Online advanced seminars
Online advanced seminars
In these weekly 90-minute sessions, our teachers choose texts they find particularly interesting for discussion with students, or offer skills-based workshops aimed at developing proficiency across the full range of linguistic skills. These highly participative sessions will appeal to those who already have a strong command of grammar and wish to work on improving their reading, speaking and writing fluency.
The cost of each of the seminars is £270.
Intensive Seminars
Dec 9-13, 2024
Dec 9-13, 2024
Enrolment deadline Nov 29
Latin Composition:
ARS LATINE SCRIBENDI
with Matthias Erbacher
4-6:45 pm UK time daily, Dec 9-13
Winter Term
Jan 13-Mar 16, 2025
Jan 13-Mar 16, 2025
Enrolment deadline Dec 31
Women-Only Seminar: LETTERS FROM MYTHICAL WOMEN – OVID'S HEROIDES
with Natalia Čepeláková
Tuesdays 4:30-6 pm UK time
Greek Composition II:
DIALOGUES
with Mark Tomov and Oroel Marcuello Gil
Tuesdays 6:30-8 pm UK time
Neo-Latin Reading Course, Part II:
EARLY MODERN EUROPE AND AMERICA
with Dr Iván Parga Ornelas
Thursdays 4-5:30 pm UK time
Latine Loqui:
TALKING ABOUT EMOTIONS IN LATIN
with Pierre Gorsky-Mièze
Thursdays 5:30-7 pm UK time
Spring Term
Apr 21-Jun 22, 2025
Apr 21-Jun 22, 2025
Enrolment deadline Apr 11
Women-Only Seminar:
SPEAKING OF MYSELF – GLIMPSING CICERO AND PLINY THE YOUNGER THROUGH THEIR LETTERS
with Natalia Čepeláková
Tuesdays 4:30-6 PM UK time
Greek Composition III:
DELIBERATIVE SPEECH
with Mark Tomov and Oroel Marcuello Gil
Tuesdays 6:30-8 pm UK time
Latine Loqui:
TALKING ABOUT POLITICS IN LATIN
with Pierre Gorsky-Mièze
Thursdays 5:30-7 pm UK time
Latin Composition
ARS LATINE SCRIBENDI
ARS LATINE SCRIBENDI
With Matthias Erbacher
4-6:45 pm daily, Dec 9-13, 2024
Quamquam viva, ut aiunt, via ac ratione latine docendi restituta humaniores litterae ad novam quasi gloriam efflorescere nonnullis videntur, nos tamen re ipsa experti sumus, quanta cum difficultate discipuli ad Latinitatis antiquae imitationem perveniant. Videmus enim bonam partem eorum, qui hodie linguam Latinam profitentur, in loquendo nihil minus spirare quam nativum illum et incorruptum Romani sermonis odorem, ut omnes ii, qui saeculorum decursu ingenium artisque structuram linguae latinae tradere voluerunt, ea de orationis facultate frustra scripsisse videantur. Qui fit igitur, ut post prima rei grammaticae rudimenta teneri discipuli, cum nulla eis via ad illam rem demonstretur, omnia perdidicisse sibi videantur et novam quandam loquendi rationem plane barbaram sibi ipsi confingant.
Quare igitur his in sessionibus de arte latine scribendi tractare nobis proposuimus: Ac primo quidem per faciliora quaedam exercitia proprietates linguae latinae perspiciemus, quas probe novisse debet, qui latine et loqui et scribere vult, ut apte res cogitataque sua verbis latinis convestiat, tum quaecumque ad illam orationis partem pertinent, quam Latini circuitum vel complexionem, Graeci vero periodum appellaverunt, trademus, postremo praeceptiones oratorias et leviores quasdam exercitationes, quae gravioribus eloquentiae studiis quasi praecurrunt (id quod Graeca vox progymnasmata sonat) exponemus et appositis exemplis illustrabimus. Quo autem loco apprime illud expositionis genus, quod antiquitus Chria nuncupata est quodque usque ad saeculum XIX ab omnibus ferme humanitatis studiosis summa cum diligentia colebatur – quid enim ad iuvenum ingenia exacuenda aptius ?! – doctissimis illis artis oratoriae magistris tam antiquis quam recentibus, ut Aphthonium tantum et Iosephum Iuvencium, viros suis aetatibus doctissimos, exempli causa nominem, eis ducibus usi explicabimus et degustabimus.
