Dr. Derrick G. Pitard
Class Meeting: arranged with the instructor
Office: SWC 313 L
Office Hours: TBDecided by mutual consent
Contact: (738-)2369, or

Sorry, but a Javascript-enabled browser is required for this link to work.

If you want to study Latin beyond the initial study of grammar, you are clearly interested in the language, but more than that you have elected to spend time learning about Latin culture. The course's overall goals, therefore, are to gain increased proficiency in reading Latin and to use this knowledge to learn more about classical and medieval culture. If you choose to continue on to take a second term of reading, a paper might become a part of the course work, if you like, in which you can write about an aspect of Latin literature.

Nota Bene: This course can be repeated up to three times for credit.

Nota Bene: Because Latin courses at Slippery Rock are only ever taught individually, you will arrive at a course syllabus in conversation with the instructor.

You will have to order these for yourself on-line; they will not be ordered via the SRU Bookstore. Do not order any texts until you have settled on a course of study with the instructor!

1. You will already own Wheelock's Latin from work in Latin 1 and 2. For Latin 3, we may be working with selected sections of this and the accompanying 38 Latin Stories, 5th ed., by Groton and May.
2. Wheelock's Latin Reader, ed. LaFleur. This provides one interesting set of texts to delve into after the grammar; it includes material from both classical and medieval periods. Much other material is out there to choose from, though, if you have specific interests.
3. You will need a Latin-English/English-Latin dictionary; I recommend the New College Dictionary, though others are out there. 501 Latin Verbs or 555 Latin Verbs will very helpful as well.
4. Bring in a 1-inch, three-ring binder. You will be compiling your own notebook in it as part of your course grade.

We will compile a Calendar during the first week of class. It may be that we will need to cover some chapters in Wheelock's Latin as part of the coursework.

You will need to put in an hour or so every day to do well in this course. The need for this regular work is inescapable. Language learning is like gardening, or like learning a musical instrument: you make much more progress a lot faster--and therefore enjoy it a lot more--by doing a little bit regularly instead of blitzing through 6 hours once a week.

I have structured the grading in the class to encourage this by putting a good part of the final grade--almost half--on the homework and the notebook, which you work on at home rather than the less regular in-class tests. This homework is due regularly, and will be graded. You will be asked to show off what you learn in a series of quizzes and exams. The memory work required for these is what makes the knowledge yours.

Because this course is always taught as an Independent Study, and always has three or fewer students in it, policies will be decided collaboratively with the instructor. There will need to be, however, several basic principles to the course's structure:

1. We will meet three times per week--to keep as little time as possible between class meetings.
2. If you must miss a class, please beforehand. You have asked for someone to devote preparation and class time to this course, and to you personally, above and beyond a regular teaching load, so please respect that time. We will agree on an attendance policy together early in term.
3. Homework needs to be turned in the class after it has been assigned; it forms the beginning of the work for the next class. If you haven't done the work, the next class will be much less meaningful because you won't have a clear understanding of what has gone before to build on. Consistency in this is crucial because language learning is cumulative.

1. The grading in the class goes by percentages, and will be graded only on an ABCDF system. Here are the criteria for grading; within a limited range, the percentages are negotiable:
   • All work must be completed to pass the course.
   • Homework assignments are collectively worth 40% of the final grade. Homework will be given out at almost every meeting, and is due at the start of the next meeting. There will about two dozen of these during term.
   • There will be several short quizzes during term; these are collectively worth 20% of the final grade.
   • There will be 2 mid-terms; these are each worth 15% of the final grade.
   • The final exam is worth 25% of the final grade.
2. Note that I have to give a grade based on work that you have done--I can't give a good grade for being a hard worker ("effort") if you at the same time (for whatever reason) haven't been able to complete work for the course. If you are putting in your hour a day and working on the options available to learn, and the grades still aren't panning out, ask about it!