GREAT CONVERSATION 115:  The Romans & the Christians (Interim, 2002)

Sections A (Groton), B (Hill), C (Langerak)

Classrooms:  Holland 515 (Sect. A), Library 420 (Sect. B), Holland 516 (Sect. C)

 

INSTRUCTORS:

Section A         Anne Groton    Prof. of Classics           Old Main 32B  x3387  groton@stolaf.edu

Section B         Jonathan Hill     Prof. of English Library 527D   x3200  hillj@stolaf.edu

Section C         Ed Langerak     Prof. of Philosophy       Holland 601C   x3494  langerak@stolaf.edu    

 

STUDENT ASSISTANTS: 

Maren Flynn x6276 (flynn), Rob Grace x6499 (gracer), Julie Greene x6614 (greenej), Susanna Murley x6612 (murleys), Duong Phan x2665 (phanj), Sarah Schuurman x2983 (schuurms)         

 

NOTE:  Each plenary lecture will be held in the Viking Theater from 10:40 to 11:40 a.m. and be followed by an hour (11:40-12:40) of sectional discussion in our three classrooms.  The one exception will be on Wednesday, January 9, when the plenary lecture will be held in the Viking Theater from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., followed by a field trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.  

 

SYLLABUS:

 

Th        Jan. 3               Plautus, The Braggart Solider

Plenary lecture:  Prof. Anne Groton, Dept. of Classics

F          Jan. 4               Plautus, The Brothers Menaechmus, The Pot of Gold

 

M         Jan. 7               Livy, The Early History of Rome, Book 1      

T          Jan. 8               Livy, The Early History of Rome, Book 5; response paper #1 due

W        Jan. 9               Barnet, pp. 1-124 (Chapters 1-4); Sheldon Nodelman, “How to Read a

Roman Portrait” (Art in America 68.1 [1975], pp. 26-33--handout)

Plenary lecture:  Prof. Anne Groton, Dept. of Classics

 

FIELD TRIP:  free time during Chapel (10:10-10:30); eat box lunches in Gold & Sun Rooms, 10:30-10:50 a.m.; leave from Buntrock Commons in two 47-passenger coaches, 11:00 a.m.; visit Minneapolis Institute of Arts, noon to 3:00 p.m.; no backpacks, food, drink, chewing gum, or pens--only pencils--are allowed in the museum; return to campus about 4:00 p.m.

 

Th        Jan. 10             Virgil, Aeneid, Books 1-4

F          Jan. 11             Virgil, Aeneid, Books 5-8

 

M         Jan. 14             Virgil, Aeneid, Books 9-12

T          Jan. 15             Cicero, On the Ideal Orator, pp. 57-125 (Book 1), 125-134, 170-204,

                                                218-224 (Book 2); response paper #2 (on museum visit) due

Plenary lecture:  Prof. Jim May, Dept. of Classics

W        Jan. 16             Cicero, On the Ideal Orator, pp. 224-253, 290-297 (Book 3); Pro Archia,

Pro Caelio

Th        Jan. 17             Cicero, Pro Murena, Pro Milone

F          Jan. 18             Gospel According to Mark; Borg, Ch. 8; Melchert, Ch. 9

 

Essay due at 5:00 p.m., Saturday, January 19, in Prof. Groton's mailbox

in Old Main

               

M         Jan. 21             Gospel According to Matthew; Gospel According to Luke 1-12

Great Conversation 115 (Interim, 2002) - SYLLABUS                                                Page 2

 

T          Jan. 22            Gospel According to Luke 13-24; Gospel According to John

W        Jan. 23             Acts of the Apostles, Letter of Paul to the Philippians; Borg, Ch. 9

Plenary lecture:  Prof. Steve Reece, Dept. of Classics

               

Wednesday night dinner (Trollhaugen Room), 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Lecture on film criticism by Prof. Diana Postlethwaite, Dept. of English, in Holland 501, 6:45-7:30 p.m.

Watch film Jesus of Montreal in Holland 501, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

               

Th        Jan. 24             First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, Letter of Paul to the Galatians,

Letter of Paul to the Romans; response paper #3 due

F          Jan. 25             Letter of James, First Letter of John, Revelation to John; Borg, Ch. 10

               

M         Jan. 28            Melchert, Ch. 8; Epictetus, The Handbook, pp. 11-24 (sects. 1-33);

recommended pp. 25-29 (sects. 34-53); revision of essay due at 5 p.m.

Plenary lecture:  Prof. Ed Langerak, Dept. of Philosophy

T          Jan. 29             Conclusion

W        Jan. 30             Final Exam

 

PRIMARY TEXTS: 

 

Plautus, Four Comedies, translated by Erich Segal (Oxford, 1998) 0-19-283896-2

 

Livy, The Early History of Rome (Books I-V), translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt (Penguin, 1960) - 0-14-044104-2

 

Virgil, The Aeneid, translated by Robert Fitzgerald (Vintage, 1990) 0-679-72952-6

 

Cicero, On the Ideal Orator, translated by James M. May & Jakob Wisse (Oxford, 2001) 0-19-509198-1

 

Cicero, Defence Speeches, translated by D. H. Berry (Oxford, 2001) 0-19-282512-7

 

Epictetus, The Handbook, translated by N. P. White (Hackett, 1983) 0-915145-69-3

 

TEXTS ALREADY OWNED:

 

Barnet, Sylvan, A Short Guide to Writing about Art (Allyn & Bacon/Longman, 6th ed., 2000) 0-321-04605-6

 

Melchert, Norman, The Great Conversation:  A Historical Introduction to Philosophy (Mayfield Publishing, 4th ed., 2002) 0-7674-2038-1

 

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, College Edition (Oxford, 2001) 0-19-528485-2

 

GRADING:  1 essay = 35%; 3 response papers = 15% (5% each); final exam = 35%; class participation and oral presentations = 15%

 

Each instructor will provide information about the essay, response papers, and oral presentations.