28949 - Latin Philology and Literature (1) (LM)

Course contents

This is an upper-intermediate level course; basic skills in Latin must have already been acquired in other university courses.

I. SPECIAL FOCUS COURSE

• Outlines of the history of Latin texts' transmission and principles of textual criticism
  

• Quid est magus? Self-representation and magical language: readings from Apuleius' Apologia

The Apologia (or De magia) is the speech in which Apuleius defends himself against the accusation that he practised the magical arts for the purpose of manipulating his wife Pudentilla. In his defence, he attempts to define his own cultural identity, portraying himself as a philosopher. The reading of an anthology of passages will facilitate an exploration of this aspect and the specific forms of the language of magic (vocabulary, forms, conventions), which is also central to the novel. Additionally, critical-textual issues pertaining to the selected passages will be given particular attention.

The course includes a guided tour of the University Library, during which the historical and artistic aspects of the library will be explained and some manuscripts will be viewed.

II. CORE COURSE

• LATIN TEXTS: students are required to read Horace, Sermones I 1, 9; Seneca, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium 2, 7, 23, 53, 54, in its original language.
• TEXTUAL CRITICISM: see below, Bibliography.
• METRICS (hexameter)
  
• CRITICAL ESSAYS: one chosen among the essays listed below.

N.B. students can attend also as auditors the introductory classes on written translation from Latin to Italian within the Laboratory taught by Prof. B. Pieri. Participation in the Laboratory is strongly recommended: these lessons will support especially students who include Latin classes in their curriculum for the purpose of teaching in secondary school; the 'sample texts' will be chosen from those included in the programs of these courses.

Students not attending the course are required to replace the study of the Latin texts dealt with during the special focus course by reading IN LATIN Seneca, De vita beata; they are also required to study at least TWO critical essays (see below, Bibliography). Other parts of the program remain unchanged.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

 

Readings/Bibliography

I. SPECIAL FOCUS COURSE

• Apuleyo de Madauros, Apología, Florida [Prólogo de El dios de Sócrates], Madrid 2016 (critical text of reference); Apuleio, La magia, a cura di C. Moreschini, Milano 2006 0r any other paperback edition.

II. CORE COURSE

LATIN TEXTS:

• Horace: Satire, introduction, translation and notes by M. Labate, Rizzoli 1981 or any other paperback edition; useful commentaries are Orazio, Le opere. Antologia, introduction and commentary by La Penna, Florence 1969; Orazio, Satire, introduction, translatio and commentary by L. De Vecchi, Rome 2013.
• Seneca: Lettere morali a Lucilio, edited by F. Solinas, Milan 1995 (reprinted) or any other paperback edition; useful commentaries are Lucio Anneo Seneca, Lettere a Lucilio, Libro primo, text, introduction, translation and commetary by G. Scarpat, Brescia 1975, pp. 43-57 (to epist. 2, 7); Lucio Anneo Seneca, Lettere a Lucilio, Libro III, epp. XII-XXIX, edited by G. Laudizi, Naples 2003, pp. 66-95 (to epist. 23); L. Anneo Seneca, Lettere a Lucilio, libro VI: Le lettere 53-57, edited by F.R. Berno, Bologna 2006, pp. 34-157 (to epist. 53, 54); Seneca, Selected Letters, ed. by C. Edwards, Cambridge 2019 (to epist. 7, 53).

HANDBOOKS:

• Morphology and Syntax: the student will be expected to master Latin morphology and syntax, based on university-level handbooks (e.g. I. Dionigi-L. Morisi-E. Riganti, Il latino, Bari, Laterza, 2011 = 2011 = Verba et res. Morfosintassi e lessico del latino, 2 voll., Bari, Laterza, 1999), as well as to know the aspects of history of the language, metrics and textual criticism contained in A. Traina - G. Bernardi Perini, Propedeutica al latino universitario, Bologna: Pàtron, 2007. For Latin syntax, see also A.Traina - T. Bertotti, Sintassi normativa della lingua latina, Bologna: Pàtron, 2015.

• Metrics: the student will be expected to master the scansion and reading of the hexameter and the knowledge of Latin prosody (cf. Propedeutica al latino universitario, cap. VIII). A video course on prosody and metrics will be made available to support individual preparation among the teaching materials.
• Textual criticism: for a basic knowledge of textual criticism, it is required to study chapter VIII of Propedeutica al latino universitario; furthermore, it is necessary to study L.D. Reynolds – N.G. Wilson, Copisti e filologi. La tradizione dei classici dall’antichità ai tempi moderni, Padua, Antenore, 2016⁴, capp. I, III and F. Stok, I classici dal papiro a internet, Rome, Carocci, 2012, capp. IV-VI. For more details, see also P. Chiesa, Elementi di critica testuale, Bologna 2012; R. Tarrant, Texts, Editors, and Readers: Methods and Problems in Latin Textual Criticism. Roman Literature and its Contexts, Cambridge 2016; T. Braccini, La scienza dei testi antichi. Introduzione alla filologia classica, Florence 2017.

