Latin 470/508:
Caesar's Bellum Civile

Instructor Information

Instructor: Christopher S. Mackay
Email: csmackay@ualberta.ca
Office/phone: Tory 2-54/492-3344
Office hours: MWF 10-11 or by appointment

Aim of Course

The main aim is to give students a better understanding of the principles of advanced Latin grammar, so that they will be able to read texts independently. Along the way students will learn about Caesar's literary/political aims in composing his own account of the civil war that he started.

Course Books

Mandatory:
C. Iulius Caesar, Bellum Civile, edited by A. Klotz (Teubner, 1992)

AND

W. Batstone and C. Damon, Caesar's Civil War (OUP, 2006)

(Both books are available in the Campus Bookstore.)

It's also recommended that students acquire a Latin grammar such as Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar

Course Procedure

The reading for each class will be determined by how far we have gotten in the previous class. The aim is to start with the invasion of Italy (1.1-29) and the Pharsalus campaign and its aftermath (3.72-106). We'll also read some comparative material in the form of hands. It is expected that students will have prepared the day's reading in advance. There will be a short quiz every other Monday beginning with the second Monday of the term (dates given below).

NB Anyone taking the course for graduate credit (i.e., those in 508) will be expected to read all of Books I and III (i.e., the passages not discussed in class).

In addition to the Latin readings, on various Fridays we will discuss chapters of the Batstone/Damon according to the schedule below.

Attendance

Since attendance is crucial to learning, students are expected to attend every class, and apart from medical emergencies and significant personal crises, there are no excuses for absence. Failure to be prepared is considered to be the equivalent of absence. Students will be not be penalized for one unexcused absence over the course of the term. After that, each unexcused absence will result in the deduction of one +/- step from the final grade (e.g., an A- will become a B+, a C+ will become a straight C, and so on).

Schedule of Readings for the Batstone/Damon Book

Sept. 14: Chap. 2 (NB the number!)
Sept. 28: Chap. 1
Oct. 12: Chap. 3
Oct. 26: Chap. 4
Nov. 9: Chap. 5

Grading

a) Paper (25%)
Everyone enrolled in LATIN 488 will write a 10-15 page research paper, and everyone in LATIN 510 a 15-20 page paper. Students may write on a topic of their own choosing, and the paper is due on the last day of term (suggested topics will be provided later in the term). Suggestions about paper writing.

NB See discussion of plagiarism at the end of the syllabus.

b) Testing (75%)
Starting on Sept. 11, there will be a quiz every other Monday on the preceding week's reading (dates: Sept 17, Oct. 1, Oct. 15, Nov. 5, Nov. 19, Dec. 3;there are no make-up quizzes, and the one lowest score will be dropped (5% of overall grade). There will be one midterm on Oct. 22 (35%), and one final examination (tentative date: 9:00, Wed., Dec. 12; 35%). The common final will be two hours long, and those taking credit in LATIN 508 will have an additional hour of testing on the materials not covered in class. The content of the midterm and final will be discussed in class.

c) Deferred final
The sole date on which a deferred midterm may be taken is January 14, 2008 (time to be arranged)

d) Determination of final grade
Students will receive a percentage score for all graded work. At the end of term these percentage marks will be weighted on the scale indicated above to give an overall percentage. This will then be converted to the letter system of grading on the following basis: 100-97%: A+; 96-93: A; 92-90: A-; 89-87: B+; 86-83: B; 82-80: B-; 79-77: C+; 76-73: C; 72-70: C-; 69-67: D+; 66-60: D; 59 and below: F.

Academic Dishonesty

This is a big no-no. Plagiarism is defined as "submit[ting] the words, ideas, images or data of another person as the student's own" (Code of Student Behaviour §30.3.2(1)). The University has the following statement on how it handles instances of plagiarism.

"The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behavior and avoid any behavior which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University." (U of A Calendar §23.4.2c)

Cheating can consist of a number of offenses, which can be summarized (for present purposes) as

  1. getting information during and exam from an impermissible source
  2. taking an exam for someone else or having someone else take an exam for you
  3. submitting as one's own work that has received "substantial editorial or compositional assistance" from someone else (i.e., if you get someone else to work up your ideas for you)
  4. submitting in one course written work (or a substantial portion thereof) submitted for credit in a previous course.
For details, see Code of Student Behavior §30.3.2(2)a-d.

Like the University, I have a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism (as well as cheating). I will not hesitate to seek the highest possible penalty against anyone caught committing these offenses or helping others to commit them. Ignorance of what constitutes academic offenses is not an acceptable defense. Refer to the Code of Student Behaviour in the Calendar (pages 743-766) for a full description of academic offenses and their possible penalties. If you have any questions, see me or refer to The University Secretariat.

For Those Who Don't Like the Syllabus

The University of Alberta cares deeply about being "internally recognized for excellence in course information delivery," and accordingly has issued the following ukase, presumably on the grounds that after twenty-one years of university-level instruction, I might not know how to draw up a suitable syllabus:

Every course outline should contain the following statement: "Policy about course outlines can be found in §23.4(2) of the University Calendar" (Calendar §23.4(2).b).
You can't say you weren't warned.
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