Latin 228 and 409, "Vergil's Aeneid"

Fall 1995

Instructor: Joseph Farrell

Department of Classical Studies
University of Pennsylvania

NB: Under construction! (last modified 8/24/95)

Summary

This course will survey the main interpretive issues surrounding Vergil's Aeneid and will introduce students to basic research techniques. A notable feature of the course will be participation of both undergraduates and graduate students at Penn, and of people with an even wider range of experience via an Internet discussion list and a newly established World Wide Web site.

Goals of the Course	Weekly Schedule and Assignments
Structure of the Course	Special Events
Recommended Texts	Updates
On-line Resources	Feedback

Goals of the Course

To acquaint students with the text of the Aeneid and with the critical discourse that has grown up around the poem since antiquity;
To introduce students to the Verglian community defined in the broadest possible sense;
To enlist the students' enthusiasm for research as both an individual and a collaborative enterprise;
To create resources that will serve students and teachers of Vergil at all levels and in all disciplines;
To engage as many participants from as many different backgrounds as possible and to address their needs and enlist their contributions at the appropriate levels.

Structure of the Course

The course will have three equally important components: weekly class meetings , an Intenet discussion list, and a collaborative research project.

Weekly Class Meetings

Class will normally meet from 3:00 to 4:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays in Williams 723. Occasionally one of the weekly meetings will be cancelled in favor of a special event. For each meeting a specific assignment will be required of the entire class; individuals will from time to time be given additional assignments.

Internet Discussion List

A discussion list will be coordinated with the weekly class meetings. Participation in this list is required of anyone taking the class for credit, and is open to anyone who is interested. You can sign up for the list my sending the message "subscribe vergil-list" to mjd@ccat.sas.upenn.edu (leaving the subject line blank). List participants are not required to duplicate what will be done in class at Penn, but the list will follow the same weekly structure as the class, and will receive regular reports on the class meetings. I expect the discussion list to be somewhat wider-ranging than the in-class discussions; but I also expect participants to remember that it is a course discussion list, not a free-foor-all. The list will end with the course, but contributions will be continuously archived on the CCAT gopher, where you will be able to consult them along with other course materials

Collaborative Research Project

Everyone taking the course for credit will be assigned a research project appropriate to his or her level of expertise, and auditors are more than welcome to take something on as well. The emphasis in these projects will be on collaboration and practicality: Instead of going off to write individual term-papers, students will be assigned to groups charged with creating research tools that will be mounted on the CCAT gopher or the new WWW site mentoned above. The nature of this cite is described in general on the home page of The Vergil Project, and some of results so far can be found via the links at the end of that page.

Recommended Texts

Anyone taking part in this course should own or have ready access to each of the following:

A text of Vergil's works, preferably one with an apparatus criticus;
A text of Vergil's works in English translation;
A selection of commentaries on the Aeneid.
A research library containing a good selection of journals and secondary works.

I have ordered the following books through the University Book Store:

critical text: Mynors' OCT;
translations of the Eclogues by Lee, of the Georgics by Wilkinson (both published by Penguin), and of the Aeneid by Fitzgerald.

I have also assembled a bulk-pack of shorter secondary readings. It is available at Wharton Reprographics. The readings are listed in the Weekly Assignments section of this syllabus.

None of the specific texts listed here is "required". If for any reason you prefer to use a substitute, you are welcome to do so. Any significant differences in how editors, translators, and commentators treat the poetry will simply become grist for our mill. Obviously we do not have the same flexibility when it comes to secondary works, but you can use them in a library if you do not wish to buy them.

On-line Resources

We are beginning to see a variety of resources for Vergilians on WWW. Links to some of these have been collected on a new site created and maintained by The Vergil Project.

Weekly Schedule and Assignments

We will in general be covering a book of the Aeneid per week. Graduate students in particular are encouraged to read as much of the poem as they can in Latin. Class meetings will focus on specific passages from the book of the week, and everyone will be expected to have read these passages with great care. Summaries of the secondary readings will be prepared by class members and posted to the discussion list three days in advance of each class meeting. Summaries of each class meeting will be prepared by class members and posted by midnight the day of the meeting. The full schedule is available on another page.

Special Events

From time to time the regular schedule of class meetings will be interrupted by special events. Some of these will take place at Penn, others on the Internet.

Liveware Events in Philadelphia and Environs

Two events are planned:

Early in the semester the class will meet with students from area schools. The purpose of the meeting will be partly social, and partly to provide us with an opportunity to coordinate our work on The Vergil Project. No date has yet been made: watch Updates below and the course discussion list.
During the week of November 6 the class will meet in a joint session with Professor Ann Kuttner's class on "Greek Art and Architecture" (AHIS 220 and 620/AAMW620). Our subject will be Aeneid 8 in the context of material and visual culture. Again watch Updates below and the course discussion list for further details.

The Virtual Classroom

Again, two events are currently planned:

On Wednesday, September 27 the class will meet on-line in a MOO environment. Our guest will be Professor Ralph Hexter of the Deprtments of Classics and Comparative Literature at the University of Colorado. Professor Hexter will answer questions about his article on Book 2 of the Aeneid, which is part of the assigned reading for the week. Members of the discussion list are encouraged to attend this class. A transcript of the sesson will be made available in raw and edited form.
On Wednesday, November 29 we will have a second MOO session. Our guest will be Professor Denis Feeney of the Department of Classics at the University of Wisconsin. Professor Feeney will discuss his chapter on Vergil in his book The Gods in Epic and his article "History and Revelation in Vergil's Underworld." Again, members of the discussion list are encouraged to attend. A transcript of the session will be archived on the CCAT gopher in raw and edited form.

Updates

Check this space for alterations or corrections of the information contained in this syllabus. Changes will be announced both here and on the discussion list.

Local Events

Meeting with Local Latin Classes

This will now probably take place early next semester. Students from the class will obviously not be required to take part, but it will probably be a festive occasion, and enjoyable for all who do come. Watch this space for details.

Lecture on Aeneid 8

On Friday, Oct. 26, Professor Russell Scott will speak on the shield-ecphrasis in Aeneid 8. The lecture will be in the Goodhart Music Room at Bryn Mawr College at 4:30 pm. This event is sponsored by the Bryn Mawr Claassics Colloquium and is not formally connected with the course, but it should be of great interest to all of us.

Joint Class on Literature and the Visual Arts

On Saturday, Nov. 11, the joint meeting between this class and Ann Kuttner's class on "Greek Art and Architecture" will take place from 1 to 4 pm in Jaffe Hall. The meeting will feature presentations by students from both classes and by Professors Kuttner and Farrell. Watch this space for further details.

New Materials on the Web

Preprints

Julia Dyson, "Septima Aestas": On the Puzzle of Aeneid 1.755-6 and 5.626

Commentaries (on Aeneid 1)

Two are available: Servius and Conington-Nettleship-Haverfield. Both are under construction, but should be useful even in their current condition.

Feedback

jfarrell@mail.sas.upenn.edu OR fill in the following form if your client supports it