class with you and read from them (I had to be
broken from this habit 1st term freshman year by being called down in class. It
worked). Show that you understand what you read or that you have questions
about what you read. Make vocabulary and grammar notes while you read, and you
can bring that to class with you if necessary. Rereading through an assignment
shortly after leaving class is the absolute best way to see if you really
understood what was going on with the changes suggested there. Nothing is worse
than recalling the incorrect interpretation that you worked so hard on before
class better than the corrected interpretation or deeper interpretation that
you take away after class simply because you spent so much more time on the
former and not enough time on the latter.
7) Extra Credit - fuhgeddaboutit!!
(Someone burned me long ago abusing extra credit. I'm afraid there is no
antidote for my allergic reaction to requests for extra credit). On the other
hand, you get personal extra credit for every thing you learn above and beyond
the call of absolute duty, so look at the bigger picture.
8) Final Grades are an assessment of your whole performance.
I like to create many components to a grade as an evaluation of a complete
student. I tend not to curve individual assignments (unless something is
clearly wrong with the grading apparatus) in order to preserve my overall sense
of student performance and aptitude for the assignment of the more important
final grade. I do consider improvements in problem areas as part of what shows
your increased aptitude.
9) Enjoy learning Latin. Let's make our time in class
productive, but also, as often as possible, interesting, enjoyable and thought-
provoking. We will talk frequently about the way Romans and Greeks thought and
lived to try to understand what they are saying to us. We will not sit in a
dull translation session 4 days per week. We will change exercises and engage
in discussion of ideas often.
Pursuant to this end, please feel free within reason
to bring coffee or other legal stimulants (and I mean those legal in the state
of New York!) for our sessions - we will agree to meet in locations other than
the room when weather and lesson needs permit - Latin and Greek schools often
met in a stoa/basilica or under a tree, in the open
air - we should do no less.
10) One day there may be a suggestion 10, but right now, I
don't have one and there were 9 Muses, so we will leave an ennead of sage
Starks suggestions for student success - maybe suggestion 10 should be to
practice saying that 10 times fast.