This course continues Latin 101 and completes the introduction to Latin, its core vocabulary, grammar and syntax. We also begin to read prose and poetry texts in the original in order to increase knowledge and ability with reading Latin.

This is an intensive introduction to the Latin language: LAT 103 covers the material of LAT 101-102 in a single semester through increased class time. Students completing the course will understand the principles of Latin grammar and be prepared to take LAT 105.

We will read selections from Cicero and Vergil, authors whose works set the standards for Latin oratory and epic. Our objectives are: to develop the ability to read Latin with greater ease and enjoyment; to appreciate the artistry of Latin prose and poetry; and to examine the relationship between literary composition and the Romans' establishment of their empire.

This class aims to introduce students to the great variety of Latin texts, including poetic ones, that present themselves as letters. Our reading will sample five letter collections, two in verse and three in prose, from some of the best known Latin authors (Cicero, Horace, Ovid, Seneca, and Pliny the Younger) and will improve comprehension across a variety of periods and stylistic registers. We will also reflect on how the form (or fiction) of the letter allows each work to accomplish its goals of instruction, entertainment, and self-fashioning.

Selections from post-classical Latin prose and poetry, with emphasis on Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Attention to developments in Latin in the period, as well as to textual transmission and the reception of the Classics. Students will participate in a trip to Europe over spring break pending travel guidelines.

Lucretius' On the Nature of Things, the oldest surviving epic in Latin, gives a poetic account of the composition of the universe, the nature of the soul and the senses, and the development of human society. Its scientific arguments all aim to allow readers to live in happiness by freeing them from the fear of death and the gods. We will read selections of this unique and influential masterpiece in Latin, and the whole in English, with attention both to its qualities as poetry and its philosophic importance. We will also examine its impact on the development of early modern science.

Introduction to the historical and comparative grammar via a reading of pre-classical texts, some literary (Saturnian poetry, Ennius, Cato) and many nonliterary (especially Archaic inscriptions). A focus will be the position of Latin among the linguistically related languages of ancient Italy, which will include reading in those languages. We will explore developments of the literary language down to republican epic. You will become familiar with historical grammar, will learn to assess etymologies, and will gain an appreciation for a wide range of literary language from carmina to ritual texts in Umbrian and beyond.