2. Professors
  3. GRAZZINI Stefano
  4. Teaching

HISTORY OF LATIN

Stefano GRAZZINI HISTORY OF LATIN

0322200051
DEPARTMENT OF HUMANISTIC STUDIES
EQF7
ANCIENT PHILOLOGY, LITERATURES AND HISTORY
2025/2026

YEAR OF COURSE 1
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2023
AUTUMN SEMESTER
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
945LESSONS
STEFANO GRAZZINI T Curriculum
Objectives
THE COURSE AIMS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF LATIN LANGUAGE IN ITS DEVELOPMENT FROM THE INDOEUROPEAN ORIGINS TO THE END OF ANTIQUITY.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING.
STUDENTS WILL BE EXPECTED:
- TO KNOW THE FUNDAMENTALS OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF INDO-EUROPEAN LINGUISTICS;
- TO BE ACQUAINTED WITH THE MAIN TENETS OF THE HISTORY OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE IN ITS
EVOLUTIONARY STAGES, FROM INDO-EUROPEAN UNITY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ITALO-CELTIC,
ITALIC, PROTO-LATINE AND LATIN BRANCHES, FROM THE ARCHAIC AGE TO THE THRESHOLD OF THE
MIDDLE AGES.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING.
STUDENTS WILL BE EXPECTED:
- TO USE THE MAIN BIBLIOGRAPHICAL TOOLS AND DIGITAL RESOURCES TO TRACE THE HISTORY OF WORDS AS WELL AS ILLUSTRATE THE RECONSTRUCTIVE METHOD BASED ON PHONETIC LAWS;
- TO HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ARCHAIC LANGUAGE, FROM THE EARLIEST ATTESTATIONS UP TO THE 2ND CENTURY BC;
- TO DEVELOP THE ABILITY TO ANALYSE AND TRANSLATE COMPLEX TEXTS FROM ALL PERIODS, ADOPTING A HISTORICAL LINGUISTIC APPROACH;
- TO DEVELOP A SENSITIVE EAR FOR THE STYLE OF TEXTS FROM DIFFERENT PERIODS AND GENRES.

MAKING JUDGEMENTS.
STUDENTS WILL BE EXPECTED:
- TO PRODUCE A PIECE OF SCHOLARSHIP ON ANY SCHOLARLY SUBJECT, COMPLYING WITH THE RECOGNISED STANDARDS AND CONVENTIONS OF ACADEMIC WRITING;
- TO READ, COMPREHEND, AND CRITICALLY ANALYSE THE RELEVANT SCHOLARSHIP PRODUCED IN THE MAIN LANGUAGES USED BY THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY;
- TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SKILLS ACQUIRED WHILE STUDYING CLASSICAL LATIN TO ANALYSE ANY OTHER LANGUAGE THEY MAY BE STUDYING.

COMMUNICATION.
STUDENTS WILL BE EXPECTED:
- TO DELIVER A SCHOLARLY PAPER IN STANDARD ITALIAN OR ENGLISH (OR ANY SECOND FOREIGN LANGUAGE THEY MIGHT KNOW);
- TO PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THEIR SCHOLARLY PROJECTS AND ENDEAVOURS;
- TO RESORT TO THE MOST COMMON IT TOOLS (PPT, AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTION, ETC.) IN ORDER TO DISSEMINATE THE RESULTS OF THEIR SCHOLARLY INVESTIGATIONS.