***
Despite the resurgence of the ‘active’ method and its evident success in bringing new appreciation to ancient literature, we are acutely aware of how difficult it is for students to achieve true Latinity in their own use of the language. One might indeed say that most modern speakers and writers of Latin are actually some way from authenticity, and that the authors who through the centuries have striven to pass down the spirit and artistic structure of Latin wrote in vain about how to use the language. Thus we end up with a situation in which students who are still new to the language but have learned the rudiments of grammar think they have learned all there is to learn, and, having no better models to follow, fashion a new way of speaking that is conspicuous for its lack of Latinity.
Hence our decision to offer a course on the art of writing Latin. We will begin with easier exercises examining the particular properties of Latin that anyone who wants to write and speak authentic Latin needs to know in order to clothe their thoughts and ideas fittingly in Latin words; next, we will study that aspect of style which Latin authors called circuitus or complexio and the Greeks periodos; finally we will explain, and illustrate with examples, oratorical precepts and what the Greeks called progymnasmata, lighter exercises that serve as precursors to weightier studies of eloquence. Here too we will pay special attention to explaining and giving a brief taste of the kind of narration that in antiquity was called chria,' which anyone who was serious about humanitas used to study and promote as the most effective means of training the minds of young people. In this we will be guided by the most learned teachers of oratory, whether ancient or recent, such as Aphthonius and Josephus Iuvencius (to give just a couple of examples), the most learned men of their age.
Women-Only Seminar:
LETTERS FROM MYTHICAL WOMEN – OVID'S HEROIDES
LETTERS FROM MYTHICAL WOMEN – OVID'S HEROIDES
With Natalia Čepeláková
Tuesdays 4:30-6 pm UK time, Jan 14-Mar 11, 2025
There are comparatively few women in the Latin speaking field, a fact that has nothing to do with ability and everything to do with opportunity. This seminar, led by Natalia Čepeláková, aims to help redress the balance by giving women the opportunity to practise speaking Latin with each other in a mutually supportive environment. Designed for women who are fairly confident readers of Latin and specifically want to begin or develop their speaking ability, the seminar will encourage discussion of students’ response to the texts rather than primarily teaching grammar, though grammatical guidance will be given whenever it is needed.
Ovid's Heroides consist of 21 elegiac poems, most of which take the form of letters written by women of ancient myth and legend who have suffered in love to the men who have variously deserted, disappointed, deceived or otherwise mistreated them. Examples include Penelope writing to Ulysses, Briseis to Achilles, Phaedra to Hippolytus, Dido to Aeneas, Deianeira to Hercules, Ariadne to Theseus, Medea to Jason, and Hermione to Orestes. Each poem purports to present love from the woman’s point of view; among the things we will discuss in this seminar is the extent to which the male poet has, or could hope to have, understood the perspective of a woman on the receiving end of male desire in societies where women were relatively powerless. Taking one poem per week, we will also spend part of each seminar revisiting the myths themselves and noting other well known representations of the stories.
