LAT 2200: Latin, Intermediate
Professor Jacques A. Bailly
Classics Dept.
231 Old Mill
jacques.bailly@uvm.edu
Office Hours: TR 1-2
jacques.bailly@uvm.edu
This syllabus is posted on the web . Any paper
syllabus you hold in your hand should be thrown away: it is
not the official syllabus. The official syllabus is on-line.
If I have to change it, I will announce the changes in class
once and will put up the new version on the web, which is the
official syllabus.
Attendance Policy: Come to class. In my experience, in a
course like this, missing classes will set you back a lot and harm
your grade a lot.
Texts:
All texts for this class are available on-line and
linked to schedule.
Grades: I am required to determine and record them, but
they are all yours. You get what you earn. 91-100%=A, 81-90%=B,
71-80%=C, 61-70%=D, 60% or lower fails. Plus and minus will be
given for the top three and bottom three points of each range
respectively.
| Graded Elements of this Course |
Homework
|
15%
|
2 Midterms and a Final
|
15% each
|
Project
|
20%
|
Presentation
|
15%
|
Daily Comments
|
5%
|
Procedure:
We go through the Latin and the exercises aloud in
class.
You hand the exercises in.
Daily Comments and Homework: Every day in class, formulate a
question or comment and write it on your homework, if we have
homework to hand in, at the end of class. If we don't have homework
to hand in, write it on a sheet of paper and hand it in. Three of
these will be dropped, so you can miss three and it will not affect
your grade. These serve as attendance.
Homework will not always be corrected in detail, but will be checked
for completeness. Doing it gets full credit.
MIDTERMS AND FINAL will include material from homework.
Grades: 91-100 = A, 81-90 = B, 71-80 = C, etc. Plus and minus
for upper and lower three percent of each range.
Midterms and Final: Various versions of the homework
exercises plus translation of texts.
Project: You need to think of a project and do it. You will
make a proposal to me, which we will then discuss and finalize.
Presentation: You need to present on some recent (last 30
years) academic topic centered on Latin (i.e. you read a scholarly
article, a scholarly book chapter: something you find in Howe
Library will usually be fine) and present it to the class. Find
something on JSTOR or on the shelves of Howe that is of interest to
you on a relevant Latin topic, write up bullet-pointed notes on it,
and present it orally to the class (5 minute presentation with
visual aid/handout and notes to be posted online). Get Bailly's
approval of your chosen reading!
Other Things: Unless you have a regularly scheduled
class or practice that conflicts, you will enjoy attending Latin Day
and the Classics Dept. Honors Day and Homer-a-thon. These are not
mandatory and not for credit, but they are important.
Human Concern For You
and Your Fellow Students:
College is often a high-stress, confusing, and even dangerous
experience. Not just college. Life is. If you see someone whom you
suspect is in a place where help is needed, don't hesitate to let me
know. I can and will find someone who can try to help them in a
constructive, non-punitive, non-blaming way. Myself, I am just not
equipped to help in most cases, but I know folks who are and I know
how to get help where it is needed. I am talking about things like
depression, suicide, violence, self-destructive behavior, drugs,
alcohol, abuse, crime, etc. While I have no interest and you
probably should not tell me about your various irresponsible
escapades, I do want to know if there is a need for help. Don't
regret not saying something afterwards.
This Class and Your Future
Literature, philosophy, history, and human thought in general
should play a strong role in the rest of your life, and your time in
college should plant seeds that grow into lifelong interests and
passions. But occasionally, students want to know about jobs,
careers, and such. I'm an academic, and I believe that a class like
mine should never stoop to usefulness: there are much, much more
important and lofty goals, having to do with meaningfulness, truth,
beauty, and human fulfilment. And yet, I am told that the skills one
gains in the humanities are essential and important in the
workplace, so much so that you are more likely to be successful in a
career with a liberal arts background than most others. I urge you
to go to the Career Center and avail yourselves of their resources.
They won't do it for you, but they will support you, coach you,
point out opportunities, and help you as much as they can to
successfully navigate the passage from your sojourn in the groves of
academe to the land of salaries and billable hours.
An Excerpt from a memo sent
out by former-President Fogel (which sounds to me like Socrates'
message to Athens), adapted slightly:
Students: Set the bar high for yourselves by resolving to be
actively engaged in the process of your own educations.
Faculty: Meet students’ expectations of academic challenge,
intellectual excitement, and a University community that is
genuinely caring and dedicated to student success ... rededicate
yourselves to helping our students thrive and learn. We call on
faculty colleagues for academic rigor and a profound commitment to
students’ intellectual development.
From a UVM alumnus:
Education is not preparation for life; education is life
itself.
(John Dewey, UVM 1879)