Latin 102
12:50-1:40 Lafayette 202

Syllabus

Professor Jacques A. Bailly
Classics Dept.
481 Main St., Room 300
656-0993
jacques.bailly@uvm.edu Classics Home
Office Hours: Wed. 10:30-12:30.

This syllabus is posted on the web at: http://www.uvm.edu/~jbailly/courses/
DO NOT USE A PAPER PRINTOUT OF THE SCHEDULE: bookmark it on your computer. The syllabus may change slightly on occasion. The one on the web is authoritative and an obsolete printed one is no excuse.

 Schedule:
  1. Jan. 14 M
  2. 16 W
  3. 18 F
  4. 23 W
  5. 25 F
  6. 28 M
  7. 30 W (Prof. Bailly in Korea)
  8. Feb. 1 F (Prof. Bailly in Korea)
  9. 4 M (Prof. Bailly in Korea)
  10. 6 W(Prof. Bailly in Korea)
  11. 8 F
  12. 11 M
  13. 13 W
  14. 15 F
  15. 20 W
  16. 22 F
  17. 25 M
  18. 27 W
  19. Mar. 1 F
  1. Mar. 11 M
  2. 13 W
  3. 15 F
  4. 18 M
  5. 20 W
  6. 22 F
  7. 25 M
  8. 27 W
  9. 29 F
  10. Apr. 1 M
  11. 3 W
  12. 5 F
  13. 8 M
  14. 10 W
  15. 12 F
  16. 15 M
  17. 17 W
  18. 19 F
  19. 22 M
  20. 24 W
  21. 26 F
  22. 29 M
  23. May 1 W
  24. FINAL
Procedure:
Every Day, we will read the poetic bit for the day as well as the thought for the day. Then we will go on to cover some of the assigned passage(s).

Assigned Passages: You will have a few lines a day which you must be ready to explain to us all thoroughly by answering our questions and leading us through it.
You should take notes and ask questions about texts that were not assigned to you, because you are nonetheless responsible for them for the various opportunities you will have to show off your newfound knowledge (aka "midterm" or "final" exams).

Google Documents Homework:
1. Please ask each other questions about your "assigned passages." You must ask two questions per class session (except before and after exams). The questions should be grammatical, nuts-and-bolts things about the text. For example, "why is Prisco dative?" or "Why is that subjunctive?" or "What does this clause really mean and how does it work grammatically."
Please ask your questions by noon of the day after each class, so that your classmates have a chance to respond.
2. Please attempt to answer the questions your classmates ask you.
Please do so before I get to my office the day of the class session. I usually get to my office around 8 or 8:30.

Grades: The usual thing: 91-100 = A, 81-90 = B, 71-80 = C, etc. Plus and minus for upper and lower three percent of each range.
Midterm(s) and Final  and Project= 80% of grade (20% each)
Daily questions and answers = 20%.

Midterm and Final: It seems to me that there ought to be two midterms and a final. Miss one, get a zero, unless you have a good reason AND arrange it with me at least a week before the exam.

Project?
Do you have ambitions? A project you are interested in? An assignment you liked a lot that you would like to do again? Let me know. I'll come up with some sort of project for us to do even if you don't have any suggestions. It will be due later in the semester. It should be the equivalent of maybe 10 pages of writing.
If we

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)