Latin
The Department of Classics offers courses in Latin to allow students to pursue deeper study of Roman history, literature, and culture, and their global receptions. After two semesters mastering the grammar, students are able to read authors such as Caesar, Ovid, Catullus, and Cicero. Students who have studied Latin in high school may take a placement exam to begin their studies in more advanced courses. Advanced courses in Latin explore many types of texts, including poetry, drama, history, biography, letters, and novels, from antiquity and later periods. Students have the opportunity to do their own research and to assist with faculty members’ research projects. The Department of Classics also offers a variety of courses in Greek and Roman history, literature, archaeology and culture to build students’ broader knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean world. Resources on campus that support the study of Latin and the Romans include the Wulfing Coin Collection, which is one of the largest collections of ancient coins owned by an American university; rare books and papyri in Olin library; and works of art in the Kemper Museum.
Additional Information
Study Abroad: Washington University is associated with both the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies (a.k.a. "The Centro") in Rome and the College Year in Athens program. Certain other study abroad programs also allow students to earn credit in Latin. Students interested in these programs should contact Professor Luis Salas.
Contact Info
Contact: | Luis Alejandro Salas |
Phone: | 314-935-5183 |
Email: | classics@wustl.edu |
Website: | http://classics.wustl.edu |
Endowed Professor and Chair
Timothy Moore
John and Penelope Biggs Distinguished Professor of Classics
Department Chair
PhD, University of North Carolina
Professor Moore's work concentrates on several areas of classical antiquity, including the comic theater of Greece and Rome, Greek and Roman music, and Roman historiography. Current projects include a database and book on music in Greek and Roman theater and articles on music and poetic rhythm in ancient Rome. He also has interests in the history of theater, especially American musical theater and Japanese Kyogen comedy.
Professor
Catherine Keane
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Professor Keane's interests range broadly over Greek and Roman literature and culture, but her research centers on the comic genres and their engagement with moral, social, and literary problems, particularly the Roman verse satirists Lucilius, Horace, Persius, and Juvenal and the epigrammatist Martial.
Associate Professors
William Bubelis
Curator of the Wulfing Coin Collection
PhD, University of Chicago
Professor Bubelis' research in Greek history focuses on the intersection of economy, religion and public institutions. His work utilizes the evidence of inscriptions (epigraphy), coins (numismatics) and other material remains alongside the literary texts of ancient historians, poets, orators and the like. While most of his scholarship has engaged with classical Athens, Professor Bubelis avidly explores the societies of the eastern Mediterranean across antiquity, including Iron Age Cyprus and the Achaemenid Persian Empire to Hellenistic Egypt.
Thomas Keeline
Director of Graduate Studies
PhD, Harvard University
Professor Keeline works primarily on Latin literature, the history of classical scholarship and education from antiquity to the present, rhetoric, textual criticism, lexicography and metrics.
Luis Alejandro Salas
Director of Undergraduate Studies
PhD, University of Texas
Professor Salas specializes in Greek and Roman medicine, philosophy and intellectual history. He is also interested in Aristotelian psychology. His research focuses on medical and philosophical sectarianism, especially in the work of Galen of Pergamum.
Zoe Stamatopoulou
PhD, University of Virginia
Professor Stamatopoulou's research and teaching encompass several aspects of ancient Greek literature and culture, but her work focuses primarily on archaic and classical poetry (Homer, Hesiod, lyric poetry, drama). She is also interested in the symposium, ancient biographies of poets, and the reception of archaic Greece in Imperial Greek literature (especially Plutarch).
Assistant Professors
Nicola Aravecchia
PhD, University of Minnesota
Professor Aravecchia's research interests encompass the art and archaeology of Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt. He has taught courses in classical languages, ancient history, and art and archaeology in the United States, Egypt and Australia. His current work focuses on the origins and development of Early Christian architecture in rural Egypt. Since 2005, he has been involved in archaeological projects in the Dakhla Oasis, located in the Western Desert of Upper Egypt.
