Introduction to Augustan Literature

This course explores Augustan literature through two interrelated themes: civil war and Augustus himself. The period before Augustus' reign was marked by violent conflict, and this collective social trauma is evident in the texts produced by authors who lived through it; in these texts, Augustus emerges variously as accomplice, savior, or exemplum. We will read Latin prose, poetry, and inscriptions with the goals of (1) increasing facility with reading Latin in a variety of different genres, (2) developing the skills of close reading with commentaries, and (3) critically engaging with secondary scholarship.