Syllabus
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William A. Johnson Office: 229B Allen Bldg Mon. & Wed. 11:15 by chance, by appt. william.johnson@duke.edu Teaching Assistant: Clinton Kinkade Office: 07B Soc-Psych hours Tu 1:30, Th 8:30 clinton.kinkade@duke.edu |
Why Greek.
There are many reasons to study ancient Greek, from an interest in historical linguistics to a personal fascination with ancient culture. The study of Greek has great practical merit as well. To read Greek, you will need to hold a complex system of facts in your head and manipulate these facts with both precision and imagination— a capability useful, even critical, in just about any higher occupation you choose to pursue. Greek students outperform on GRE, LSAT, and MCAT exams, and that is not a surprise. But most people, rightly, study Greek in order to meet in the original language one or more of the great minds that wrote in Greek. The list is breathtaking: Homer, Hesiod, Sappho, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, to name just a few of the more obvious. This course has as its explicit goal to prepare you to read authors in the original Greek. We will read Greek of increasing complexity as the year goes along, and by year’s end we will be reading mostly unadulterated Greek. In this, the second semester, we will concentrate particularly on reading strategies even as we complete our introduction to the grammar. After finishing the two-semester sequence, you will be prepared to continue reading Greek at the intermediate level (Greek 203), and to read simple prose, from Aesop to the New Testament, more or less independently. |
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Textbooks.
Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek, Book 2 Revised 3rd edition. Maurice Balme and Gilbert Lawall. Oxford University Press. 2016. Athenaze: Workbook 2. Revised 3rd edition. Oxford University Press. Memrise (free): Classical Studies graduate student David Stifler and I have created a Memrise course (“Duke – Elementary Greek with Athenaze”) to help with memorizing vocabulary. This online facility works on all computers and devices. To use, register with Memrise (memrise.com or app), and search the courses tab for “Duke Athenaze.“ Alternatively, the flash cards on the OUP site for Athenaze can be useful (though they do not have the words voiced). Class logistics and goals.
Class will be a mixture of exercises, Q&A, explanation of new grammatical material, practice in reading, practice with writing, drills, discussion of points of culture. Assignments will typically involve a mix of memorization, written practice, and reading. Assignments are not heavy by Duke standards, but must be prepared consistently and thoroughly prior to each class, since class time will often depend on knowledge gained from the assignment. Class time will be used very productively; skipping class is not an option. |
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Graded Material.
Homework & class participation (25%). Attendance at all class meetings is required: if you do not attend, you cannot participate. Written homework will typically be collected and graded. If you must miss class for reasons of illness or family emergency, let me know beforehand and fill out the requisite form.
Quizzes (25%). Short quizzes will be given for each full chapter. No make-up quizzes will be given; excused absences will result in the quiz not being counted. The lowest quiz score will be dropped.
Midterm exams (30%). Two hour-long in-class exams will give you the opportunity to review the material and display your newfound knowledge.
Final examination (20%). A two-hour exam during the exam period will give you the opportunity to review the material and display your accumulated knowledge.
Homework & class participation (25%). Attendance at all class meetings is required: if you do not attend, you cannot participate. Written homework will typically be collected and graded. If you must miss class for reasons of illness or family emergency, let me know beforehand and fill out the requisite form.
Quizzes (25%). Short quizzes will be given for each full chapter. No make-up quizzes will be given; excused absences will result in the quiz not being counted. The lowest quiz score will be dropped.
Midterm exams (30%). Two hour-long in-class exams will give you the opportunity to review the material and display your newfound knowledge.
Final examination (20%). A two-hour exam during the exam period will give you the opportunity to review the material and display your accumulated knowledge.
Support.
We are very fortunate to have the luxury of an advanced graduate student to assist with the course, Clinton Kinkade. Use his help; that is why he is here. His office hours are Tu 1:30 Th 8:30 in Sociology-Psychology 07B (enter at the door near the parking lot, not the quad, and turn right). His email address is clinton.kinkade@duke.edu. Clinton is, in particular, the person to go to when you have questions about the written assignments (which he will typically be grading). My office is located in 229B Allen building, next to the Classical Studies main office. Open office hours are immediately after class on Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:30-12:30; but if my door is open you are welcome, and you can always email me for an appointment as well.
We are very fortunate to have the luxury of an advanced graduate student to assist with the course, Clinton Kinkade. Use his help; that is why he is here. His office hours are Tu 1:30 Th 8:30 in Sociology-Psychology 07B (enter at the door near the parking lot, not the quad, and turn right). His email address is clinton.kinkade@duke.edu. Clinton is, in particular, the person to go to when you have questions about the written assignments (which he will typically be grading). My office is located in 229B Allen building, next to the Classical Studies main office. Open office hours are immediately after class on Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:30-12:30; but if my door is open you are welcome, and you can always email me for an appointment as well.
