Classics 111: Latin for Beginners

Extended Format Syllabus 2001-2002

Prof. Owen Cramer
Armstrong 130 x6443 ocramer@coloradocollege.edu
Office hours commonly 2-4 pm

General Information:

This is an 8-block, one-unit course. We will start by meeting at 8 am, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, including the last Monday of each block. The time could change if we agree that something else is better. A lot of independent work will be required: 3 hours a week of meeting will be supplemented by 5-10 hours on your own. Your time commitment will change block by block, and of course the demands of block-courses will take precedence. Consider use of the P-track (pass/no credit) instead of letter grades, if you have any doubts about your commitment or your ability to do work up to your usual standard in these conditions.

Why study Latin:

It’s the historic basis for formal English, and will teach you (1) a lot of basic vocabulary, (2) formal grammar including

the important concept of parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection
verb conjugation (tense/aspect, mood, voice, person)
noun declension (case grammar)
the syntax of complex sentences (subject-verb agreement, rules for subordination, sequence of moods and tenses, indirect statements and conditions)

and (3) a Roman and classical layer of English-speaking culture that you may not now be very conscious of.

The textbook:

Frederic Wheelock’s Latin, originally published in 1956, 6^th ed. updated by Rick LaFleur and Paul Comeau, HarperCollins paperback listing at $20, $16 plus shipping at Amazon . It has a workbook for $17 or $13.60 plus at Amazon, if you feel the need for that . Online helps include exercises at McMaster U. and a study guide by Dale Grote at the Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong.

Schedule:

Wheelock has 40 chapters, including nouns and indicative verbs in the first half and the subjunctive and complex syntax in the second half. We’ll try to do 5 chapters a block, which looks simple: Monday and Wednesday on the first chapter, Friday and Monday on the next, Wednesday and Friday on the third, Monday and Wednesday on the fourth, Friday and Monday on the last, and the break to catch up. The first two blocks are a drop-add period, so we’ll have to allow for catching up during that time—and you should know how committed you are by the first day of block 3, Monday October 29. Under extraordinary circumstances, I’ll let you drop the course later than that, but don’t push it.