Ian Hollenbaugh
PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
Professor Hollenbaugh's research interests include Indo-European linguistics, Homeric Greek, Old Latin, Vedic Sanskrit, and Germanic languages. He focuses particularly on the tense and aspect systems of Indo-European languages from both diachronic and synchronic perspectives.
Senior Lecturers
Lance Jenott
PhD, Princeton University
Professor Jenott teaches courses on the New Testament, studies in Christian origins, and Coptic language and literature. His other interests include Second Temple Judaism, Greco-Roman philosophy, classical civilizations, and theories and methods in the study of religion. Dr. Jenott is the author of The Gospel of Judas: Coptic Text, Translation, and Historical Interpretation of the 'Betrayer's Gospel', and he is the co-author of The Monastic Origins of the Nag Hammadi Codices. He is currently working on a commentary on the Gospel of Judas for the Hermeneia Series by Fortress Press.
Kathryn Wilson
PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Professor Wilson's research interests focus on the intersection of poetry and science. She is especially interested in Hellenistic literature and the relationship between different intellectual enterprises occurring during that time. She is also interested in the evolution of the genre of didactic poetry.
Lecturer
Rebecca Sears
PhD, University of Michigan
Professor Sears' research interests include ancient music, papyrology, Latin poetry (particularly Ovid's Metamorphoses) and ancient magic. She is currently working on a textbook for the University of Michigan Press that will discuss important technical and cultural features of both Greek and Roman music as well as the reception and reconstruction of ancient music. In addition to her love of classical languages and cultures, she is a violinist who has performed in benefit concerts throughout New England.
Professors Emeriti
Carl W. Conrad
PhD, Harvard University
Robert D. Lamberton
PhD, Yale University
Susan I. Rotroff
Jarvis Thurston & Mona Van Duyn Professor Emerita
PhD, Princeton University
Students interested in Latin should explore either the major in Classics or the major in Ancient Studies offered through the Department of Classics.
Students interested in Latin should explore either the minor in Classics or the minor in Ancient Studies offered through the Department of Classics.
Visit online course listings to view semester offerings for L10 Latin.
L10 Latin 101D Beginning Latin I
An introduction to Latin, the language of Ancient Rome and the European Middle Ages and Renaissance, and the most important source of English medical and scientific terms. Beginning with the foundations of Latin grammar, students will work towards developing reading knowledge with the goal of reading literary texts. Students who have already begun their study of Latin should consult the chair of the department to discuss placement.
Credit 4 units. A&S IQ: LCD, LS BU: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 102D Beginning Latin II
Continuation and completion of the program begun in Latin 101D. Prerequisite: Latin 101D or equivalent or permission of instructor.
Credit 4 units. A&S IQ: LCD, LS BU: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 301 Introduction to Latin Literature I
Review of Latin grammar and syntax and development of reading skills and translation techniques through short readings from original texts in prose and poetry such as Caesar and Ovid. Prerequisites: Latin 102D or Latin 190D, placement by examination, or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 3161 Introduction to Latin Literature II: Elementary Prose and Poetry
Appreciation of literary forms through study of selected elementary literary texts in Latin prose and poetry. Prerequisite: Latin 301, placement by examination or permission of the instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 3171 Survey of Latin Literature: The Republic
A sampling of the major literary achievements of the last two centuries of the Roman Republic, including prose and verse authors. Readings are typically drawn from Catullus, Lucretius, Caesar, and Cicero. There will be regular, selective grammar review and discussion of translation strategies. Prerequisite: Latin 102D or Latin 190D with a grade of B+ or better, or Latin 301 and Latin 3161, or placement by examination.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 3181 Survey of Latin Literature: The Empire
Readings in the verse and prose literature of the Roman Empire, particularly its first two centuries, with targeted grammar review and stylistic analysis. Readings may be drawn from Vergil, Livy, Suetonius, or other appropriate authors. Prerequisite: Latin 102D with a grade of B+ or better, or Latin 301, or Latin 3161, or placement by examination.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 370 Topics in Latin Literature
Study in selected problems, eras or generic sequences; specific topic for each semester in course listings. May be repeated for credit for study of different topics. Prerequisites: Latin 318C or permission of instructor.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM BU: HUM
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L10 Latin 4080 The Catilinarian Conspiracy
