ANCIENT GREEK & ROMAN EPIC

CLT3340 (section 01HF)
Spring 2013
MWF 2nd period (8:30-9:20)
Turlington L005

 
          The ancient Greek and Roman tradition of epic poetry preserves the some of the earliest and best-known examples of Western literature. Indeed, such poems as the Iliad and Aeneid continue to influence modern literature and popular culture.
          This course examines the development of the Greco-Roman epic genre in the context of the political and social world of the Mediterranean region from its origins in oral performance traditions in the Bronze Age to the Roman Imperial period. Readings (all in English translations) will focus on Homeric and Hesiodic poetry, Apollonios' Hellenistic epic Argonautika, the Roman epics of Virgil and Ovid, and will include earlier texts that influenced indirectly the development of Greco-Roman literary forms, including the Epic of Gilgamesh. This course fulfills the General Education Requirement Categories H (Humanities).

instructor
Jim Marks, Department of Classics
jmarks@ufl.edu
office hours: 380 Dauer MWF 11:45-12:45 or email for appointment

required texts (buy online or at area bookstores)
NOTE: other editions are OK for this class, but it is up to the student to match the readings to the proper page numbers of any alternative texts.

course website (http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/marksj/epic/anc_epic.html)
Students should bring to class the lecture note outlines for the day, downloaded from the course webpage. Also available are study guides for the quizzes exams and images from the lectures.

evaluation (for UF grades see: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx)
weekly quizzes (non-cumulative); best 10 of 11 @ 6% each = 60% of total grade

exams (non-cumulative): 2 @ 20% each = 40% of total grade
    Exam #1: Friday March 1
    Exam #2: Wednesday April 24 (last class day)

grading scale: A= 90 and above; A- = 87-89; B+ = 84-86; B = 80-83; B- = 77-79; C+ = 74-76; C = 70-73;    
                                C- = 67-69 (note that UF does not consider a C- to be a passing grade);
                                D+ = 64-66; D = 60-63; D- = 57-59; E = 56 and below

Quiz make-ups: students with a valid excuse have one week after a missed quiz (or one week after recovering from an illness) to take a make-up quiz, which covers the same material but is in essay format. Excused absences include: required student participation in a University sponsored event (excused with official documentation from the appropriate faculty or staff member PRIOR to the event); religious holidays (notify instructors within the first 2 weeks of class); medical emergencies (with documentation from a health care provider); family emergencies (with valid written documentation). See the bottom of this page for links to official UF policies. Exams must be taken at the assigned times.
class participation, though not strictly required, is highly encouraged, and will be taken into consideration when deciding grades that are borderline.

course downloads

This course is conducted in compliance with all University of Florida policies regarding special needs, academic honesty, and absences for emergencies, religious holidays and extracurricular activities. Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office, which will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation. For details, see http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/students.php (special needs); https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/advising/info/student-honor-code.aspx#honesty (academic honesty); https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx#illness (illness); https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx#religious (religious holidays); https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx#absences (absences).