LAT 10.01 Topics in Latin: The Landscape of Latin Literature
Designed to introduce students to varied aspects of Latin literary culture. Beginning with some physical evidence of literacy and writing materials, we will proceed to study the physical history of ancient books and publication methods, then analyze a series of short works illustrating how the Romans themselves thought about literary production, the functions texts can serve, and the nature of meaning and authorship. Readings are a mixture of poetry and prose taken from a variety of authors including Catullus, Cicero, Tibullus, Ovid, Pliny, Martial, and Juvenal, as well as Tom Stoppard’s play The Invention of Love, which gives a fresh perspective on the history of classical scholarship at the beginning of the 20th century. Not open to students who have received credit for LAT 015.