In this course we will study one of the most fascinating and best documented episodes of the late Roman Republic, the Catilinarian Conspiracy of 63-62 BCE. The conspiracy, an attempted coup led by the apparently dissolute and certainly disaffected aristocrat Catiline, was uncovered and suppressed by the consul Marcus Tullius Cicero. We will read the main literary sources for the conspiracy in Latin (Cicero's first and third Catilinarian speeches; Sallust's Bellum Catilinae) or in English (Cicero's second and fourth Catilinarian speeches; Cicero's Pro Murena and Pro Sulla; short extracts from other texts). We will consider these texts both as historical sources and as works of literature.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: HUM Art: HUM
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L10 Latin 416 Seneca
The tragedies of Seneca are fascinating works in themselves and have had a profound influence on modern theatre and literature. In this class we will read one or more plays of Seneca in Latin as well as scholarly works on the tragedies. Among the topics discussed will be the tradition of tragedy in Rome, questions of performance, and Seneca's responses to the politics and philosophy of his age. PREREQUISITES: LATIN 3171 and LATIN 3181 (OR EQUIVALENT) AND SOPHOMORE STANDING OR ABOVE.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 4161 Seneca: Philosopher and Friend
Seneca the Younger was a philosopher, politician, playwright and propagandist; he rose from the province of Spain to become tutor and adviser to Nero, only to fall from favor and commit suicide at the emperor's command. We will study Seneca's life and works, focusing on the Epistulae Morales and select philosophical treatises. We will pay special attention to issues of language and style, cultural and historical context, and ideological and philosophical content. Prerequisites: Latin 3171 and Latin 3181 (or equivalent) and sophomore standing or above.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 4215 Plautus
Readings from the comedies of Plautus. Discussion of play production in Republican Rome, reception and interpretation. The advanced-level Latin reading load is supplemented by secondary readings, quizzes and short reports. Prerequisites: Latin 3171 and Latin 3181 (or equivalent) and sophomore standing or above.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 422 Lucretius
In this course, we will read selections from Lucretius' epic-didactic poem ON THE NATURE OF THINGS. The poem explains the basic tenets of Epicurean philosophy with a focus on the physical structure of the universe, the nature of the soul, and why we shouldn't fear death. There are many things in Lucretius that feel scientific in a modern sense, such as atomism and the absence of the gods. In fact, he has been accused of inspiring the Scientific Enlightenment, a charge we will acquit him of in this class. Special attention will be given to how Lucretius uses myth and poetry, the influence of earlier Roman epic poets such as Ennius, and his relationship with earlier Greek sources. No prior knowledge of Epicureanism or any philosophy is necessary; Lucretius will be happy to explain everything to you. PREREQUISITES: LATIN 3171 and LATIN 3181 (OR EQUIVALENT) AND SOPHOMORE STANDING OR ABOVE.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 431 Vergil: The Aeneid
We will read books 2 and 3 of the Aeneid, in which Aeneas relates the fall of Troy and the strange series of events that leads him to Carthage and Dido. In addition to close analysis of Vergil's poetic practice in the context of the poem as a whole, we will consider ways in which he engages his epic forebear Homer.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 432 Horace
This course examines Roman poetry that illuminates ancient and still-influential ideas about the functions of literature. Horace's monumental "Ars Poetica" and his other literary-critical works will be the major texts. These works convey the complexity of contemporary debates about literature's role in society and history and about the merits of various genres (epic, tragedy, comedy, satire, epigram). Readings in secondary sources will help to fill out the picture of Horace's career and of the climate of literary production in early Imperial Rome.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 433 Ovid
In this course, we will read selections from the monumental and multifaceted "Metamorphoses of Ovid," which was composed before the poet's exile from Rome in 8 CE. Supplementary readings from Ovid's elegiac verse will give us a fuller picture of the poet's career and cultural context. Substantial daily Latin readings will be supplemented with practice of scansion, additional readings from related ancient works, and readings from modern scholarship on the poem. There will be regular translation quizzes, a final exam, student presentations, and a final research and writing project. Prerequisites: Latin 3171, Latin 3181 (or equivalent), and sophomore standing or above.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 441 Roman Satire
