Masterpieces of Latin Literature 03-AP-LTM

Course learning content:
- "Roman" elements in Latin Literature,
- lyric poetry: Catullus, Horace and Ovid,
- epic poetry: Vergil's "Aeneid" and Ovid's "Metamorphoses",
- drama: Seneca's "Phadra" and Plautus' "Pseudolus",
- novel: Petronius' Satyricon,
- interactions of genres, recurrent themes, motifs and ideas,
- the afterlife of Roman literary masterpieces.

Module learning aims

Course aims: - to gain knowledge about the most prominent literary works of ancient Rome (drama, epic and lyric poetry, novel) and their sociocultural and historical context, - to gain knowledge about the particular character of the ancient Roman literature, its transmission and (selected) reception in later European culture, - to develop research skills in the field of diverse levels of intertextual relationships: genres, motifs, and selected problems, - to develop the ability to read a Classical text (in translation) with a broader context and with aid of (selected) modern research on literary studies.

Methods of teaching for learning outcomes achievement

Lecture with a multimedia presentation, interactive lecture, discussions, text-based work, creative methods.

Student workload (ECTS credits)

Module type

elective

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences

General familiarity with antiquity and mythology.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this course, a student will be able to:
- characterize the masterpieces of Roman literature and evaluate its outstanding artistic features,
- be aware of the particular problems of production transmission, edition, and translation of ancient literature,
- see the influence of social and political situation on form and content of masterpieces of Roman literature,
- see and evaluate the interactions between genre, theme, composition and register in a given literary work,
- see and evaluate the evolution of aesthetics, images, and ideology against the background of their times,
- account for the contribution of ancient literature and culture into the formation and development of modern literature and culture.

Assessment criteria

Grade system:

very good (bdb; 5,0): very good knowledge and understanding of intertextual relationships in ancient literature; ability to provide examples; very high skill at critical reading and at evaluating the influence of antiquity, as well as its role in individual works; very good knowledge of relationships of subject matter, ideas and genre obtaining in ancient literature.

good plus (+db; 4,5): as above, except for minor inefficiencies and inaccuracies.

good (db; 4,0): good knowledge and understanding of intertextual relationships in ancient literature; ability to provide examples; rather high skill at critical reading and at evaluating the influence of antiquity, as well as its role in individual works; good knowledge of relationships of subject matter, ideas and genre obtaining in ancient literature.

satisfactory plus (+dst; 3,5): satisfactory knowledge and understanding of intertextual relationships in ancient literature; ability to provide examples; satisfactory skill at critical reading and at evaluating the influence of antiquity, as well as its role in individual works; satisfactory knowledge of relationships of subject matter, ideas and genre obtaining in ancient literature.

satisfactory (dst; 3,0): basic knowledge and understanding of intertextual relationships in ancient literatures; ability to provide examples; basic skill at critical reading and at evaluating the influence of antiquity, as well as its role in individual works; basic knowledge of relationships of subject matter, ideas and genre obtaining in ancient literature.

unsatisfactory (ndst; 2,0): unsatisfactory knowledge and understanding of intertextual relationships in ancient literature; unsatisfactory skill at critical reading and at evaluating the influence of antiquity, as well as its role in individual works; unsatisfactory knowledge of relationships of subject matter, ideas and genre obtaining in ancient literature.

Bibliography

Reading list:
Ancient texts in English translation+selection of secondary literature:
Wender, D. (Ed.). (1991). Roman Poetry: from the Republic to the Silver Age. SIU Press.
Johnson, W. A., & Parker, H. N. (Eds.). (2009). Ancient Literacies: the Culture of Reading in Greece and Rome. OUP USA.
Habinek, T. N. (2001). The Politics of Latin Literature: Writing, Identity, and Empire in Ancient Rome. Princeton University Press.
Keith, A. M. (2000). Engendering Rome: women in Latin epic. Cambridge University Press.
Sharrock, A. (2009). Reading Roman Comedy: Poetics and Playfulness in Plautus and Terence. Cambridge University Press.
Harrison, Stephen J., ed. Oxford Readings in the Roman Novel. Oxford University Press, 1999.

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 03-AP-LTM in USOSweb