LATIN 461 A: Latin Literature of the Republic

In this offering of Latin 461, we will explore the writings of the Roman Republic by reading Plautus' Menaechmi (a comedy about a long lost twin's search for and discovery of his brother) and selections from Livy's History of Rome. Topics to be considered along the way include an overview of the comic tradition, an investigation of the ways in which comedy represents, distorts and reinforces social and family structures, the place of comedy within the larger phenomenon of Hellenization in Roman culture, and ways in which comic ways of structuring narratives can be discerned in Livy's account of some episodes of Roman Republican history. 

Required texts: A. S. Gratwick, ed. Plautus, Menaechmi, (Cambridge University Press)

Jody Valentine et al. 2022. Livy's Account of the Bacchanalian Affair at Rome: Translation, Notes, and Interpretative Commentary.  Open access, available at https://pressbooks.claremont.edu/romanorientalism/

Other selections of Livy will be provided via Canvas. 

Requirements will include translation tests and interesting and enjoyable writing assignments.