LAN312: Cicero
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 2 |
| Tuition fee | Learn more |
Overview
The Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) left behind a large body of work which can be divided as follows: speeches, works on rhetoric, philosophy, letters. In this unit students read in Latin a selected portion from a major work in one of these genres. They also read widely in English from related works. The course covers Cicero’s life and thought, especially his actions as Consul in 63 BC.
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 place of Cicero’s work in his career and a detailed knowledge of the text(s) prescribed.
- The ability to identify useful secondary sources, analyse them once identified, and then synthesise all sources for the successful interpretation of the text.
- The ability to express effectively this interpretation in writing.
- The ability to express this interpretation effectively as an oral contribution to peer-group discussion.
- The ability to recite accurately a passage of Cicero in Latin, with due regard for sound and sense.
Prerequisites
Students may enrol in LAN312 if they have completed any one of the following: LAN301, LAN302, LAN305, LAN306, LAN311. 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 Society in Late Republican Rome
LAN302: Pagans and Christians from Augustus to Augustine
LAN305: The Eternal City from Paganism to Christianity
LAN311: Virgil
LAN312: Cicero