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updated: 08/05/04
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updated: 08/05/04
Roman Novel Professor Ortwin Knorr Professor Mary Bachvarova The Greek and Roman
erotic novels were the ancient equivalent of pulp fiction. The Latin
examples that survive, however, the (liber) Satyricon ("Satyr
Stories") by T. Petronius Arbiter (? – 66 AD) and the
Metamorphoses ("Transformations") or Asinus
Aureus ("Golden Ass") by Apuleius of Madaura (c. 125
– c. 190 AD), are literary masterpieces that belong to the
most entertaining and sophisticated works in the Latin language.
In this advanced reading course, we will read large selections of
both works in the original and the rest in translation. By the end
of the semester, you will have reached a new level of fluency in
Latin, will be familiar with two highly influential literary classics,
and will have gained an overview of the current research on the
Roman novel. For Apuleius,
there are also several good sites: Apuleius of Madaura (?),
(LATIN 391 - Fall Semester 2004)
Tu 1:50-2:50pm, Th 9:10-10:10am, Eaton 108
Classical Studies Program
Classical Studies Program
Email: oknorr@willamette.edu
Phone: x6029
Mailbox: 107 Eaton
Office Hours: W 11:30-12:30pm, Th 10:20-11:20am
and by appointment, 306 EatonEmail:mbachvrr@willamette.edu
Phone: x6984
Mailbox: 107 Eaton
Office Hours: W 4:00 pm-5:00 pm
and by appointment, 305 Eaton
Tenor
Randall Powell singing the
role of Trimalchio in Lisa Scola Prosek's "Satyricon" (Act
1), performed in San Francisco, August 2003
Prerequisites: Latin 232 or
equivalent, or permission of instructor.
Required Textbooks:
Gilbert Lawall (ed.). Petronius: Selections from the Satyricon.
3rd revised edition, Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci,
1995. ISBN 0-86516-288-3 ($22.00, pb).
Sarah Ruden (transl.). Petronius, Satyricon. Indianapolis:
Hackett Publishing, 2000.
ISBN 0-87220-510-X
($ 10.95, pb).
James S. Ruebel (ed.). Apuleius, The Metamorphoses, Book I. Wauconda,
IL: Bolchazy-Carducci,
2000. ISBN 0-86516-484-3
($15.00, pb).
William N. Turpin (ed.). Apuleius, Metamorphoses: Book III.
Bryn Mawr Commentaries.
Bryn Mawr, 2002.
ISBN 0929524985 ($ 7.95, pb).
Jack Lindsay (transl.). The Golden Ass of Apuleius. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1962
ISBN 0253200369 ($ 10.95,
pb).
John Traupman, The Bantam New College Latin & English Dictionary.
New York:
Bantam Books, 1995.
ISBN: 0-553-57301-2 ($ 5.99, pb).
Charles Bennett, New Latin Grammar. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci,
2000
(repr. of 1908
ed.). ISBN: 0-86516-261-1 ($ 24.00, pb).
Schedule:
Click here
for a schedule of the first (Petronian) half of the semester.
Attendance:
Regular attendance is important for your success in this (as in
any other) class. Absences will be reflected in your final grade,
and you will not be able to discuss the assigned readings at the
same level as the rest of the class. If you need to miss class for
legitimate reasons (illness, exams, athletics, etc.), please inform
me per email as soon as possible. Please note that it is your responsibility
to get homework assignments from your classmates if you miss class.
Reports:
For every class, one student will function as a living commentary.
Be prepared to summarize for our benefit the contents of the appropriate
section of the commentary and to answer questions about the grammar
and syntax of your assigned passage.
Over the course of the semester,
you will also be asked to select three relevant scholarly articles
or book chapters (i.e., approximately one per month) and summarize
and critique their argument in a few sentences (not more than
1 page). Create a handout with your summary and distribute it to
everyone in class. At the end of class, turn in a copy of your handout
together with a copy of the article. Literature that you order through
JSTOR, Summit or inter-library loan is worth an extra bonus point.
A good starting resource for Petronius is online:
http://www.chss.montclair.edu/classics/petron/PSNNOVEL.HTML.
bibliography: http://www.unii.it/ricerca/ist/anc_hist/online/apuleio/apucover.html
general information: http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/jod/apuleius
text of Metamorphoses (not searchable): http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/apuleius.html
A good place to find scholarly articles online is the database
JSTOR that you can reach
from the Hatfield Library's homepage under Databases:
http://library.willamette.edu/webstation/dblist/alpha/
Finally, there will be a bibliography of Petronius on reserve
that lists most of the scholarly literature available for each chapter
of Petronius (M.S. Smith. "Petronius: A Bibliography 1945-1982,"
in Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt II.32.3
(1985): 1628-65).
panel from the ceiling of a 4th
century AD Roman palace found
under the cathedral in Trier
(Bischöfliches Museum Trier).
For more on the identification,
click here.
Midterm Exam:
There will be a two-hour midterm on Thursday, October 21, 2004.
The midterm will present you
with an unseen, but sufficiently annotated passage from Petronius'
Satyricon. You will be asked to translate this passage into idiomatic
English and to describe its context and importance in the book.
In addition, there will be questions regarding Petronian grammar and/or
stylistics.
Final Exam:
Your final exam will be divided into 3 sections:
I. choice of one of 2 seen passages of Apuleius to translate
II. choice of one out of 2 seen passages from Petronius, to comment
on
III. choice of one out of 2 seen passages from Apuleius, to comment
on
In sections II and III, you will draw on the secondary sources you
have read in the class, the reports given by other students on secondary
sources, and your reading of the primary sources in translation to
discuss a selected passage which you have read in the original, putting
it in context of the work as a whole, relating it to key themes running
through the work, comparing it to the other author, and making clear
the relevant issues of interest to the scholarly community.
The final exam will take place on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2004,
from 9-11 am.
Honor Code:
All members of this class agree to be bound by an honor code. As a
matter of practice, that means that you do not cheat on quizzes or
exams. Collaboration on homework is fine, even encouraged, as long
as all members of a collaborative effort work equally. Simply copying
the homework of a classmate does you absolutely no good and would
in my view constitute a violation of the honor code.
Grading Policy:
Your grade for the course will be based on:
• your class participation and attendance (20%)
• reports (40%)
• a midterm exam (20%), and
• a final exam (20%)
Please note the following important dates:
October 22 (Fri) Mid-Semester
Day - no class
November 25 (Th) - 28 (Sun) Thanksgiving
Break - no class
December 10 (Fri) Last
Day of Regular Classes
December 16 (Th) Final
Exam 9:00-11:00 am, Eaton 108