Last updated: February 6, 2012

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Classics Section 
Major/Minor Programs in Classics at BGSU
Department of Romance and Classical Studies
Bowling Green State University


UPDATES: Verbal Nouns! Infinitives and supines here, gerunds (and gerundives) here. (2/6/12) 
 Ablativity! (2/6/12)
Here's that famous or infamous participle handout. (1/24/12)


Nero-Curia

 A ghostly image of Nero projected onto the outer wall of the Senate House in the Forum Romanum
Photo Copyright 2011 by JMP; all uses of any kind banned forever. But you could go there in summer and take your own pix.


LAT 2020/3620: Intermediate/Advanced Latin

Both sections: 10:30-11:20 MWF
Eppler North 304

LAT 3620 only: Wed. 12:30-1:20
222 Shatzel

Instructor:

James M. Pfundstein, Ph.D.
Shatzel 222
phone: 419-372-8278
e-mail: jmpfund@bgsu.edu
office hours: Tues./Wed. 12:30-1:20, or by appointment
web page: http://blogs.bgsu.edu/pfundblog/

Required Texts:
Warmington (ed.),  Suetonius: Nero (BCP)

A satisfactory Latin dictionary. (Traupman's New College Latin-English Dictionary has been ordered for the bookstore; see links for some electronic options.)

A satisfactory Latin grammar (Wheelock will do; see below for an electronic option or two.)

3620 only: Suetonius' De Poetis at the Latin Library


Online Resources:
The Perseus Project has a vast amount of useful resources for the Latinist; in addition to hypertexts and translations of Greek and Roman works (including Suetonius'), there's an e-version of Allen and Greenough's Latin Grammar, and a searchable edition of Lewis & Short, the best one-volume Latin dictionary. Unfortunately, it can be wonky and slow to connect--especially when you're in a hurry. Verbum sapienti sufficit.

But you can have an electronic version of Lewis and Short for your own use. It's part of the database of Diogenes, a freeware application for searching the TLG and PHI disks. If you don't know what those are, don't worry about it. The upshot is that you can use Diogenes as a standalone dictionary program, by far the best one out there (for Latin or for Greek).
http://www.dur.ac.uk/p.j.heslin/Software/Diogenes/

The Latin Library has free plain-text editions of Suetonius (and a lot else besides).

Smith's Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography (Anthon's revision) at Google Books.

Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (Anthon's revision) at Google Books

Versions of WORDS, a superb freeware program that parses and briefly defines Latin words, can be downloaded (for Mac OS X, for Windows of various flavors, DOS, LINUX and OS/2) can be downloaded from the developer's web-page. (You have to scroll down a bit.)
http://users.erols.com/whitaker/words.htm
An online version is available at Notre Dame, but is wonky and not necessarily reliable.
http://lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe

In case you're thinking, "I wish I could review that stuff in Wheelock"...
http://people.hofstra.edu/faculty/Ilaria_Marchesi/text/list_exercises.htm

Orbilius, a freeware program by Nick Lowe to help you practice conjugations and basic vocabulary (and which includes a Latin version of Hangman) can be found at:
http://www.sun.rhbnc.ac.uk/Classics/NJL/Latin/download.html

A DOS program for conjugating verbs can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/7182/latin.html

A Beta version of a Latin parsing/translating program (DOS/Windows type) can be found at:
http://www.levity.com/alchemy/latin/latintrans.html

There are some electronic vocabulary flashcards, a parsing program, and assorted other stuff (mostly for Mac) at William Harris' website:
http://community.middlebury.edu/~harris/SubIndex/classics.sub.html

The Ancient Library has a couple of superb public domain reference works in unusually useful on-line editions. There's a scan and an OCR text for each page of the original book; the editions are searchable and browsable:

Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1867)
http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/

Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1870)
http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-dgra/

[Sadly, these Ancient Library links seem to be dead. But I leave them up here in the hopes of a not-impossible resurrection.]

Grading:
Quizzes
Periodic review quizzes on history and/or grammar; may be in class or online via Blackboard. Loathesome, detestable Blackboard. Vile hideous scum-laden Blackboard. Grrrrrrrr. Blackboard. What was I talking about?
 15%
Participation
Students will hand in, at or before the beginning of class, a scan or photocopy of a good faith attempt at translating the day's assigned lines; the translation will be graded R/N. Absence from class = zero participation points for the day.
 15%
Midterms
Translation & parsing; possibly some sight-reading
(Monday, February 13; Monday, March 26)
 22.5% (each)
Final Exam
last class: Fri. April 27
or
official final time: Wed. May 2, 8:30-10:30
 25%

THE FINE PRINT:
No makeups given due to absence without prior arrangement with the instructor.
No one can pass the course without taking and passing the final examination.
No incompletes issued except for pressing reasons and by prior arrangement with the instructor.
"Even a potato in a dark cellar has a certain low cunning which serves him in excellent stead."--Butler, EREWHON
The instructor reserves the right to recognize significant improvement or decline in student performance when awarding final grades.
The maximum amount of extra credit which may count towards the final grade = 5% of the total course points.
The syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor; changes will be announced in class and posted on-line.

SCHEDULE

Ahem. Some of you remember last semester's fiasco and will understand my reluctance to post a hard-edged schedule here.

Suffice it to say: we'll cover a chapter (capitulum; the numbered sections in your text) of Suetonius per class session until Midterm 1. We'll cover a chapter and a half after that. We'll cover 2 chapters of Suetonius after Midterm 2.

There will be no class on Mon. January 16 (MLK jr. Day) or March 5-9 (Spring Break). I'm presenting a paper at the annual meeting of the Popular Culture Association in Boston, so I'll have to cancel at least one class in April, too, probably Fri. April 13.
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