Greek Composition II:
DIALOGUES
DIALOGUES
With Mark Tomov and Oroel Marcuello Gil
Tuesdays 7-8:30 pm UK time, Jan 14-Mar 11, 2025
Μουσεῖον τῆς βιβλιοθήκης· Introduction to Greek Prose Composition and Literature
῾The act of imitation is innate to humans from childhood, and they differ from all other animals in that they are extremely imitative, they learn first through imitation, and they all take pleasure in acts of imitation᾽ (Aristotle, Poetics 1448b)
Following in the footsteps of Alexandrian scholars, we present a year-long series of classes on Ancient Greek literature and style. Advanced students will practise the Greeks’ stylistic devices and figures of speech in a step-by-step fashion by imitating the authors’ style, progressing from easier to harder texts. The course is divided into three terms, each of which will focus on a different type of texts (narrative, dialogues, deliberative speeches). Within each term, classes will be organised in two-week sets, where the first week will consist of reading an ancient text and analysing its structure and style and the second will involve discussion of short texts written by students in the style of the author who was examined the previous week. The course is aimed at those who have already finished Intermediate I (or higher).
Greek Composition II: dialogues
In the second term, our focus will be on texts where the interaction between characters takes central place. We will examine the ways in which authors create dialogue between the dramatis personae (as part of what Plato refers to as μίμησις as opposed to ἁπλῆ διήγησις – Pl. Rep. 3.392b-394d). The objective of these classes will be to study what makes a dialogue funny, profound, or engaging. In terms of grammar, we will examine how particles are used with subtlety to build up or ease tension, thus functioning as crucial elements of the text around which meaning is introduced.
(the order of authors may change)
Week 1. Introduction
Weeks 2-3: Lucian. Reading and discussion.
Weeks 4-5: Aristophanes. Reading and discussion.
Weeks 6-7: Plato. Reading and discussion.
Weeks 8-9: Euripides/Sophocles. Reading and discussion.
Neo-Latin Reading Course, Part II:
EARLY MODERN EUROPE AND AMERICA
EARLY MODERN EUROPE AND AMERICA
With Dr Iván Parga Ornelas
Thursdays 4-5:30 pm, UK time, Jan 16-Mar 13, 2025
Latin language and literature have a rich and enduring history that goes beyond the dissolution of the Roman empire. From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and even today, people across the world have used Latin to write literary, philosophical, political, and scientific works of great historical and cultural significance. In order to introduce students to post-classical Latin literature, this two-term reading course will focus on the writings of late-medieval and Renaissance or Early Modern authors. The course is designed both for scholars of these periods who wish to improve their Latin for academic purposes, and for enthusiasts of the language who seek a wider understanding of the history of Latin literature.
Classes are primarily taught in Latin, and they are meant for advanced or intermediate students who have already learned the grammar and can read, but still struggle to do so fluently and without a dictionary. Some experience with spoken Latin is also desirable.
During the Winter term we will focus on international works that demonstrate the spread of humanistic ideas and classicising Latin throughout Europe and other parts of the world from the late fifteenth to the eighteenth century. Some of the authors whose texts we will examine are Erasmus of Rotterdam (c. 1469 – 1535), Laura Cereta (1469-1499), Joachim du Bellay (1522-1560), Goerge Buchanan (1506-1582), and José de Villerías y Roelas (1695-1728).
Latine Loqui:
TALKING ABOUT EMOTIONS IN LATIN
TALKING ABOUT EMOTIONS IN LATIN
With Pierre Gorsky-Mièze
Thursdays 5:30-7 pm UK time, Jan 16-Mar 13, 2025
Are you already skilled in Latin grammar and able to understand someone speaking Latin?
Are you already able to express yourself very simply in Latin, but keen to improve your oral
expression? Then this workshop is for you!
The method involves learning and using the idiomatic expressions found in Meissner's Latin
Phrase Book, supported by specially created videos and the reading of ancient texts. Students
will have the opportunity to use the expressions in a variety of contexts, which will make
memorising them easy.
Each term will have a different theme:
- Autumn Term: daily life, work, projects.
- Winter Term: emotions and philosophy.
- Spring Term: public life and politics.
