Prerequisite: Advanced Latin A (for MA). Advanced Latin B is not an alternative to Advanced Latin A.
This course is open to students studying any of the intercollegiate MA programmes who have completed Advanced Latin A (for MA).
The course will consist of study of one set text in Latin, in either prose or verse, to be selected annually; the focus will be on translation, context and understanding of grammar in this text. Students will also work on an independent project related to their own area of research expertise in order to refine their understanding of the issues posed by translation and interpretation in this area.
Assessment:
In course assessment – 40%
- Two tests scheduled during class time over the term. The coursework grade will be the best mark of the two.
- Tests consist of unseen Latin sentences; students are asked to answer grammatical questions about them, and to translate them. Vocabulary support will be given where appropriate, but credit will also be given for intelligent guesses. Dictionaries will not be permitted.
Independent project – 60%
Students are to identify a piece of Latin relevant to their research of a suitable length in consultation with the course tutor. This selection must be different to the Latin used in the project for Advanced Latin A. They will:
- Explain why the Latin of the passage is significant, interesting, challenging or otherwise worth examination.
- Place the discussion of the Latin in the broader context of scholarship on the piece or similar pieces.
- Place the Latin within its wider literary, social or political context as appropriate, with special reference to the language used.
- Discuss how a close engagement with the language of the piece enhances their own research.
The project should be 3,000 words long and will be submitted at the end of April.
Students will meet individually with the course tutor at least twice to discuss their projects as they develop over the term.
Course tutor: Dr. Siobhan Chomse.
Teaching: spring term.
This course is taught in the Royal Holloway Bedford Square building in central London.
Places on this module will be allocated in the first instance to those students from any College who are following the MA Classics degree programme. Any remaining places up the maximum size of the class will then be distributed proportionately between Colleges.