Latin 330 - Advanced Readings in Latin Literature I & II: Myths of Rome
ADV READINGS-MYTHS OF ROME
Fall
2020
01
4.00
Nancy Shumate
MW 09:20-10:35
Smith College
10356-F20
REMOTE
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: A study of the tradition of Roman story-telling, stressing the connections among myth, legend and history in narratives of the early city. Topics include the extent to which early Rome is part of the world of Greek myth; the process by which key statesmen and generals in the early legends came to represent the character of the noble families of later ages, and then to symbolize central Roman virtues; the development of these legendary and quasi-historical narratives into a ‘myth’ of the Roman national character; the manipulation of traditional stories in the political and cultural disputes of later eras. Readings from Livy, Ovid, Vergil and Horace.
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: A study of the tradition of Roman story-telling, stressing the connections among myth, legend and history in narratives of the early city. Topics include the extent to which early Rome is part of the world of Greek myth; the process by which key statesmen and generals in the early legends came to represent the character of the noble families of later ages, and then to symbolize central Roman virtues; the development of these legendary and quasi-historical narratives into a ‘myth’ of the Roman national character; the manipulation of traditional stories in the political and cultural disputes of later eras. Readings from Livy, Ovid, Vergil and Horace.