Latin 306 (5 credits) Ovid, Metamorphoses and Cicero, Selections Winter 2025
Professor Michael Ritter
Office Hours: 10:30 - 11:20 am M/W Classics Meeting Room (DEN. 255)
email: mritte@uw.edu
Dept. of Classics website: https://classics.washington.edu
M T W F 11:30 – 12:20 PM DEN 258
This course continues UW’s second-year Latin sequence from Latin 305. But also, if you completed the first year of college Latin strongly, this course will probably be a good fit even without Latin 305, and so too if you are looking for a first university course in Latin after a full program of high school Latin. Ask me ahead of the start of term if in doubt about the best Latin course for your level. The first five or six weeks of the quarter will be devoted to the mythological epic narratives of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and the rest of the quarter to the prose writings of the leading Roman public figure and intellectual Cicero. User-friendly textbooks offering detailed commentary and context on the readings will be assigned, to be available through the University Bookstore. The emphasis will be upon line by line translation, detailed interpretation, and broader literary and cultural contexts. Like our other second-year Latin courses, Latin 306 incorporates continuing review of Latin grammar and syntax, fueled by reference to grammar books.
Required course textbooks
- Peter Jones. Reading Ovid: Stories from the Metamorphoses. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
- James M. May, A Cicero Reader: Selections from Five Essays and Four Speeches, with Five Letters, Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2012
*Also recommended, this quarter as throughout the second-year sequence:
J. H. Allen and J. B. Greenough. New Latin Grammar [any paper or online edition is fine]
Technology Statement
Technology that aids with learning is welcome in our class. Technology that limits your learning or the learning of others is strongly discouraged. Using technology to take notes, view class materials, or do independent research is welcome. Emailing, messaging, social media, and online shopping not only take away from your education, but the education of others. Please do not use technology in these ways during class time, where the goal is to be present, listen deeply, and build an in-person community of learning. Cell phones are particularly disruptive and should be put away during class.
Policies on Conduct
The University of Washington is committed to fostering an environment where the free exchange of ideas is an integral part of the academic learning environment. Disruption or domination of discussions can prohibit other students from fully engaging and participating. Any student causing disruption may be asked to leave the discussion, and, depending on the severity and frequency of that behavior, an incident report may be filed with Community Standards and Student Conduct. As a condition of enrollment, all students assume responsibility for observing standards of conduct that will contribute to the pursuit of academic goals and to the welfare of the academic community. For more detailed information on these standards, please visit this page (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
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 (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/) (Links to an external site.). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/) (Links to an external site.)
Plagiarism and cheating constitute academic misconduct and will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is the use of other people's words, thoughts, and/or ideas without properly citing their source. Plagiarism may involve any of the following: 1) blatant copying of others words including your classmates; 2) paraphrasing the words or ideas of another without acknowledging the source; 3) using other peoples' theories or ideas without acknowledging the source; 4) utilizing any fact, not of your own creation/discovery, that is not already common knowledge; 5) turning in another persons' work as your own. Plagiarized work will result in a “0” for the assignment. If you have any questions concerning this issue, please see me immediately and/or see the Statement of Academic Responsibility.
Useful Resources
- PerseusLinks to an external site.
- DiogenesLinks to an external site.
- The Latin LibraryLinks to an external site.
- Latinitium
- Hexameter.co
Course Assignments
All students begin the class with 400 points (equivalent to a 4.0). Failure to complete or fully engage with the assignments will result in the loss of points. Your total points for the class will be used to round out your grade point. If, for example, a student ends up with 385 points in the class, they would receive a 3.9. If another student ends up with 284 points in the class, they would receive a 2.8.
In order for this class to be successful and meaningful for you, please a) make a concerted effort to keep up with and understand the readings, and b) be prepared to ask questions and engage fully through discussions.
ASSESSMENT:
Three exams: 300
Quizzes: 10 x 10: 100
Exams and quizzes will test the following: assigned reading; grammar and English-Latin composition; ‘sight’ translation; scansion; some issues of literary and cultural context discussed in class
Exam dates:
1. 1.21
2. 2.14
Final exam:
3. Wed, Mar 19 2:30 – 4:20 PM