CRITICAL ESSAYS

For students attending the course (further essays will be supplied during the course). At least one essay among:

1. M.M. Bianco, La questione de patria nell'Apologia di Apuleio, Pan 2 n.s., 2013, 97-112.
2. M.M. Bianco, Agrestis cum erudito: scenografie del discorso nell'Apologia di Apuleio, Pan 6 n.s., 2017, 125-139.
3. K.R. Bradley, Law, Magic, and Culture in the "Apologia" of Apuleius, Phoenix 51/2, 1997, 203-223, ora in Id., Apuleius and Antonine Rome. Historiacal Essays, Toronto-Buffalo-London 2012, 3-22.
4. K.R. Bradley, Appearing for the Defense: Apuleius on Display, in Id., Apuleius and Antonine Rome. Historiacal Essays, Toronto-Buffalo-London 2012, 147-163.
5. L. Costantini, The Pollution of Pontianus’ Lares, in Id. Magic in Apuleius’ ‘Apologia’. Understanding the charges and the forensic strategies in Apuleius’ speech, Berlin-Boston 2019, 161-181.
6. M. Lucciano, Socrate dans le De magia d’Apulée. Représentations, apparences et reflets, Philosophie antique 20, 2020, 183-212.
7. S. Mattiacci, Apuleius and Africitas, in B. Todd Lee, E. Finkelpearl, L. Graverini (eds.), Apuleius and Africa, New York 2014, 87-111.
8. A.M. Tupet, Rites magiques dans l'Antiquité romaine, Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt, vol. II 16.3, 1986, 2591-2617 (cap. I-IV).
   

For students not attending the course (both essays):

1. A. Setaioli, Philosophy as therapy, self-transformation, and “Lebensform”, in G. Damschen, A. Heil (eds.), Brill’s Companion to Seneca. Philosopher and Dramatist, Leiden-Boston 2014, 239-256. OR Setaioli, La filosofia come terapia, autotrasformazione e stile di vita in Seneca, in F. Gasti (a c. di), Seneca e la letteratura greca e latina: per i settant’anni di Giancarlo Mazzoli, Atti della IX giornata ghisleriana di filologia classica, Pavia, 22 october 2010, Pavia 2013, 1-18.
2. A. Traina, Lo stile “drammatico” del filosofo Seneca, Bologna 1995⁴, 9-41.

Teaching methods

The principal teaching method is that of the lecture. Additionally, more interactive lectures are planned, including individual or group presentations on a voluntary basis of the critical essays. This is intended to stimulate collective reflection on the topics addressed.

 

Assessment methods

The examination will be conducted orally and will assess the candidate's knowledge of the texts and aspects covered during the course.

Four principal questions will be posed:

1) A reading, translation and linguistic analysis of a passage from Seneca's Letters and Horace's Satires will be required (for the second one both metrical reading and prosodic analysis are required)
2) The selected critical essay
3) A reading, translation and linguistic analysis, coupled with a philological-literary commentary on a passage read during the special focus course, will be conducted.
4) Outlines of the history of Latin texts' transmission and principles of textual criticism (slides, study of Propedeutica ch. VIII, of the chapters by Reynolds-Wilson and Stok indicated in the bibliography.

The following assessment criteria will be used to test the knowledge of the Latin language and grammar (morphology and syntax) and the knowledge of the history of the Latin texts' transmission and the principle of textual criticism:

• A lack of knowledge of the fundamentals of Latin morphology and syntax, as well as a lack of knowledge of the history of the Latin texts' transmission and of the principles of textual criticism, will result in a failing grade.
• An average knowledge of Latin morphosyntax, a translation and interpretation of texts that is mostly correct but not always accurate and not very autonomous, and a stunted ability to analyse hexameter prosody, along with minimal knowledge of the history of the Latin texts' transmission and of the principles of textual criticism, will be assessed with passing grades.
• A reliable translation, even if not always accurate and/or autonomous; a good ability to analyse the prosody of the hexameter; good knowledge of the history of the Latin texts' transmission and of the principles of textual criticism will be assessed with good grades.
• A thorough knowledge of the Latin language; the ability to provide a correct translation in full autonomy; an excellent ability to analyse the prosody of the hexameter; a thorough knowledge of the history of the Latin texts' transmission and of the principles of textual criticism will be assessed with excellence grades.

N.B.

Erasmus students can take the Latin translation part of the exam in one of the following languages: English, French, Spanish, German.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

The Virtuale platform will host the slides from the lectures, the PDFs of the texts read and analysed during the lectures, and any additional resources, such as more challenging-to-find bibliographies, that may be useful for students. It will also include a link to the metrics video course.

Office hours

See the website of Elisa Dal Chiele