Course Description from Catalogue: Books 7-12 of the AENEID describe the arrival in Italy of Aeneas and the Trojans and the war they must fight against the rugged peoples already occupying the land that they have been told is fated to be theirs. We will do close reading of most of these books in Latin (with the goal of improving each student's ability to read Latin quickly and with accuracy), and of the whole poem in English. By looking critically at the poem in its historical and literary context, we will try to determine what suggestions Vergil is making about war, heroism, the recent civil wars and accession to power of Augustus, and the strengths and weaknesses of the Roman state and people.
Latin assignments: About 200 lines a week of Latin for the first half of the term, and gradually more for the second half. Each student should come to each class prepared to translate and discuss any part of the assignment (asking to "pass" a couple of times during the term is OK--but save them for when you need them). Class discussion and translation will figure in grading. Any student having trouble reading the assignment carefully should talk to me; improving technique is a big goal of the course; see below. Try not to miss any classes; if you have compelling reasons, please tell me ahead of time, then find out from a classmate what we did and what was assigned.
Other assignments: A take-home self-timed translation exam after about a month, and a translation exam at or near the end of the term, perhaps take-home, but not cumulative. Short readings in Vergilian scholarship most weeks; also brief class reports on readings. Short (3-5 pp.) paper about 1/2 to 2/3 through the term, and final paper of 8-12 pp.
Methodological urgings: Try to split the Latin reading up into manageable chunks; working on it more than twice a week is almost mandatory. I suggest making vocabulary notes in a notebook rather than writing in your book; I also strongly discourage writing out a translation, which takes forever: try to read and reread. If you can go over the assignment a second time before class, try to notice what words you have to consult your notes for, and learn them. Vergil, like all authors, repeats words many times; hard work in September will make the rest of the term easier. Some like to put a dot in the dictionary for each word looked up: more than one dot means you'll save time by mastering the word. Try not to consult a translation, at least not until you've made a good effort: try to understand why a line gave you trouble, and look for that phenomenon later on. Mark impenetrable lines and ask about them in class (or--new suggestion--check the Perseus Vergil text). Rereading as much as you can as often as you can is strongly recommended and can be both very enjoyable and extremely good for your Latin.