OVERVIEW

The process by which Latin literature has been saved, the way the books we read today have come down to us, the methods of copying, all this is the subject of the Latin philology module, and more generally of the very subject of 'textual criticism'. The module will expose the problems related to the tradition of texts and the crucial questions of method that scholars have faced fin view of their preservation, reconstruction and correct reading.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching of Latin Philology aims to make students acquire a good knowledge of the history of the manuscript tradition and of textual criticism (from antiquity to the modern age) and, consequently, of all the tools of investigation useful to face in general ecdotic traditions and problems of Latin texts. At the end of the course the student will be able to read and analyze any critical apparatus, autonomously judging the publisher's choices, and to present a textual problem in a scientific and clear manner, describing and evaluating the solutions proposed for it. More specifically, they will be able to read and comment on the text and the apparatus addressed in class, and to apply the analysis and the appropriate critical-textual and exegetical methodology to them. 

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The Latin Philology module aims to provide students with a general knowledge of the discipline of philology, and for this reason it will be composed of a first institutional part and a second more specific one (based on the analysis of  very complex texts, still considered a training ground for philologists), and aimed at acquiring specific skills in processing and intervening on betrayed texts. In particular, the module aims to provide students with a good knowledge of the history of the manuscript tradition, from antiquity to the Renaissance, and of text criticism in the modern and contemporary age and, consequently, the awareness of the investigative tools useful for dealing with general traditions and ecdotic problems of Latin texts. The teacher will then propose a reading of the chosen text, specifically aimed at analyzing the many textual and exegetical problems that mark it. Through participation in teaching activities and individual study, the student will thus reach, at the end of the module, a good level of knowledge of the techniques of philology and at the same time the critical sense sufficient to understand the complexity linked to the idea of ​​"original text" ( and the problems related to this concept in any text, even outside of Latin literature). The student will therefore be able to read a text accompanied by apparatus, decrypt the apparatus itself, adequately understand the textual problems linked to a pericope of text, frame them, represent them and expose them to others.

The exam will consist of an oral test.

Oral test: It consists of an interview on the scheduled topics, aimed at ascertaining the candidate's preparation on the specific contents of the course (in particular, the candidate will be asked to discuss one or more philological cases presented during the course, also re-elaborating the teacher's explanations) and from the reading, translation and philological analysis of passages chosen from the complementary texts.

See also next window, Assessment Method

NB For students who have already the first 12 credits in L-FIL-LET/04 it is necessary to have previously passed a written translation test, held by Prof. Gabriella Moretti, or having passed the Final Test of the Advanced Translation Readership.

PREREQUISITES

A solid knowledge of the Latin language

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures in classroom. Participation to the classes is strongly encouraged.

NB Lessons will be held in presence. Attendance, although not compulsory, is highly  recommended.  Non-attending students MUST contact the teacher within the first week of the module.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Textual and interpretative problems in the eighth book of Apuleius' Metamorphoses

The Apuleian text presents a whole series of textual and interpretative problems that can be addressed and sometimes definitively resolved through the examination of the manuscript tradition, linguistic analysis, intertextual comparison and sometimes also through comparison with iconography. During the course, after a general methodological introduction, the problems presented by the eighth book will be addressed in particular, sometimes with some straying into the previous and subsequent books.

The monographic course and the discussion of the specific problems being selected will be accompanied by a series of other famous texts of Latin literature on which students will have to exercise their skills, through reading, translation, analysis and understanding of the text, apparatus and any textual problems (see texts/bibliography section).

Note: Non-attending students will refer to the same program as their attending colleagues.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) Monographic course:

The book VIII of Apuleius' Metamorphoses

Bibliografia: 

Apulei Metamorphoseon libri XI, recognovit brevique adnotatione critica instruxit M. Zimmerman, Oxford Classical Texts 2012 (libro VIII)

(the text is present in the Library and a copy will be made available to students by the teacher)

2) ADDITIONAL TEXTS:

a) Properzio, Elegie, vol. I (libri I-II), a cura di P. Fedeli, Milano, Mondadori, Collana Lorenzo Valla, 2021 (only the first book)

b) Tito Maccio Plauto, Casina, a cura di L. Montanari, Milano, Rusconi 2022

c) A selection of fragments of Ennius' Annales, made available to students by the teacher

Note: for the critical apparatus of additional texts, students will also be able to study critical editions available in the library, by agreement with the teacher.

d) Handbook: 

- Nigel G. Wilson, Leighton D. Reynolds, Copisti e filologi. La tradizione dei classici dall’antichità ai tempi moderni, Editrice Antenore (Medioevo e Umanesimo, 7), Roma-Padova 2016.

