Majoring & Minoring

Latin

The Major in Latin requires a minimum of eight courses (majors consist of a minimum of 30 credits):

  • Latin 14-954 (Capstone)
  • Seven additional courses in Latin, five of which must be upper level

(click here for 2017/2018 catalog  requirements) 

Incoming students who place into the language sequence may be eligible for credit .

A student majoring in Latin (through 2009/2010 catalog) must meet the following requirements: a minimum of 30 semester hours, of which at least 18 hours must be upper level (courses numbered above 200).

The upper-level program can be tailored to meet individual student needs.

Courses offered are:

Latin

  • 14-144 Latin I
    Essentials of grammar, composition, and reading. Students will acquire basic translation skills and build a core vocabulary, and they will support their language learning with the study of Roman society and culture. (Fall)
  • 14-154 Latin II
    Continued study of grammar, composition and reading. Students will learn more complex syntactical constructions and begin translating more sustained Latin passages. Prerequisite: Latin 14-144, or equivalent placement. (Spring)
  • 14-164 Latin III
    Students will build on the fundamentals they acquired in introductory Latin and strengthen their skills in translation and interpretation through a variety of Latin prose and poetry texts. Readings and cultural studies of poets such as Catullus and Horace to prose writers of oratory (Cicero), natural history (the two Plinys), and society and politics (Tacitus) to later works such as those of Hildegard of Bingen (twelfth-century polymath and author of causae et curae) and Carolus Linnaeus (eighteenth-century botanist). Contributes to Health Studies. Prerequisite: Latin 14-154, or equivalent placement. (Fall)
  • 14-344 Intermediate Readings Latin Literature
    This course is specifically designed for intermediate students who have completed three semesters of Latin. In addition to strengthening skills in translation, interpretation, and textual analysis, students will encounter Latin texts in their cultural, historical, and political contexts and become familiar with scholarly commentaries. May be repeated with change in topic. Topics offered on a rotating basis of prose and poetry. The range of topics includes readings in the epic poetry of Vergil's Aeneid; Cicero's public speeches and letters in their socio-political context; the poetic corpus of Catullus; Ovid's Metamorphoses; and Livy's history of Rome. Prerequisite: Latin 14-164; or equivalent placement. (Fall, Spring) (H)
  • 14-404 Advanced Readings in Latin Literature
    This course is specifically designed for advanced students and includes rigorous study of Latin texts in focused thematic areas. Students will encounter the texts in their cultural, historical, and political contexts and gain greater familiarity with issues of composition and transmission, as well as current interpretive approaches and important secondary scholarship. May be repeated with change in topic. Topics offered on a rotating basis of prose and poetry. The range of topics includes readings in Latin elegiac poetry; political history of the early principate in Tacitus and Suetonius; the extensive epistolary corpus of Pliny the Younger; and the Roman epigraphic habit. Contributes to Health Studies. Prerequisite: Latin 14-164, or equivalent placement. (Fall, Spring) (H)

 Students majoring in Latin are encouraged to study for a semester or year at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies  or at College Year at Athens .

The Capstone consists of a semester-long research project, which encompasses a wide range within the area of Latin studies. The project culminates with a formal paper and an oral presentation to an interdepartmental committee, chosen by the student and the faculty project advisor.

Students who major in Latin, and who place out of the foreign language requirement as entering first-year students, may take a Latin exam for credit. Students may earn up to six semester hours of lower level credit upon successful completion of the exam.

In addition to Latin courses, Latin majors are strongly urged to take interdisciplinary courses on ancient civilization, philosophy, literature, mythology, and art and archaeology.

Minoring

(click here for 2017/2018 catalog  requirements) 

The Latin minor requires a minimum of 18 semester hours, of which at least 12 hours must be upper level (courses numbered above 200). The upper level program can be tailored to meet individual student needs.

A student minoring in Classics (through 2009/2010 catalog) must meet the following requirements: five courses in Latin (minors consist of a minimum of 18 credits, twelve of which must be upper level).

Students who minor in Latin and who have placed out of the foreign language requirement as entering first-year students may take a Latin exam for credit. Students may earn up to six semester hours of lower level credit upon successful completion of the exam.

In addition to Latin courses, Latin minors are strongly urged to take interdisciplinary courses on ancient civilization, philosophy, literature, mythology, and art and archaeology.

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Hal Haskell (haskell@southwestern.edu ) (512) 863-1554
 or
Dr. Glenda Carl (carlg@southwestern.edu ) (512) 863-1590