LIFELONG LEARNING SKILLS.
STUDENTS WILL BE EXPECTED:
- TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE BIBLIOGRAPHICAL TOOLS AND DIGITAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE;
- TO CARRY OUT THEIR RESEARCH PROJECTS WITHOUT NEGLECTING THE MOST SOPHISTICATED FORMS OF TECHNICAL SCHOLARSHIP, SUCH AS THOSE ADDRESSING LINGUISTIC OR PHILOLOGICAL ISSUES;
- TO UPDATE AND EXPAND THEIR SCHOLARSHIP BY KEEPING TRACK OF RECENT PUBLICATIONS.
Prerequisites
STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE A GOOD COMMAND OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. ACCORDINGLY, IT WOULD BE PREFERABLE THAT STUDENTS WHO ENROLL IN THE COURSE HAVE PREVIOUSLY PASSED "LINGUA E LETTERATURA I AND II" WITHIN THE BA DEGREE PROGRAM. STUDENTS WHO DO NOT MEET SUCH REQUIREMENTS ARE NONETHELESS EXPECTED TO HAVE A GOOD COMMAND OF LATIN LITERATURE IN ITS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT, AS WELL AS TO BE ABLE TO TRANSLATE INTO ITALIAN ANY LATIN TEXT BY A CLASSICAL AUTHOR.
Contents
THE HISTORY OF LATIN LANGUAGE THROUGH THE LITERARY TEXTS: THE CASES OF PLAUTUS, CATULLUS AND PETRONIUS:
PLAUTUS, CASINA
LUCRETIUS DRN 1, 1-61; 3, 1-30
PETRONIUS, SATYRICON 30-71
Teaching Methods
1) LECTURE WITH THE AID OF PPT ON THE FUNDAMENTALS OF LINGUISTIC SCIENCE, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO INDEUROPEICS AND SPECIFIC ATTENTION TO ETYMOLOGY.
2) ANALYSIS OF THE TEXTS WITH PARTICIPATORY READINGS AND INSIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS ON THE VARIOUS TOPICS PROPOSED.
STUDENTS WILL ACTIVELY CONTRIBUTE TO THE COURSE, BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND IN SMALL GROUPS, BY ANALYSING A NUMBER OF TEXTS AS WELL AS BY EXPANDING ON TOPICS TO BE CHOSEN IN CONSULTATION WITH THE INSTRUCTOR. STUDENTS WILL ALSO BE ENCOURAGED TO GIVE PRESENTATIONS AND, MORE GENERALLY, TO EMBARK ON SMALL RESEARCH PROJECTS ON THE TEXT OF LUCRETIUS OR PETRONIUS THAT WILL POSITIVELY AFFECT THE FINAL GRADE.
Verification of learning
THE FINAL EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF AN ORAL INTERVIEW OF EACH STUDENT TO BE CONDUCTED BY THE INSTRUCTOR, WHO WILL ASSESS THE STUDENT’S PROFICIENCY BOTH IN THE TOPICS THAT WERE DEALT WITH IN CLASS AND IN THE INDIVIDUAL PAPERS.
EXAMINATIONS ARE GRADED ACCORDING TO A SCALE RANGING FROM 0 TO 30, WITH 18 AS A PASS MARK. THE MINIMUM PASSING GRADE (18/30) IS AWARDED TO ANY STUDENT WHO DEMONSTRATES A BARELY ADEQUATE FAMILIARITY WITH THE BASICS OF CLASSICAL SCHOLARSHIP ON BOTH THE LINGUISTIC AND PHILOLOGICAL LEVEL, AS WELL AS BETRAYING A SUPERFICIAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE TEXTS AND QUESTIONS ADDRESSED THROUGHOUT THE COURSE, OR FAILING TO ARTICULATE THEM ADEQUATELY EITHER IN ORAL OR WRITTEN FORM. THE MAXIMUM GRADE (30/30, POSSIBLY CUM LAUDE) IS AWARDED TO ANY STUDENT WHO DEMONSTRATES A THOROUGH AND IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF BOTH METHODS AND MATTERS, AS WELL AS SUCCEEDING IN ARTICULATING THE TOPICS UNDER DISCUSSION WITH AN OUTSTANDING COMMAND OF LANGUAGE AND A CAPACITY FOR INDEPENDENT THINKING, ALSO IN REFERENCE TO CONTEXTS NOT IMMEDIATELY RELATED TO THOSE ADDRESSED BY THE TEACHER.
Texts
A) HANDBOOK OF HISTORY OF LATIN LANGUAGE:
L. R. PALMER, LA LINGUA LATINA, TORINO 1977 (TRAD. ITALIANA DI THE LATIN LANGUAGE, LONDON 1961), 1-253.

B) POETRY HANDBOOK (ONE AT CHOICE):
1) C. QUESTA, LA METRICA DI PLAUTO E TERENZIO, URBINO 2007

C) PLAUTUS: TEXTS AND COMMENTARIES:
1) PLAUTUS, CASINA, EDITED BY W. THOMAS MACCARY AND M. M. WILLCOCK, CAMBRIDGE1976.
2) ITALIAN TRANSLATION:
- TITO MACCIO PLAUTO, CASINA, INTRODUZIONE DI C. QUESTA, TRAD. DI M. SCANDOLA, MILANO 1988.

D) LUCRETIUS, ANTHOLOGY: (EDITED BY L. PERELLI, FIRENZE 1981): DRN 1, 1-45; 2, 1-61.

E) PETRONIO, SATYRICON, CAPP. 30-71:
GARETH SCHMELING, A COMMENTARY ON THE SATYRICA OF PETRONIUS. OXFORD; NEW YORK: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2011.
More Information
FURTHER MATERIALS WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE INSTRUCTOR’S WEBPAGE.
THE SEMINAR ACTIVITIES WILL BE ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS AND WILL TAKE PLACE OUTSIDE THE COURSE TIMES AND AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE SAME, BETWEEN DECEMBER AND JANUARY WITH AN AGREED CALENDAR. ATTENDANCE IS REQUIRED.
Lessons Timetable

  BETA VERSION Data source ESSE3 [Ultima Sincronizzazione: 2025-09-14]