CLASSIC LITERATURES MOD. 2

The CLASSICAL LITERATURES course is one of the "Core educational activities" of the Archaeology curriculum of the Master's Degree in Ancient Civilizations: Archaeology, Literature and History. The course, divided into two modules (Module 1: Greek literature, Module 2: Latin literature), aims to provide students, regardless of their educational background and linguistic skills, an advanced level approach to the authors and texts of Greek and Latin literature according to a perspective specifically oriented to the needs and peculiarities of archaeological training.

The expected outcomes of this training activity are: a detailed knowledge of works and texts of the Greek and Latin literary tradition (read in Italian translation) and of their historical and interpretative issues, and the ability to make it interact both with the bases of classical literary culture previously acquired and with the general framework of knowledge (of a historical, methodological and technical nature) that pertain to the specificity of the master's level archaeological training; the ability to read and comment on the texts studied (both those covered during the course and those approached as personal reading) on ​​a historical, historical-literary and cultural level, and to argue autonomously about them in the light of the proposed interpretations and the bibliography indicated in support of the course or (in the case of personal readings) specifically suggested by the teachers.

Although a knowledge of Greek and Latin language and literature is recommended, it is not a prerequisite for taking the exam, and its lack does not affect the ability to fully understand the course topics, texts and bibliography. It is up to the students to fill any gaps in their historical and literary knowledge by following the bibliographical indications provided for this purpose (see below, Testi di riferimento).

The villa in Latin literary tradition, from the beginning to the end of antiquity.
The villa is a peculiar element of Roman civilization and its management of agricultural land for all the centuries of its history beyond the chronological limits of the Western Empire; an inevitable and characterizing structure of the Roman agricultural and settlement landscape, both Italian and provincial, with very long-lasting effects on the topography and toponymy of Western Europe; a tool of the landed classes for the management and exploitation of landed property and at the same time an emblem of their economic and political-social supremacy, a privileged place of otium and aristocratic sociality and a mirror of the ideology and self-representation of the Roman elites.
The villa (whether rustic or luxurious or both) also constitutes a constant presence in the Latin literary tradition, from Cato's De agri cultura (2nd century BC) to Venantius Fortunatus' Carmina (6th century AD), and in many of its genres: technical treatises (Cato, Varro, Columella, Palladius), epistolography (Cicero, Seneca, Pliny the Younger, Symmachus, Sidonius Apollinaris), narrative prose (Apuleius), satire (Horace, Juvenal), epigram (Martial), short poetry both personal (Catullus, Ausonius) and encomiastic (Statius, Sidonius Apollinaris, Venantius Fortunatus). A selection of texts drawn from these genres and authors will allow students to follow the historical and ideological evolution of the literary theme of the Roman villa and at the same time to undertake a reading journey through the entire history of Latin literature up to the eve of the Early Middle Ages.

1) A selection of Latin prose and poetry texts (in translation with the original text alongside) made available by the teacher on the course's Moodle platform.
2) J. Percival, The Roman Villa: An Historical Introduction, London, Batsford, 1976, pp. 16-33 (Ch. 2 "The Sources of Evidence").
3) A. Carandini, La villa romana e la piantagione schiavistica, in E. Gadda-A. Schiavone (cur.), Storia di Roma, IV Caratteri e morfologie, Torino, Einaudi, 1989, pp. 101-200.
4) H. Mielsch, La villa romana, trad. it. Firenze, Giunti, 1990, pp. 89-132 (Ch. 3 "La villa come forma di vita").
5) Personal reading: in addition to the texts read in class, each student will present during the exam his/her own reading of a further text, chosen from a list indicated by the teacher and read with the aid of a specific bibliography.

Students who have no prior knowledge of Latin literary history are invited to fill this gap by reading the textbook: A. Cavarzere, A. De Vivo, P. Mastandrea, Letteratura latina. Una sintesi storica, Rome, Carocci, 2003, 2015².

Learning is verified through an individual oral interview during which the student must demonstrate that he or she is able to understand, historically contextualize and comment on a historical-literary level some of the texts covered during the course and the one chosen as personal reading; he or she must also be able to argue with independent judgment and propriety of language on the accompanying bibliography and be able to use it as an aid in the interpretation of the texts and in their evaluation on a historical-literary level.

In the exam interview, the following skills are assessed, in progressive order of incidence: 1) the accuracy and completeness of the information, both in the commentary on individual texts and in their chronological, historical and historical-literary contextualization (from 0 to 25/30), 2) the propriety in the use of historical-literary categories and the related vocabulary (from 0 to 3/30), 3) the propriety and correctness of the presentation (from 0 to 2/30). Knowledge of Latin and reading of texts in the original language (the latter left to the free choice of the student) can also contribute to forming the aforementioned assessment.

Traditional lesson, mainly based on the reading and historical and historical-literary commentary of the texts and on the illustration of the related problems.