Global Arc

The subject matter of the course will vary from year to year, depending on the interests of the instructor and students. The reading may concentrate on one or more authors, a theme, a genre, a personality, or an event. Two 90-minute seminars.

A study of the two main philosophical schools of the Republic and Early Empire: Epicureanism and Stoicism. Readings (in Latin) will be selected from Lucretius, Cicero, and Seneca, supplemented by selections from Greek sources in English translation. Two 90-minute seminars.

Selections of historians' works are read that illustrate topics such as the historian's use of sources, historical outlook, narrative techniques, style, and reliability. Sample historians of the Republic who may be read are Livy, Sallust, and Caesar, depending on the interests of the instructor and students. Two 90-minute seminars.

A critical study of Latin fiction such as Petronius's Satyricon and Apuleius's Metamorphoses (Golden Ass). Although the chief emphasis will be on the literary aspects of these influential works, some attention will also be given to their value as social and religious documents of their time. Two 90-minute classes.

An examination of historians' approaches to history and their literary merits; sample historians to be surveyed include Tacitus, Suetonius, and Velleius Paterculus; sample topics to be covered include their views of autocracy (nature and effects) and of Roman civilization (value, influence, shortcomings). Two 90-minute classes.

Selected satires of Horace, Juvenal, and Persius are read. Classes emphasize translation, stylistic analysis, and explication of the texts. There are also reports on special topics such as the origins and development of satire at Rome, and at least one in-depth interpretation by each student of a selected individual passage. Two 90-minute seminars.

Selections from Latin elegy. Students will read the fourth book of Propertius and sections of Ovid's Fasti, together with other elegies. Focuses on the poetic presentation of the metropolis of Rome, its history, religion, and urban life. Two 90-minute classes.

In this class we will look at the Roman lawyers' shaping, even creation, of Roman law through consideration of a particular subject area: contracts, and especially contracts of sale. After consideration of some preliminary background matters (formation of the textual canon; outline of civil procedure), we will spend most of the semester working through key issues by discussion of specific cases (in roughly the fashion of modern law schools). Attention will be given to the substance of the law, the methods of the jurists discussing it, and the interaction with broader extra-legal features of the society.

Our goal is to strengthen and refine our grasp of Latin grammar and prose style. To this end, we shall read, analyze, and imitate masters of classical and late Latin prose. We shall also work through all or most of "Bradley's Arnold."

The class will focus on Petrarch's Latin works and the legacy of classical antiquity. The aim is to read select Latin works in the original. We will also look into Petrarch's personality as presented in his work, his belief in the moral and practical value of studying the classics, and his inspiring humanist philosophy more generally. There will be guest speakers.