Professor: Gregory S. Bucher

Office: HC 210, 280-3708

Email: bucher@creighton.edu

Course time and room: MWF 11:30-12:20, HC 307

Office hours: MWF 12:30-1:30 and by appointment.

Course description and goals: The course bulletin reads: "Presentation of sufficient material for exercising the finer points of Latin style.  Imitation of the masters of Latin style, especially Caesar, Cicero, and Vergil.  P: See notation under Latin heading."

Undergraduate composition is actually a rehearsal of Latin grammar and syntax. What was passive knowledge becomes active as you actually compose sentences: this is gruelling work but it repays the student (and teacher) with much enhanced Latin reading skills. The rules of syntax we will follow are those of the high classical period, in our case with a focus on the language as written by Caesar. In the end, the student will be expected to be able to turn out a grammatically correct paragraph-long passage of Latin from a text to be provided, obeying the grammatical and syntactical rules followed by Caesar.

Course text:

Latin Sentence and Idiom, by R. Colebourn (Bristol Classical Press, 1997), ISBN 0-86292-265-8.

Recommended texts (mandatory if you don't already possess them):

Greenough and Allen, A New Latin Grammar (Caratzas) ISBN 089-241-331-X.

Kidd, B.A. Collins Gem Latin Dictionary (HarperCollins) ISBN 000-470-763-X

Grading policy:

Class assignments and participation 70%

Final translation examination 30%

Notes on grading policy. Class participation is more important in this class than in any other class you will probably take as an undergraduate. You will prepare Latin sentences in accordance with the daily assignments given below. The sentences are due on the day they are listed. You will retain your assignments for the duration of the class, correcting them as required. At the end of the class, you will turn in the corrected assignments for grading. Participation will consist not only of attendance but also of your preparation and work in class. In class work consists of the presentation of your Latin sentences and the knowledgeable debate over the correction process. NB: All work presented for credit in this class must be typed! Corrections made in class with pen are of course OK.

The final examination will consist of an extended passage in English which you will render into the best Classical Latin you can achieve following the rules presented by Colebourn and myself. You will be graded primarily on the basis of correctness in grammar and syntax; some weight will be given to translations which manage to avoid stylistic ugliness as discussed in class.

Fine Print: Academic Honesty Policy. You may collaborate on your daily assignments to the extent of working on them together before class. In class, however, you are expected to work entirely on your own, from your own personally-typed assignment. In other words, you must know what you wrote and how you arrived at your translation from your own knowledge. Among the practices I wish to eliminate by this rule is the dividing up of the work among the students so that each only actively works through a portion of the whole assignment. I will knock your class grade down substantially if you cannot explain your reasoning on a given sentence. You are expected to know what constitutes academic dishonesty and plagiarism; Creighton University College of Arts and Sciences policies on academic honesty will be vigorously enforced. Unintentional breach of these policies will result in failure of the assignment in question, and intentional breach will result in failure of the course. For CreightonÕs current policy on academic honesty (with relevant definitions and procedures) see http://puffin.creighton.edu/ccas/FacStaff/polManual/polManual.htm.

Schedule of classes and assignments (NB: assignments are due on the day they are listed):

Note on schedule. Each chapter of Colebourn has groups of exercises designated "A", "B", and occasionally "C". Unless otherwise instructed, you are to complete the exercises designated "A" only. If section "A" is divided (as it occasionally is) into "Part I", "Part II", etc., you are to do all parts of the "A" exercises unless otherwise instructed.

Second Note: Colebourn has collected some extremely useful notes on sequence of tenses (p. 29) and conditions (p. 133) which are constantly useful.

AUGUST

[1]W. 27) Introductory Chapter, Chapter 1, Chapter 2.

Do the odd-numbered exercises in both chapters.

[2]F. 29) Chapters 3 and 4.

Odd-numbered exercises.

SEPTEMBER

M. 1) Labor Day

[3]W. 3) Chapters 5 and 6.

Odd-numbered exercises.

[4]F. 5. Chapters 7 and 8.

Odd exercises.

[5]M. 8) ) Chapter 9

All exercises

W. 10) Mass of the Holy Spirit. No class.

[6]F. 12) Chapters 10 and 11

Odd exercises.

[7]M. 15) Chapter 13

All exercises.

[8]W. 17) Chapter 14

All exercises.

[9]F. 19) Chapter 15

All exercises.

[10]M. 22) Chapter 16

All exercises.

[11]W. 24) Chapters 17 and 18

Odd exercises.

[12]F. 26) Chapter 19

All exercises.

[13]M. 29) Chapter 20

All exercises.

OCTOBER

[14]W. 1) Chapters 21 and 22

Odd exercises.

[15]F. 3) Chapter 23

All exercises.

[16]M. 6) Chapters 25 and 26

Odd exercises.

[17]W. 8) Chapter 27

All exercises.

[18]F. 10) Chapter 28

All exercises.

[19]M. 13) Chapters 29 and 30

Odd exercises.

[20]W. 15) Chapter 31

All exercises.

[21]F. 17) Chapter 32

All exercises.

M. 20) Fall Break

W. 22) Fall Break

F. 24) Fall Break

[22]M. 27) Chapters 33 and 34

Odd exercises.

[23]W. 29) Chapter 35

All exercises.

[24]F. 31) Chapter 37

All exercises.

NOVEMBER

[25]M. 3) Chapters 38 and 39

Odd exercises.

[26]W. 5) Chapter 40

All exercises.

[27]F. 7) Chapters 41 and 42

Odd exercises.

[28]M. 10) Chapter 43
All exercises.

[29]W. 12) Chapter 44

All exercises.

[30]F. 14) Chapter 45

All exercises.

[31]M. 17) Chapter 46

All exercises.

[32]W. 19) Chapter 47

All exercises.

[33]F. 21) Chapter 49

All exercises.

[34]M. 24) Chapter 50

All exercises.

W. 26) Thanksgiving Break

F. 28) Thanksgiving Break

DECEMBER

[35]M. 1) Chapter 51 and 52

Odd exercises.

[36]W. 3) Chapters 53 and 54

Odd exercises.

[37]F. 5) Chapter 55

All exercises.

[38]M. 8) Chapter 56

All exercises.

[39]W. 10) Chapter 57

All exercises.

[40]F. 12) Chapters 58 and 59 PICK UP FINAL.

Odd exercises.

W. 17) 10:00 a.m. FINAL TRANSLATION DUE

IN HC 210 or with Mrs. Minear.