Latin Language and Literature

Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures
https://cultures.rice.edu
207 Rayzor Hall
713-348-4868

Jacqueline Couti
Department Chair, Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures
jacqueline.couti@rice.edu

The minor in Latin Language and Literature is part of the Classical Studies program in the Department of Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures (MCLC). This minor is an opportunity to pursue a course of study in Latin, from the elementary to the advanced level, and in Roman authors and texts and their cultural contexts.

Latin Language and Literature does not currently offer an academic program at the graduate level.

Chair, Department of Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures

Jacqueline Couti

Program Advisor

Hilary S. Mackie

Professors

Scott McGill
Harvey E. Yunis

Associate Professor

Hilary S. Mackie

Assistant Professor

Sophie Crawford-Brown

Senior Lecturer

Ted Somerville

For Rice University degree-granting programs:
To view the list of official course offerings, please see Rice’s Course Catalog
To view the most recent semester’s course schedule, please see Rice's Course Schedule

Latin (LATI)

LATI 101 - ELEMENTARY LATIN I

Short Title: ELEMENTARY LATIN I

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Study of the fundamentals of Latin grammar with emphasis on acquisition of reading skills. Effective May 15, 2019, this course does not carry D1 credit. Cross-list: MDEM 101.

LATI 102 - ELEMENTARY LATIN II

Short Title: ELEMENTARY LATIN II

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Prerequisite(s): LATI 101 or MDST 101 or MDEM 101

Description: Continuation of LATI 101 and MDST 101. Graduate students require permission of instructor. Effective May 15, 2019, this course does not carry D1 credit. Cross-list: MDEM 102.

LATI 104 - AP/OTH CREDIT IN ELEMENTARY LATIN

Short Title: AP/OTH CREDIT ELEMENTARY LATIN

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Transfer

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course provides credit for students who have successfully completed approved examinations, such as Advanced Placement exams. This credit counts toward the total credit hours required for graduation.

LATI 201 - INTERMEDIATE LATIN I: PROSE

Short Title: INTERMEDIATE LATIN I: PROSE

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Review of grammar and readings in Latin prose. Cross-list: MDEM 211.

LATI 202 - INTERMEDIATE LATIN II

Short Title: INTERMEDIATE LATIN II

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Prerequisite(s): LATI 201 or MDEM 211

Description: Readings in Virgil. LATI 202 and MDEM 212 are mutually exclusive with LATI 210. Credit cannot be earned for LATI 202 or MDEM 212 if a student has previously taken LATI 210. Cross-list: MDEM 212.

LATI 204 - AP/OTH CREDIT IN INTERMEDIATE LATIN

Short Title: AP/OTH CREDIT INTERM. LATIN

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Transfer

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course provides credit for students who have successfully completed approved examinations, such as Advanced Placement exams. This credit counts toward the total credit hours required for graduation.

LATI 210 - INTERMEDIATE LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Short Title: INTMD LATIN LANG. AND LIT.

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course is open to all Latin students who have completed LATI 101 or higher. Its focus is translation, grammatical analysis, and literary criticism of classical Latin texts (prose and/or poetry). Because the assigned Latin texts vary from semester to semester, the course may be repeated for credit. LATI 210 is mutually exclusive with LATI 202 and MDEM 212. Credit for LATI 210 cannot be given if a student has previously taken LATI 202 or MDEM 212. Recommended Prerequisite(s): LATI 101 or equivalent Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 238 - SPECIAL TOPICS

Short Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Internship/Practicum, Laboratory, Lecture, Seminar, Independent Study, Lecture/Laboratory

Credit Hours: 1-4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Topics and credit hours may vary each semester. Contact department for current semester’s topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 301 - CICERO AND SALLUST

Short Title: CICERO AND SALLUST

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Prerequisite(s): LATI 202

Description: The course will read selections from Cicero and Sallust on the Catilinarian Conspiracy. Close attention will be given to the authors' style and to their rhetorical and historiographical methods. We will also examine the events of the conspiracy and the political culture of the late Roman Republic. Recommended Prerequisite(s): Four semesters of Latin or the equivalent.

LATI 303 - ADVANCED LATIN: PLAUTUS AND TERENCE

Short Title: ADV LATIN: PLAUTUS & TERENCE

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: We will read Plautus' Pseudolus and Terence's Adelphoe. We will consider the background of Greek comedy and the contemporary social situation in Rome.

LATI 304 - ADVANCED LATIN: ROMAN EPIC

Short Title: ADV. LATIN: ROMAN EPIC

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Readings in Latin epic poetry, from the Republic through late antiquity. Topics will include the nature of the epic genre, the development of Roman epic, the styles of individual epic poets, and the works' political and cultural contexts.

