Face-to-face , first term, 30 hours of theory.

First term
Wednesday from 08:30 to 10:30 at 109 Marais 211

The course is given in French. Compulsory readings may be in English, German, Italian or Spanish.

Throughout this course students will be trained to translate and comment texts of Latin prose writers and poets of the end of the republican period as well as of the beginning of the imperial period, from a grammatical, historical, cultural, stylistic and literary point of view. The course also aims to deepen the knowledge that students have of Latin structures to enable them to conduct an autonomous study of texts. In addition, it contributes to improve their capability to summarise and criticise scientific literature devoted to the studied text.

For the Bachelor in French and Romance Languages and Letters : General :

None

Each year, the course studies a specific work, alternating between texts of different literary genres. The analysis of this work may be completed by the reading of other texts, - Latin works of different periods, in their original language or translated, earlier (Greek, translated) or later literary works (possibly translated if it is not a French work), in order to enrich the commentary and to better situate the work in its historical, cultural, stylistic and literary context. In interaction with the students, the professor develops an original translation for each of the selected excerpts and proposes a commentary that focuses on the most remarkable aspects of the text. He will highlight the analysing methods that are implemented and present the working tools used (bibliography, statistics, etc.). Reading the texts implies also the examination of significant facts in the fields of phonetics, morphology, lexis and syntax.

The course alternates between lecture and student participation (with the help of IT resources and documentation). The students are invited to prepare each week the translation of the texts that will be studied during the following course. For the examination, the students must carry out a complete work of translation, grammatical analysis and commentary of a certain number of texts (the number varies according to the year - Bac 2 or Bac 3 -, and according to the difficulty of the studied author). The students will also have to hand in - in typing, and before the end of the course -, summaries and reports on articles or books about the studied author and work (these documents will then be copied and made available to the other students).

Terms of the summative assessment:

Oral examination on the translation as well as the historical, cultural, stylistic and literary commentary of:
1. an excerpt studied in class
2. a text among those prepared at home

The students will be marked on the summaries and reports on articles and books.

We will assess the students' ability:
1) to translate (while establishing links between the translation and the original text excerpts);
2) to justify grammatically their translation;
3) to show their knowledge of the studied author and of the studied work as well as their importance in history and Latin literature;
4) to use the working tools used in class;
5) to implement personally the analysing methods used in class.

Terms of the formative assessment:

At home the students should prepare each week the translation of the texts that will be studied during the following session. They will be questioned orally by the professor, who may help them to progress by providing personalised advice. Before the examination, one or more written tests on translation and commentary will be organised: the marks will allow the students to assess their progress.

For the texts they have to prepare personally, the students may hand in written questions to the professor who will answer them either in writing or orally. These questions may also be sent by e-mail.

To assess their knowledge of Latin language, the students may refer to the learning software L.A.S.L.A. (Laboratory of Statistical Analysis of Ancient Languages) of the University of Liège, available at the Saint-Louis library.

A bibliography is provided each year at the beginning of the course depending on the studied author (also available on the internet).

The student must acquire a critical edition of the studied work (usually the text from the “Collection des Universités de France” edition).

Course notes will be provided by the teacher (bibliographies, additional texts, notes, etc..). . The following reference grammars will be used: A.-M. BOXUS et M. LAVENCY, Clauis, Paris-Gembloux, 3e éd., 1999 et M. LAVENCY, Vsus, Description du Latin classique en vue de la lecture des auteurs, Grammaire latine, 2e éd., (Bibliothèque des Cahiers de l'Institut de Linguistique de Louvain, 88), Louvain-la-Neuve, 1997.

None