Women-Only Seminar:
SPEAKING OF MYSELF – GLIMPSING CICERO AND PLINY THE YOUNGER THROUGH THEIR LETTERS
SPEAKING OF MYSELF – GLIMPSING CICERO AND PLINY THE YOUNGER THROUGH THEIR LETTERS
With Natalia Čepeláková
Tuesdays 5-6:30 pm UK time, Apr 22-Jun 17, 2025
There are comparatively few women in the Latin speaking field, a fact that has nothing to do with ability and everything to do with opportunity. This seminar, led by Natalia Čepeláková, aims to help redress the balance by giving women the opportunity to practise speaking Latin with each other in a mutually supportive environment. Designed for women who are fairly confident readers of Latin and specifically want to begin or develop their speaking ability, the seminar will encourage discussion of students’ response to the texts rather than primarily teaching grammar, though grammatical guidance will be given whenever it is needed.
Cicero and Pliny are both well known for their correspondence. The multiple volumes of Cicero’s letters represent just one of the genres for which he is famous, while in Pliny’s case his ten books of letters are virtually all that remain of his writings. Each author’s correspondence was preserved for different reasons:Pliny carefully arranged his letters for publication,while Cicero seems on the whole to have had no such expectation, writing for his friends rather than for posterity. We will read a selection of letters from each author, touching as much as possible on similar themes, and look at what the two authors reveal about themselves, their lives, their interests and their ambitions.
Greek Composition III:
DELIBERATIVE SPEECH
DELIBERATIVE SPEECH
With Mark Tomov and Oroel Marcuello Gil
Tuesdays 7-8:30 pm UK time, Apr 22-Jun 17, 2025
Μουσεῖον τῆς βιβλιοθήκης· Introduction to Greek Prose Composition and Literature
῾The act of imitation is innate to humans from childhood, and they differ from all other animals in that they are extremely imitative, they learn first through imitation, and they all take pleasure in acts of imitation᾽ (Aristotle, Poetics 1448b)
Following in the footsteps of Alexandrian scholars, we present a year-long series of classes on Ancient Greek literature and style. Advanced students will practise the Greeks’ stylistic devices and figures of speech in a step-by-step fashion by imitating the authors’ style, progressing from easier to harder texts. The course is divided into three terms, each of which will focus on a different type of texts (narrative, dialogues, deliberative speeches). Within each term, classes will be organised in two-week sets, where the first week will consist of reading an ancient text and analysing its structure and style and the second will involve discussion of short texts written by students in the style of the author who was examined the previous week. The course is aimed at those who have already finished Intermediate I (or higher).
Greek Composition III: deliberative speech
The aim of the third term’s classes is to explore the structure of a persuasive speech and the tools by means of which we can create one ourselves. In terms of grammar, we will discuss rhetorical devices and figures of speech as used in the texts. In addition, we will study the ways in which the ancient orators constructed their elaborate sentences – αἱ περίοδοι –and when and why this type of sentence is to be employed.
(the order of authors may change)
Week 1. Introduction
Weeks 2-3: Homer. Reading and discussion.
Weeks 4-5: Lysias. Reading and discussion.
Weeks 6-7: Isocrates. Reading and discussion.
Weeks 8-9: Demosthenes. Reading and discussion.
Latine Loqui:
TALKING ABOUT POLITICS IN LATIN
TALKING ABOUT POLITICS IN LATIN
With Pierre Gorsky-Mièze
Thursdays 5:30-7 pm UK time, Apr 24-Jun 19, 2025
Are you already skilled in Latin grammar and able to understand someone speaking Latin?
Are you already able to express yourself very simply in Latin, but keen to improve your oral
expression? Then this workshop is for you!
The method involves learning and using the idiomatic expressions found in Meissner's Latin
Phrase Book, supported by specially created videos and the reading of ancient texts. Students
will have the opportunity to use the expressions in a variety of contexts, which will make
memorising them easy.
Each term will have a different theme:
- Autumn Term: daily life, work, projects.
- Winter Term: emotions and philosophy.
- Spring Term: public life and politics.