OVERVIEW

The course intends to introduce  students to an in-depth analysis at a specialistic  level of history, themes and texts of Latin literature.

AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course the student must have acquired the methodologies and tools to deal directly, on a specialized level, the interpretation and analysis of Latin texts, on the linguistic, metric, stylistic, rhetorical, thematic, historical and literary level, with particular attention to the evolution of literary genres in the history of Latin literature.

PREREQUISITES

A solid knowledge of the Latin language and a competence in metrics (hexameter and pentameter) is required and, from the students who have not taken the test in the three-year degree in the last 4 years, it is required to pass a Preliminary written Translation Test from Latin (information on this should be requested from Prof. Lara Nicolini, who takes care of the test).

Please note that to facilitate the preparation of solid grammatical bases and for the preparation of the Preliminary written Translation Test, during the first and second semester Latin Lectorates for beginners, intermediate and advanced are activated, open to all students, (see more details in the field FURTHER INFORMATION).

All students on the course are required to enroll in Aulaweb.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures, and possibly seminar discussion based on papers produced by the students

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

A very dangerous journey: the eighth book of Apuleius' Metamorphoses

In the eighth book of the Metamorphoses the tragic conclusion of the story of Charis and Tlepolemus is narrated, in which the structural and detailed parallels with the Greek tragedy are not accidental. Following the change of masters, the house servants then flee, dragging with them our hero, Lucio transformed into a donkey, loaded with luggage. At this point Apuleius' story follows the escape of the slaves, which takes the form of a perilous journey through desolate territories, risky both when they are uninhabited and when our travelers encounter villages. In the end Lucio is sold to some grotesque of the goddess Syria (this is the first of the subsequent sales suffered in the next book by our hero, who every time he changes masters decreases in price, resulting more and more shabby) and continues with them a continuous wandering that again makes him risk death. The odeporic structure of the book makes it similar to the analogous structure of many Greek novels of love and adventure, but at the same time represents a unicum whose structure will be carefully analyzed during the course.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Monographic course:

1) Apuleio, Le Metamorfosi, a cura di Lara Nicolini, BUR 2005 (in latin original only the book VIII, in italian or english translation all the novel).

Supplementary texts (individual preparation by the students):

2) Orazio, Satire,a cura di Mario Labate, BUR 1994 (Book I, satires 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10).

3) Catullus, a choice of carmina:

1; 3; 5; 13; 42 = Phalaecian endecasyllable

4 = Iambic trimeters

8 = Choliambs

11; 51 = Sapphic stanza

Bibliography:

Catullo, I Canti, intr. e note di A. Traina, trad. di E. Mandruzzato, Milano, BUR; or Catullo, Le poesie, a cura di F. Della Corte, Milano, Mondadori (Fondazione Lorenzo Valla) 1977.

4) Horatius, a choice of Odes:

1,1 = Minor Asclepiads

1,11 = Greater Asclepiads

4,1= Glyconic + Asclepiad

2,3; 4,9; 4,15 = Alcaic stanza.

Bibliography: Orazio, Odi ed epodi, intr. di A. Traina, Milano, BUR 1985.

Non-attending students will integrate the program with S. Boldrini, La prosodia e la metrica dei Romani, Roma, Carocci, 1998, and with the material uploaded on Aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ALICE BONANDINI (President)

LARA NICOLINI

VALTER LAPINI (President Substitute)

SILVIA SPERIANI (President Substitute)

BIAGIO SANTORELLI (Substitute)

DILETTA VIGNOLA (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons will start on Monday 20th september

The timetable of the lessons (attention: it is still a provisional timetable !!!) will be the following:

Monday, 15.00-17.00, room 2

Tuesday, 11.00-13.00, room 2

Thursday, 11.00-13.00, room 6

Friday, 15.00-17.00, room 6

The lessons will be held in the presence, with the possibility for students to follow even at a distance.  The Teams channel code used for the lessons will be: hhsri2w
Attendance to classes and participation in activities are highly recommended. 

If it will not be possible to have lessons in person, the Teams channel code used for the lessons will be: hhsri2w

The code used for the Reception (which can take place remotely, by appointment to be booked via email) will be: pq1sosu

It is expected that the Course, except for unforeseen events, will end around the end of October, since Prof. Moretti, starting from November 1st, will go on a sabbatical year.

Class schedule

LATIN LITERATURE (LM)

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam possibly preceded by a seminar work presented orally and delivered in written form to the teacher during the course.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The exam will first examine the student's competences regarding the Latin language, and will focus in particular on the ascertainment of linguistic, stylistic, metrical, rhetorical and interpretative skills through the translation and exegesis of the Latin texts in the program. Part of the evaluation will also be based on possible seminar work exposed by the students during the course.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attendance is strongly recommended: an active class attendance, with preparation of the pieces from time to time addressed, will be evaluated during the exam.

Those who for serious reasons could not attend should contact the teacher within the first month of the course, so that they can be put in contact with their attending colleagues.

For students with linguistic problems, the following will be activated:

1) a 60-hour basic Latin Lectorate for absolute beginners, held in the first semester by Prof. Maria Rosaria Di Garbo (organized by the Cultural Heritage Course, but open and highly recommended also for students of all Degree Courses) , to be integrated with the help of language tutors for practical exercises and their correction.

2) a 45-hour intermediate Latin Lectorate (syntax), held in the second semester by Prof. Maria Rosaria Di Garbo, to be integrated with the help of language tutors for practical exercises and their correction.

3) a 30-hour translation Workshop organized in the first semester by Dr, Alice Bonandini, compulsory for classicists who had not passed the entrance test consisting of a version from Latin (but VERY HIGHLY recommended to ALL classicists), and also open to all interested modernists, in particular to pass the preliminary test of Translation from Latin.

All students are required to register for Aulaweb in time for the start of the course.