LAN301: Language and Culture in Late Republican Rome (Advanced)
Key details
| Accredited towards | Diploma of Classical Languages |
| Unit type | Elective unit |
| Credit points | 6 |
| Indicative contact hours | 3 hours per week |
| Prerequisites | See below |
| Offered in | Semester 1 |
| Tuition fee | Learn more |
Overview
The great flowering of Roman literature begins in the first century before Christ, coinciding with the period known as “the Late Republic” (the hundred or so years beginning c.133 BC). In this unit students read from the literature of selected texts of Latin authors of the period. Examples of authors whose works might be studied are: Cicero, Caesar, Lucretius, Sallust, Catullus. Themes covered may include, but are not limited to: Rome and her empire; the Republic and the dynasts; high society and government; the duties of a citizen; leisure and duty. Students engage in close reading of ancient texts both as an end in itself, as well as to consolidate knowledge acquired in earlier units.
Learning outcomes
On completion of the unit students will have:
- An understanding of how to translate syntactically complex texts from Latin, and the problems involved in the ‘translation’ of texts.
- An understanding of the relation between language and culture, and between grammar and interpretation.
- An understanding of how to apply evidence from beyond the text, in order to interpret it successfully, and some understanding of the evidence pertaining to the texts being studied.
- A basic understanding of the principles of Latin prosody and the ability to identify the effect of metre in some cases.
- The ability to participate confidently and effectively in group work, contributing with clarity and coherence.
Prerequisites
Students may enrol in LAN301 if they have completed LAN204. Otherwise they may only enrol if they have a sufficiently advanced, and demonstrable, knowledge of Latin sufficient for this unit.
Interested in other Latin units?
LAN101: Classical Latin I
LAN102: Classical Latin II
LAN203: Classical Latin III
LAN204: Classical Latin IV
LAN301: Language and Culture in Late Republican Rome
LAN302: Pagans and Christians from Augustus to Augustine
LAN305: The Eternal City from Paganism to Christianity
LAN311: Virgil
LAN312: Cicero