Latin 461 Latin Literature of the Republic
Sallust Bellum Catilinae
Autumn 2025
TTh 2:30-4:20
Clark 120
Instructor: James J. Clauss, Department of Classics
Office: Denny Hall M262C (difficult to find); tel. 543-2266 (department office phone)
E-mail: jjc@uw.edu
Office Hours: by appointment
Holidays: November 11 and November 27-28
Texts:
J.T. Ramsey, Sallust’s Bellum Catilinae. Oxford University Press (required)
H.H. Scullard, From the Gracchi to Nero. Available as e-book through the UW Library (required)
Text and translation are also available in the Loeb Classical Library through the UW Library; Perseus offers a text with grammatical help plus older translation. Logeion offers an online Latin dictionary.
Allen & Greenough’s New Latin Grammar (recommended) This is also available through Perseus: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0001.
Steven Saylor, Catalina’s Riddle. A fun novel.
Goals of the course:
To enhance one’s reading of Latin in general and Latin prose style in particular.
To learn about Roman history of the end of the Republic.
To learn about Roman historiography.
To learn about one of the most important events of Roman history (according to Cicero).
Schedule of readings:
Tuesday Thursday
Week 1 (9/22) Introduction
Week 2 (9/29) Ramsey pp. 1-23 B.C. 3.3-6.2
B.C. 1-3.2
Week 3 (10/6) Scullard Ch. 1 B.C. 10-13
B.C. 6.3-9
Tuesday Thursday
Week 4 (10/13) Scullard Ch. 2 B.C. 18-20.13
B.C. 14-17
Week 5 (10/20) Scullard Ch. 3 B.C. 25-29
B.C. 20.14-24
Week 6 (10/27) Scullard Ch. 4 B.C. 34-36
B.C. 30-33
Week 7 (11/3) Scullard Ch. 5 B.C. 41-44
B.C. 37-40
Week 8 (11/10) Scullard Ch. 6 B.C. 49-51.8
B.C. 45-48
Week 9 (11/17) Scullard Ch. 7 B.C. 51.37-52.12
B.C. 51.9-51.36
Week 10 (11/24) Scullard Ch. 8 Holiday
B.C. 52.13-52.36
Week 11 (12/1) B.C. 53-57 B.C. 58-61 (in English)
Grades:
In class translation: 25%
Midterm examination (take home): 25%
Final examination (take home): 25%
Final paper (6-8 pages, double spaces, 12 point font, on a topic to be agreed upon): 25%
Important UW policy-related things to know:
- The UW's Religious Accommodations Policy: “Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.).”
- The UW's Student Conduct Code: "The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at https://www.washington.edu/studentconduct/."(Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)
- Access and Accommodation: Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.
If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.
- Academic Integrity: University of Washington students are expected to practice high standards of academic and professional honesty and integrity as outlined here:http://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf (Links to an external site.)(Links to an external site.)
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The Classics Undergraduate Textbook Fund (https://classics.washington.edu/undergraduate-textbook-fund) is designed to provide or defray the cost of textbooks needed for your courses taught by instructors from the Department of Classics. Requests must meet the following criteria to be eligible for funding:
- You must be a current major or minor in the Department of Classics, or enrolled in an ancient Greek or Latin language course for which you are buying the textbook(s).
- The textbook(s) must be required for the course by the instructor.
- You must be enrolled in the course for which the textbook is required.
To apply for funding, please fill out this web form and attach a receipt showing proof of purchase of your textbook(s) (must show that the amount due has been PAID; often shows last 4 digits of your card). Per UW policy, receipts must be dated within the past 90 days or cannot be reimbursed.
Funding for the Classics Undergraduate Textbook Fund is generously provided by the Pamela Stewart & Julie Golding Endowed Student Support Fund.