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GREEK 101:READING GREEK

FALL 2000

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MW 11:00-12:20
F 11:00-11:50

Professor Marilyn A. Katz
335 Science Tower
mkatz@wesleyan.edu
Office Hours: T 12-2 pm
ext. 2069 (leave messages only; use email for other communications)

Mercedes Barletta
Teaching Assistant
Practice Sessions: TTh 7:30-9:30 pm
334 Science Tower
ext. 6446
mbarletta@wesleyan.edu
 
 

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the language and culture of the ancient Greeks.  Students will learn the vocabulary, grammar and syntax of the language as they progress through graded readings.  The readings are adapted from ancient Greek texts and they present a broad overview of life in ancient Athens from the beginning of the Peloponnesian War in 431 BCE through the end of the fifth century BCE.  Selected readings in a supplementary English text explain and elaborate the principal features of classical Athenian culture.

1. Required and Optional Texts
REQUIRED:
J.A.C.T. Greek Course: Reading Greek: Text (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990; 0521219760 ; $17.95)
J.A.C.T. Greek Course: Reading Greek: Grammar, Vocabulary and Exercises (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990; 0521219779 ; $22.95)
J.A.C.T. Greek Course: The World of Athens: An Introduction to Classical Athenian Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984; 0521273897; $25.95)
J.A.C.T. Workbook (purchase for $5 from Deborah Sierpinski, Classical Studies Administrative Assistant, 335 Science Center).

OPTIONAL: 
J.A.C.T. Greek Course: Speaking Greek (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981; 0521239133 ; $24.50)
This is a cassette recording which contains a talk on the pronunciation of ancient Greek followed by reading of extracts from the course text which is used both this semester and next. We will be listening to sections of this tape in class and practice sessions, but you may also want to purchase your own copy. Five copies will be in Atticus, and the cassette can also be ordered from BestBookBuys.com (see below).

Textbook purchasing:
Books are available at Atticus.
You may also want to check out prices on BestBookBuys for both new and used copies of the course textbooks at reduced prices. (But don't forget to calculate shipping costs into the total--shipping is free at ecampus and at 1bookstreet.) 
The links on the textbook names above will take you to a page on BestBookBuys where you can comparison shop for each of the textbooks and for the cassette. 
If you elect to go this route, make sure that the books are available for immediate shipment and that you will have them in hand no later than September 8. 
Until then, you'll have to make arrangements with a classmate to share a text; or you can use the texts which are available in the Classical Studies Seminar Room (334 SC) , but which you should not mark or remove from the Seminar Room, please.

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2. Class Assignments
Everyday Class Assignments for MW (after September 11) will include:
(1) the preparation of a section of Reading Greek: Text, using the aids in Reading Greek: Grammar, Vocabulary and Exercises (GVE);
(2) memorization of vocabulary;
(3) memorization of forms;
(4) workbook exercises;
(5) background reading in The World of Athens.
The reading and background material will be reviewed and discussed in class. Vocabulary and forms will be tested daily.
Class Assignments for Friday will vary throughout the semester, but will not include vocabulary or forms memorization.

Class Performance will constitute 40% of the grade for the course, and the grade for this section will be based on how well you have mastered the assignment and how well you do on homework exercises and daily tests. The grade for this section will be computed using the top 75% of your individual grades, so there will be room for you to slip up occasionally without penalty.

2a. Practice Sessions
Practice and Review sessions will be held every TTh evening 7:30-9:30 pm (or at another time mutually convenient for Mercedes Barletta and the students)
Attendance at one of these sessions is required; they are meant to substitute for the time you would be required to spend in the language lab in a course in a modern language.
No new preparation will be required for these session; they will be devoted to:
1. practice in reading (pronouncing) Greek
2. vocabulary drill
3. forms drill
4. accents practice
5. questions and discussion

HOUR EXAMS:
There will be four hour exams in the course of the semester. Each Hour Exam will consist of:
(1) vocabulary (Greek to English and English to Greek);
(2) morphology (verb forms, noun forms, adjective forms);
(3) unaided translation of selected passages from the assigned reading.
(4) short-answer questions on background reading
Hour exam grades will constitute 30% of the grade for the course; each Hour Exam will count for 25% of the overall Hour Exam grade).

HOUR EXAM DATES (mark your calendars): October 11 (Wednesday before Fall Break); October 27 (Friday); November 17 (Friday before Thanksgiving break); December 6 (Wednesday)

The FINAL EXAM will constitute 30% of the grade for the course. The Final Exam will consist of 
(1) 5 out of 7 unseen paragraphs to translate from Greek into English (50 minutes; 50 percent);
(2) all vocabulary from Sections 1-6 (10 minutes; 20/25 words; 10 percent); 
(3) 5 complete declensions of nouns and/or adjectives (20 minutes; 40 forms; 20 percent); 
(4) 5 complete verb paradigms (20 minutes; 40 forms; 20 percent). 

On-line self-test exercises for Vocabulary and some Forms are posted to help students with mastery of the onerous task of memorizing. (See details on the Course Schedule.)
 

GENIUS QUESTIONS:
These are online quizzes posted occasionally throughout the semester.  They are OPTIONAL for EXTRA CREDIT.  Genius Grades will be returned by email, and you have the option of adding your grades on Genius Questions to those on Daily Quizzes. You can count or discount however many you want, so there's no penalty for bombing. 

Students may review their grades in the course to date by linking to an on-line grade sheet, itemized by Wes ID number, which will be updated at various intervals throughout the semester. This site will be available after September 11, but you can consult it beforehand to see how individual items will figure into the grade computation.

3. Class Attendance
As in every beginning language course, class attendance is a "must." Students who miss more than 6 classes (the equivalent of two weeks) will be required to drop the course unless individual circumstances warrant otherwise. The moral of the story is: come to class unless a dire emergency intervenes! But keep in mind also that 25% of daily class performance grades (the equivalent of 8 MW classes) may be discounted, so there will be opportunities for you to come to class with less-than-perfect preparation and still profit from the lessons and discussions of the day. If you are consistently underprepared, however, you will be unlikely to do well on the quizzes and exams, and you will easily find yourself falling behind.
You may also miss 2 Practice Sessions without penalty. That allowance should cover both health emergencies and absences required by Thespian or other types of evening activities.

That's the bad news. The good news is that students generally love this text and the readings in it. As you look around our classroom and the walls and doors of the Classical Studies Department, you'll see many wall paintings that were inspired by Reading Greek--about ten years ago the students in Greek 101 first put many of them up in the dead of night as a surprise for the department. I hope you enjoy this course as much as they did!