Professor Jacques A. Bailly
Classics Dept.
481 Main St., Room 300
656-0993
jbailly@zoo.uvm.edu
Attendance: Required. Assignments must be handed in in person in class.
Texts: We will finish From Alpha to Omega, if necessary, begin a review (which will never end), and then we will begin the instructor's new book, A Commentary on Plato's Euthyphro and the Clitophon.
Substance:
This course has two complementary subject matters: the Ancient Greek language, and the Ancient Greek culture, specifically the philosophical literature of Plato, accessible through the language.
In our review, you will be given a new chance to master various patterns of Greek morphology. Take advantage of it!
In reading Plato, we will meet with ancient Greek in all its fully perverse glory. Revel in it!
Tests, Quizzes, and Exercises:
Expect quizzes or exercises that are to be handed in in class weekly. Make-ups or exemptions will not occur for anything (if exceptional circumstances arise, I will ask you to talk to the dean's office), and late assignments will not be accepted (the lowest three will, however, be dropped). There will be a final and a midterm.
Grades:
I never "give" grades. You earn them. I am, willingly if they are high, unwillingly if low, required to record them.
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, except an A+ is 99% or 100% (i.e. 98% is an A).
The quizzes/exercises will probably be about 40% of your grade, and the final and midterm about 20% each. My judgment of your preparation for class and attendance comprise the remaining 20% or thereabouts. These numbers are approximate. Your 2 slowest quiz grade will be dropped. Please keep a record of your grades (I suggest writing them on a sheet attached to the inside back cover of your text).
Extra credit: Memorize Greek poetry (the first lines of the Odyssey). You can earn up to 4% added to your final grade as follows. 1% will be given for every: 4 lines if you have a "D," 6 lines if you have a "C," 9 lines if you have a "B," 12 lines if you have an "A-," and 25 lines if you have an "A."
Contacting me: E-mail is best. You can also try dropping by my office. If it is not during office hours and I am there, I might be busy, so be ready to make an appointment for later.
My Philosophy: Greek is hugely difficult fun. We learn it for the sheer joy of learning, to sharpen our philological acumen, and for the thought and culture of Greece. It, like most humanities, has no use. Rather than stoop to usefulness, it makes life beautiful and interesting. Oh yes, it gets you into med school, law school, the higher echelons of society and the hallways of power, etc., but that's not a reason to study it.
Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.
(John Dewey, UVM 1879)