Lat Literature of the Republic · Classics
New insights on Latin literature and its history, an excellent re-view of things that one could think are familiar, but that one rediscovers.
Minimal for a course of this kind. Long weekly readings, 9-10 quizzes (-3 drops), a tiny paper of 3-5 pages (compare Williams' 12-20 pages), and three hours of witty lectures per week.
I learned to read long (very long!) passages of Latin in less time than before---forget about trying to write out a translation, it will take forever.
I almost completely disagree with the other review for this course. Prof. Zetzel knows as much about the texts as anyone in the field (if you don't believe me, look at any random bibliography on one of them). When he says "I'm not sure this interpretation is correct," he means "Why don't you look at the three articles I've written on this question?" He has a great ability to condense hundreds of years of literary discussion into three hours a week, and if you pay attention, you will find that most of his comments are ironic and quite funny, but perhaps only an enthusiastic student will grasp the humor. If you don't pay attention, this course and every other you take in your life will seem boring and dry. No one who isn't genuinely interested in this material should take this course, because it is quite demanding. For each author you will have to read 600-1000 lines of text, oftentimes very difficult lines at that. The course gives one a good grounding in the best known Latin authors, and Zetzel makes his lectures as deep as possible, considering the vast breadth of the subject. To mitigate the difficulty of the course, he drops a third of the quizzes, which is a godsend, and is a nice grader - he doesn't look for a perfect translation on a quiz, just firm evidence that you read the assignment. Prof. Zetzel may be something of an acquired taste, but he is a kind, witty, and ren…
If you are up for reading 700-800 lines of Latin per week, by all means, this course is for you.
quiz almost every week. one paper. exam is standard.
He's a nice guy, WAY boring lecturer, knows SO much. I really regret not going to his office hours earlier in the term because he's really interesting and useful to speak with. But his lectures are really really dry. Given that this is a ridiculously demanding course required of Majors in the Classics, count your lucky stars that he's a forgiving grader. Next term in Latin of the Empire, you won't be so lucky...