Kansas State University

  1. K-State home
  2. »Modern Languages
  3. »Programs
  4. »Classical Studies

Department of Modern Languages

Classical Studies

 

Summer 2022 Latin and Classical Studies Courses

CLSCS 105 (11326) – Medical Terminology: Latin and Greek for Scientists This course provides students with the framework and experience required to understand and use scientific and medical terminology. No prior knowledge of either Latin or Greek is required.

 

Fall 2022 Latin and Classical Studies Courses

 

Latin 101 (13830) Introduction to Latin. This course serves as an introduction to the grammar, syntax, vocabulary and structure of the Latin language. This course teaches Latin not as a spoken language but as a language that is read and written. Not only will this class teach the first half of the textbook but we will also take the time to contextualize the language in the culture and literature of Rome. So: why take Latin? 1) It's super fun! 2) Completion of the Latin language sequence will fulfill the language requirement for a BA! 3) Students who take Latin consistently get among the highest GRE, LSAT, and MCAT scores! 4) You'll get to talk about all kinds of fun things, like Hannibal and elegiac poetry and Roman wedding traditions that you definitely won't get to talk about in any other class! 5) It's super fun! Fall 2022 MTWU: 9:30-10:20 This course fulfills K-State 8 Aesthetic Interpretation or Historical categories; completion of the Latin sequence fulfills BA language requirement; completion of Latin sequence will also provide International Overlay credit.  Classics 501 (14692) Comedy, Humor, and Satire in Classical Literature. The Lover of Laughter is the only surviving ancient joke-book. Its jokes run by topic: stupid students, stupid prophets, 'people from Abdera do this...', newlyweds, and many others. Take for example, the following joke. A man walks up to a stupid student and says, 'The donkey you sold me died!' 'I swear,' the stupid student says, 'he never did that when I owned him!' Or another: A man with serious halitosis goes to the doctor and says, 'Doctor! I think my uvula has descended!' When he opens his mouth, the doctor turns away in disgust and says, 'Your uvula didn't descend; your anus ascended.' Also consider the stupid student who buys a baby crow to test whether crows can live two hundred years. We will discuss how the Lover of Laughter uses jokes to create and reinforce stereotypes about social classes, genders, and ethnic groups within the Roman empire. This class will investigate how Greek and Roman authors construct humor, especially through their satire of serious works of literature. We will read Archilochus' invective (the only person he's meaner about than his girlfriend is himself); Aristophanes' comedy the Lysistrata (the women of Athens go on a sex-strike to end a war) and his Clouds (which exposes the crimes of that weird-o Socrates); Seneca's The Pumpkinification of Claudius (which mocks the recently deceased emperor Claudius); the only extant ancient joke-book, the Lover of Laughter; Lucian's True History (a fake history); and the Timarion (a humorous journey to the afterlife that mocks contemporary medical, judicial, and educational practices). The readings are in translation: no prior knowledge of classical literature or languages is expected. Fall 2022 TU: 11:30-12:45 This course fulfills Humanities—Literary/Rhetorical Arts; it fulfills K-State 8 Aesthetic Interpretation or Historical Perspectives; it is an approved course of the Primary Text Certificate. This class may be taken with an Honors Contract for Honors Credit. This class is repeatable.