LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE - I

The course Latin language and literature II A is the first part of the course Latin language and literature (FT0435, 12 CFU) held in the first semester by profs. L. Mondin and M. Venuti

The course Latin language and literature is included within the basic-courses of Humanities Degree, which is intended to provide students with first-level knowledge of linguistic history and culture in ancient Mediterranean area and in modern Europe from Antiquity until today. The primary purpose of this course is to make students aware of the necessary tools needed in approaching original Latin texts, from a historical, linguistic, literary, stylistic point of view. The course is intended to introduce students to extensive selections from early, classic, imperial, late Latin literature, with lectures and discussion on the evolution and development of Latin prose and poetry.
This course provides the preliminary 12 CFU within scientific area called L-FIL-LET/04; only after passing FT0435 examination, students can take any other Latin course. The course FT0435 can be taken both in first semester (Proff. Mondin-Venuti) and in second semester (Prof. Venuti and Cioffi).

Students should be aware of the historical development of Latin language, from the pre-documentary period to early Middle Ages; at the end of the course they should have acquired a solid grasp on Latin literary history, from early to late period and an increased familiarity with the main tools for ancient texts’ analysis.
Participants will improve their knowledge of main lines of Latin language and literature history while developing an appreciation for features of style, genre, and cultural context. Furthermore, they should be able to connect linguistic and literary phenomena of Italian language with their Latin origin.

This course consists of close reading and analysis of Latin literary texts, both prose and poetry: at least a basic knowledge of Latin is then requested. All students who want to take this exam must take before the Latin Lab 1 Language test (info: https://www.unive.it/data/insegnamento/344514 ).

This course is intended to introduce students to the history of Latin language and literature. They will be exposed to a selection of original texts from Latin prose and poetry, from the early to the late period, with special attention to the manifold genres, authors and works.
The course focuses on a variety of issues: Latin language development among centuries; individuality of Latin, especially compared with Italian; intertextuality and genre features, dynamic effects of social and political contexts.

1) Selection of texts provided by the teacher, available online on Moodle page.
2) L. MONDIN-A. PISTELLATO, Introduzione allo studio del latino: pdf available online on Moodle page.
3) A. CAVARZERE, A. DE VIVO, P. MASTANDREA, Letteratura latina. Una sintesi storica, Roma, Carocci, 2003, 2015².

A different syllabus for non-attending students is not provided.

Written final text (length: 120 minutes). 10 questions about topics covered in the course: history of Latin language and literature from the pre-documentary period to early Middle Ages; the main features of classic Latin grammar and linguistic system and its development towards Italian and Neo-Latin languages. Each question has a mark: 7 “open” questions (up to 3 marks each), 2 “close-ended” questions (up to 1 mark each); the last question (up to 7 mark) includes a sample of translation and commentary of a Latin text among those read by the teacher within the course. A sample test is available on Moodle.

Traditional lecture, with translation of Latin texts and discussion on the evolution and development of Latin language and literature.

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