LATI 306 - ADVANCED LATIN: OVID'S METAMORPHOSES

Short Title: OVID'S METAMORPHOSES

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Readings in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 309 - RECOVERY, REBIRTH, REGENERATION: CLASSICS AND THE EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE

Short Title: CLASSICS/EUROPEAN RENAISSANCE

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course explores the Renaissance reception of classical culture; it offers a comparative study of ancient and early modern cultures and literatures. Readings are conducted in both Latin and English. Authors include Cicero, Lucretius, Ovid, Augustine, Petrarch, Shakespeare, Kepler, and Galileo. Recommended Prerequisite(s): LATI 202 or MDEM 212

LATI 310 - ADVANCED LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Short Title: ADVANCED LATIN LANG. AND LIT.

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course is open to all students who have completed LATI 102 or higher. Its focus is on the translation, grammatical analysis, and literary criticism of classical Latin texts (prose and/or poetry). Because the assigned Latin texts vary from semester to semester, the course may be repeated for credit. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: LATI 510. Recommended Prerequisite(s): LATI 102 or equivalent Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for LATI 310 if student has credit for LATI 510. Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 312 - ADVANCED LATIN: LATIN LOVE ELEGY

Short Title: LATIN LOVE ELEGY

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: We will study the genre of Latin love elegy by reading selected poems of its three major exponents (Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid), its founding figures (Catullus and Gallus), and other minor poets (Lygdamus and Sulpicia).

LATI 313 - CICERO AND CATULLUS: LITERATURE AND SOCIETY IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

Short Title: CICERO AND CATULLUS

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: We will read Cicero's PRO CAELIO and several of Catullus' longer poems as a vehicle for understanding politics and culture in the late Roman Republic.

LATI 316 - READINGS IN VIRGIL'S AENEID

Short Title: READINGS IN VIRGIL'S AENEID

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Advanced study of Virgil's great Roman epic. Areas of interest will include Virgil's poetic technique, the history of ancient epic, and Roman politics and society, particularly in the Augustan Age. Since different books of the Aeneid will be read in different semesters, the course is repeatable for credit. Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 318 - READINGS IN CICERO

Short Title: CICERO

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course features readings in Cicero (1st c. BCE), the politician, orator, and philosopher of first-century BCE Rome. The single most influential writer in Latin, Cicero is also a primary source for the fall of the Roman Republic. Spring 2016 will focus on the speech Pro Caelio, addressed to a law course in defense of the Roman aristocrat Caelius Rufus, and one of Cicero's most entertaining speeches. Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 320 - SILVER LATIN PROSE: SENECA AND TECITUS

Short Title: SENECA AND TACITUS

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Latin culture during the Silver Age (AD 18-133) developed in unforeseen directions, which remain provocative and stimulating today. This course will focus on the two writers who developed new pathways in prose writing and new ideas about Rome, the moralist Seneca and the historian Tacitus. We will read one of Seneca's moral essays, De brevitate vitae, and book four of Tacitus' Annals.

LATI 350 - TRANSLATING LATIN LITERATURE: THEORY AND PRACTICE

Short Title: TRANSLATING LATIN LITERATURE

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: A thorough examination of the art of translating Latin Literature. Students will survey ancient and modern theories of translation; study a range of translations of select Latin texts; and produce their own translations of prose and verse Latin originals. Taught in English.

LATI 477 - SPECIAL TOPICS

Short Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Internship/Practicum, Seminar, Lecture, Laboratory

Credit Hours: 1-4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Topics and credit hours may vary each semester. Contact department for current semester's topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 491 - DIRECTED READING

Short Title: DIRECTED READING

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Independent work for qualified juniors and seniors in genres or authors not presented in other upper level courses. Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 492 - DIRECTED READING

Short Title: DIRECTED READING

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Independent work for qualified juniors and seniors in genres or authors not presented in other upper level courses. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 504 - DIRECTED READING FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Short Title: GR STUDENTS DIRECTED READING

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Graduate level, independent reading course. Topics vary. Offered in the spring semester. Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 510 - ADVANCED LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Short Title: ADVANCED LATIN LANG. AND LIT.

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Open to graduate students who have completed LATI 102 or higher. Translation, grammatical analysis, and literary criticism of classical Latin texts. Because the assigned Latin texts vary from semester to semester, the course may be repeated for credit. Graduate students enrolled in LATI 510 will complete five additional reading assignments and one oral presentation. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: LATI 310. Recommended Prerequisite(s): LATI 102 or equivalent Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for LATI 510 if student has credit for LATI 310. Repeatable for Credit.

LATI 677 - SPECIAL TOPICS

Short Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Modrn & Classicl Lit & Culture

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Internship/Practicum, Laboratory, Lecture, Seminar, Independent Study, Lecture/Laboratory

Credit Hours: 1-4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate or Visiting Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Topics and credit hours vary each semester. Contact department for current semester's topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

Description and Code Legend

NoteInternally, the university uses the following descriptions, codes, and abbreviations for this academic program. The following is a quick reference: 

Course Catalog/Schedule 

  • Course offerings/subject code for Latin: LATI

Department Description and Code

  • Modern and Classical Literatures and Cultures: MCLC

Undergraduate Minor Description and Code

  • Minor in Latin Language and Literature: LALL

CIP Code and Description1

  • LALL Minor: CIP Code/Title: 16.1203 - Latin Language and Literature