Classics

ELEMENTARY GREEK & LATIN (UCLS01)

No previous knowledge required. The texts are: Wheelock’s Latin Grammar (chap. 1-25) and Hansen and Quinn’s Greek: An Intensive Course (chapters 1-6). Students review major concepts of sentence structure and grammar in English, applying these concepts to their growing power to read Latin and Greek. All three languages reinforce each other, and class time is spent on analyzing English sentences in increasingly sophisticated ways. Students acquire important and interrelated vocabulary in English, Latin and Greek. Students sit for the National Latin Exam and the National Greek Exam. Additionally, students study the early social and literary history of the classical world.

INTERMEDIATE GREEK & LATIN (UCLS02)

Prerequisite is middle school classics or Elementary Greek & Latin (upper school). Students first rapidly review the first 20 chapters of Wheelock’s Latin Grammar. Students then study in sequence the remainder of the text. In Greek, students begin with a rapid review of the material in chapters 1-6 of Greek: An Intensive Course, and then continue their study to the end of chapter 12 or 15. Upon completion of Intermediate Greek & Latin, students should have a solid foundation in the grammar of complex structures in English as they are illuminated by the full grammar of Latin. Students acquire additional vocabulary in English, Latin and Greek. Students sit for the National Latin Exam and the National Greek Exam. Together with this work, the class conducts a careful review of history and geography of ancient world with a focus on late republican Rome and fifth century Athens, especially art and archeology.

HONORS READING GREEK & LATIN (UCLS02H)

All material in Intermediate Greek & Latin and Reading Greek & Latin is covered in the course of one year. Homework expectations for this course are high. Enrollment is by permission of the department.

READING GREEK & LATIN (UCLS03)

The course begins with a review of Latin, Greek, and English grammar. Students begin reading the Latin authors Caesar, Ovid, and Cicero. After completing their study of Greek grammar by the end of the first half of the second semester, students start reading selected works of Plato in Greek at the mid-point of the second semester. Students engage in independent research on the history and archaeology of the classical world. Students sit for the National Latin Exam, the National Greek Exam, and the SAT II: Latin test.

AP LATIN (UCLS04)

IBSL CLASSICAL LANGUAGES (LATIN) (UCLS051)
IBSL CLASSICAL LANGUAGES (GREEK) (UCLS052)

IBHL CLASSICAL LANGUAGES (LATIN) (UCLS061)
IBHL CLASSICAL LANGUAGES (GREEK) (UCLS062)

Students at this level elect to concentrate in Greek or Latin. Some will focus on close reading of Vergil and Caesar in Latin in preparation for the AP Latin Literature Examination, while others will read Greek or Latin authors in preparation for the IB SL or HL examination. Additionally, seniors may register for university competitions in Greek and Latin. All students at this level cement their knowledge of ancient history and geography through a range of group projects.

ADVANCED LATIN (UCLS07)

ADVANCED ANCIENT GREEK (UCLS08)
ADVANCED GREEK & LATIN (UCLS09)

HONORS ADVANCED LATIN (UCLS07H)
HONORS ADVANCED ANCIENT GREEK (UCLS08H)
HONORS ADVANCED GREEK AND LATIN (UCLS09H)

Students and teachers work together to design courses that center around reading a selected body of literature in the original languages. At this level, a student may choose to focus exclusively on Latin on the one hand, or Greek on the other. Some students may choose to continue studying both languages. Students who focus on Greek are encouraged to start learning a second dialect, usually Homeric Greek. Advanced classics courses also require the students to gain an understanding of some of the topics related to the works they read (e.g., history, philosophy, metrics, drama, etc.). Students are expected to read current research articles in English (mostly in the subjects of history, archeology, philology, and literature) and to write sophisticated essays in English on a regular basis. These courses are in content and design equivalent to their college counterparts at the best US colleges.

HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT GREEK PEOPLE (UCLS101)

An introduction to the history of the ancient Greek world to the end of the Hellenistic Period, this course is based on reading ancient authors and documents in translation. examining ancient artifacts, including architecture and infrastructure, and tracing the cultural and artistic development of Greek civilization. The focus of the course is on examining the emergence and development of a Panhellenic Greek cultural identity. In addition, students will study the history of Mediterranean archaeology and learn about the most recent developments in that field as they pertain to the ancient Greek peoples.

HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT ROMAN PEOPLE (UCLS102)

An introduction to the history of the ancient Roman world to the age of Constantine, this course is based on reading ancient authors and documents in translation, examining ancient artifacts, including architecture and infrastructure, and tracing the cultural and artistic development of Roman civilization. The focus of the course is on the problems that attended the development and spread of a shared Roman cultural identity in the disparate places that were governed from Rome. In addition, students study the history of Mediterranean archaeology and learn about the most recent developments in that field as they pertain to the history of Rome.