The syllabus will be the same for both attending and non attending students. However, non-attending students MUST contact the teacher within the first week of the module.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LARA PAGANI (President)

SERENA PERRONE

GABRIELLA MORETTI (President Substitute)

ALICE BONANDINI (Substitute)

ELENA DONADIO (Substitute)

ARIANNA FECIT (Substitute)

LISA LONGONI (Substitute)

BIAGIO SANTORELLI (Substitute)

DILETTA VIGNOLA (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Classes will start on Tuesday, February 18th, 2025 

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will consist of an oral test.

Oral test: It consists of an interview on the scheduled topics, aimed at ascertaining the candidate's preparation on the specific contents of the course (in particular, the candidate will be asked to discuss one or more philological cases presented during the course, also re-elaborating the teacher's explanations) and from the reading, translation and philological analysis of passages chosen from the complementary texts.

See also next window, Assessment Method

NB For students who have already 12 credits or more in L-FIL-LET/04, it is necessary to have previously passed a written translation test, held by Prof. Gabriella Moretti, or having passed the Final Test of the Advanced Translation Readership.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The assessment of the learning results acquired by the student takes place through an oral test in which not only the ability to express oneself correctly and properly, organizing a structured speech, but also the mastery of technical language and an adequate vocabulary are of great importance. The interview includes questions on the institutional part, on the monographic course, and the translation of passages from the Latin texts in the program. In particular, the understanding of the mechanisms and tools of text criticism and the ability to interpret a critical apparatus will be verified.

The preparation will be considered adequate if during the exam the student demonstrates the following skills: understanding of an apparatus; accurate and clear presentation of contents; articulated re-elaboration of the teaching contents; ability to identify textual problems and describe them; a good knowledge of the Latin language in its grammatical, syntactic and morphological aspects is taken for granted.

To achieve excellence requires, in addition to perfect mastery in these fields, also the ability to independently and critically elaborate the methodological problems of the discipline and the information offered by a critical edition (and therefore to choose or reject consciously give a lesson and/or discuss a conjecture, and justify this choice in a sensible and scientific way); Furthermore, the knowledge of the fundamental notions of prosody and metrics is considered already acquired, as well as correct reading in prose and metrics (limited to the meters provided by the program), as metrical problems usually are sufficient means to recognize textual problems.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Erasmus students not proficient in Italian may request a substitutive bibliography, and take the examination in English.

For students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (DSA):

Students with disabilities or DSA are reminded that in order to request adaptations during the exam, they must first enter the certification on the University website on the servizionline.unige.it page in the "Students" section. The documentation will be verified by the University's Services Sector for the inclusion of students with disabilities and DSA (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/structure/100111).

Subsequently, significantly in advance (at least 10 days) of the exam date, it is necessary to send an e-mail to the teacher with whom you will take the exam, inserting in copy copy both the teacher in charge of the School for the inclusion of students with disabilities and with DSA (contact email) is the sector indicated above. In the email you must specify:

the name of the course

the date of the appeal

the student's surname, first name and student number

the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional and required.

The contact person will confirm to the teacher that the applicant has the right to request adaptations during the exam and that these adaptations must be agreed with the teacher. The teacher will respond by communicating whether it is possible to use the requested adaptations.

Requests must be sent at least 10 days before the date of the exam in order to allow the teacher to evaluate the content. In particular, in the event that you intend to use concept maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for the study) if the sending does not respect the expected times there will not be the technical time necessary to make any changes.

For further information regarding the request for services and adaptations, consult the document:

https://unige.it/sites/unige.it/files/2024-05/Linee%20guida%20per%20la%20richiesta%20di%20servizi%2C%20di%20strumenti%20compensativi%20e_o%20di%20misure%20dispensative%20e%20di%20ausili%20specifici%20Maggio%202024.pdf