Latin 330 - ADV READINGS LATIN LIT: NERO
Spring
2019
01
4.00
Nancy Shumate
MW 02:40-04:00
Smith College
30091-S19
HATFLD 201
nshumate@smith.edu
Topics course.
Authors vary from year to year, but they are generally chosen from a list that includes epic and lyric poets, historians, orators, comedians and novelists, depending on the interests and needs of the students. May be repeated for credit, provided the topic is not the same. Prerequisite: two courses at the 200-level or permission of the instructor: The last of the heirs of Augustus, the emperor Nero (37-68 AD) has been regarded as a deranged tyrant, a savvy populist, and a pre-cursor to the stars of modern reality television, with the attendant confusion of fact and fiction. Through reading in both Latin and English translation, this course will examine the main ancient literary sources for Nero's reign, with a focus on two very different responses from the artists in his circle: the Stoic resistance of Lucan (de Bello Civili) and the exuberant resignation of Petronius (Satyricon). Some attention to the "afterlife," including at the movies, of the Roman figure who became, fairly or not, a watchword for decline.
Authors vary from year to year, but they are generally chosen from a list that includes epic and lyric poets, historians, orators, comedians and novelists, depending on the interests and needs of the students. May be repeated for credit, provided the topic is not the same. Prerequisite: two courses at the 200-level or permission of the instructor: The last of the heirs of Augustus, the emperor Nero (37-68 AD) has been regarded as a deranged tyrant, a savvy populist, and a pre-cursor to the stars of modern reality television, with the attendant confusion of fact and fiction. Through reading in both Latin and English translation, this course will examine the main ancient literary sources for Nero's reign, with a focus on two very different responses from the artists in his circle: the Stoic resistance of Lucan (de Bello Civili) and the exuberant resignation of Petronius (Satyricon). Some attention to the "afterlife," including at the movies, of the Roman figure who became, fairly or not, a watchword for decline.