This course focuses on the genre of hexameter satire represented by the Roman poets Lucilius, Horace, Persius, and Juvenal (second century BCE - second century CE). The Roman professor Quintilian called satire "entirely Roman" (tota nostra), and our readings will allow us to explore the meaning of this claim for satire's authors and readers. We will read a large sampling of satiric verse in the original Latin, practice reading the dactylic hexameter, and observe and discuss differences between the poets' styles and themes. We'll also read and discuss scholarship on the genre's formal characteristics and influences, its origins in Republican literary culture, and its development in the Imperial period.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 444 Latin Prose Composition
Readings in select authors coupled with Latin composition, primarily in prose but occasionally in verse, with attention to grammatical and idiomatic accuracy as well as elegance of style.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 465 Silver Latin Epic: Lucan
Lucan's epic poem about the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, written under Nero, investigates themes of individuality, citizenship, morality, and historical inevitability in Roman history. We will read selections from the poem, focusing on Lucan's literary models and poetic style; his treatment of the past and of historical figures like Caesar, Pompey and Cato; and Lucan's place in the political, philosophical and literary world of Neronian Rome. Prerequisites: Latin 3171 and Latin 3181 (or equivalent) and sophomore standing or above.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: IS EN: H
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L10 Latin 471 Elegiac Poetry
In this course we will read a broad selection of the works of the Roman elegiac poets, focusing primarily on the works of Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid. This course will emphasize the development of Roman elegy as a genre during the Augustan period, and will consider a range of literary topics related to elegy, including poetic voice and persona, fictionality, style, meter, intertextuality, and generic tropes, as well as the political, social, and cultural context(s) for these poems. Coursework will include translation and analysis of Latin texts, written assignments, and readings from scholarly literature on Roman elegy. Prerequisites: L10 3171 & 3181 or the equivalent.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 493 Readings in Latin Prose: Apuleius
A survey of the major genres of Latin prose, history, oratory and philosophy. Authors may include Caesar, Cicero, Seneca, Tacitus. Aim is to develop reading facility and understanding.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Art: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 494 Topics in Latin Literature
This course involves the study of selected problems, eras, or generic sequences; the specific topic for each semester can be found in the Course Listings. The course may be repeated for credit for the study of different topics.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Art: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 496 Tacitus
Tacitus, the great historian and orator of the late first and early second centuries CE, is one of our best sources for the early history of the Roman Empire. With his concise style and scathing political insight, Tacitus' writings influenced later authors from Ammianus Marcellinus to Macchiavelli. We will read selections from Tacitus' historical works, paying particular attention to: prose style; genre, rhetoric and historiography; and Tacitus' critique of the Principate. Prerequisites: Latin 3171 and Latin 3181 (or equivalent) and sophomore standing or above.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Art: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 4961 Topics in Empire Latin
May be repeated for credit for study of different topics.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD, LS Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 4963 Martial
Martial, the prolific first-century Latin poet, left behind 15 books of poetry. Martial's epigrams can be witty, sincere, caustic, and often quite sexually explicit. In this course, we will read a selection of Martial's epigrams in Latin, and we will discuss various themes related to Martial's work, such as gender and sexuality, ancient conceptions of authorship and publishing, flattery, invective, and the many personae Martial adopts. We will also pay close attention to Martial's language and style, and we will discuss where Martial fits into the wider social and historical context.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD EN: H
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L10 Latin 497 Honors Course I
Students interested in pursuing honors should consult the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Classics. Prerequisite: overall GPA of 3.65.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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L10 Latin 498 Honors Course II
Students interested in pursuing honors should consult the director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Classics. Prerequisite: overall GPA of 3.65.
Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM EN: H
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