Summer Institute 2009
Catullus
LNW 4905; LNW 6933; LNW 6905
July 6-17, 2009 (Matherly 107)
Instructor: Dr. Tim Johnson; Dauer Hall 143 (tscott@ufl.edu)
Department of
Classics
125 Dauer,
Office
Hours:
M-F (following class) and by appointment
Course Objectives: The
goal of the Institute will be to read closely Catullus’ poetry and to explore
the basic interpretative questions that his carmina
raise. When the student completes the Institute, it should be possible
for s/he to frame a thoughtful answer to the question, "What role does
Catullus play within Roman socio-historical and literary perspectives and how
does he influence thought for ancient and subsequent readers?” Of course,
along the way we will pay close attention to meter and other essentials of
iambic, ancient and modern.
Although
Catullus has become the paragon of the secondary school AP curriculum, in part
because syntactically he is not considered difficult to read, Catullus’ poetry
presents readers with complex questions. (1) Foremost, what type of poetry is
this (elegy?, iambic?, epigram?) or does Catullus defy any single
classification? (2) Do his poems form themselves into a comprehensible poetry
book? (3) How does Catullus interact
with the revolutionary dynamics developing within Roman society in the first
century B.C. How does he fit within the Roman literary tradition? (4) Exactly how influential was/is Catullus,
and does his poetry deserve such a prominent place within the classical
canon? These are some of the most basic
questions that surround any author, and Catullus remains one of the least
understood and most controversial Roman poets. The questions that he forces us
to face would predict that his poetry will successfully defend its value -- or
will it? This question of “value” will be the ultimate question for our Institute
this semester.
Texts
required:
•Thomson,
D.F.S, Catullus: A Critical Edition (Toronto University Press; 2003 revised
edition) ISBN: 080208592X
•Garrison,
Daniel H. The Student’s Catullus 2nd edition (University of Oklahoma Press
1995) 0-8061-2763-5
Books (may be ordered online from
bookstores like Amazon; websites for used books will often yield inexpensive
copies, e.g. http://www.addall.com):
Copies
also will be on reserve in the Classics Department or Library West
Activities:
The
Institute will meet for 10 days. We will meet in the morning of Saturday, July
11th, for two sessions so that we can be done by noon on Friday,
July 17th. This will allow comprehensive exams to be scheduled that
last Friday afternoon, as approved by the coordinator for distance learning
Mandatory Advisory Sessions
for Distance Students: 8.30 -9.45.
Distance learning students will be required to sign
up for one advising session during the course of the institute with
either Dr. Rea
(PhD Students) or Dr. Yates (ML or MA Students). Mornings can also be used
for graduate qualifying examinations and library visits.
Normally,
our daily schedule will be divided into four sessions:
Session1:
10.00 - 11.15
Lunch Break (1 hour)
Session2:
12.15 - 1.30
Coffee Break (15 minutes)
Session3.
1.45 - 3.00
Coffee Break (15 minutes)
Session4.
3.15 - 4.30 (Graduate Students Only)
Words for all:
Remember that your preparation for the Institute not only includes reading in both primary and
secondary literature, but also your preparation to present for and participate
in the discussions. You have not completed the assignment until you are
prepared to present and participate. All of us are judged (graded) not only on
research but presentation. You do have to spend some time thinking "what
am I going to say in class about this."
Words for the undergraduates:
This course combines several types of students: undergraduates, beginning
graduate students who need to read as much Latin as possible, and more advanced
graduates who will be treating the Institute as a full graduate seminar. Each
of these approaches is appropriate depending on the needs of the individual
student. I will do my best to balance the needs of all.
Words for the graduate
students: Close attention to the text is essential. Our
reading will concentrate on the so-called “short poems.” Many of you will be
familiar with Catullus and have taught him often. Depending on class speed and experience we
may or may not be able to maintain the pace suggested on the schedule, and will
have to make some adjustments. We are at the level where we must also think
about the author’s work within its literary contexts. I will not be insisting
on a single method of approaching the Catullus.
My hope is that as we share discussions and our own interests that we will
learn about Catullus, each other, and ourselves. I have set up a general, and I
admit fairly standard, framework that will guide discussions, but I will not
predict the outcomes of the discussions. Your contributions via your research
are a formative part of the Institute. Catullus’ poetry itself will offer many
different perspectives: religion; philosophy; language; art; mythology (to name
only a few).
Primary
Reading:
Not all of the assigned reading will be covered word for word in class, and
therefore you are encouraged to come prepared with questions. If you do not
pose questions, one can assume that there are no difficulties remaining. I
will assume that students will read in translation any poems from Catullus that
are not assigned.
Required
Secondary Reading:
-S.
J. Heyworth, “Catullian Iambics, Catullian Iambi,” in A. Cavarzere, A. Aloni,
and A. Barchiesi, Iambic Ideas (Lanham 2001) 117-140. [electronic copy
will be made available]
-Paul
Allen Miller, “Why Difference Matters: Catullus and Contemporary Theory,” CW
95.4, 425-431 (J-Store)
-A. L.
Wheeler, Catullus and the Traditions of Ancient Poetry (Berkeley
1934) [on reserve] PA6276.W5
-David
Wray, Catullus and the Poetics of Roman Manhood (Cambridge 2001)
[e-book]
This
fuller secondary reading list is designed to provide a basic introduction to
Catullus. These books will be available on reserve in the seminar room for the Institute, but you are free to
also purchase these from whatever sources you find available. I will specify
some reading from these texts and other articles, as is appropriate for the
discussion questions. Do not be daunted by this list. It will be impossible to
read all of this in two weeks. The list is designed to give guidance for
additional reading on Catullus.
-
J. Ferguson, Catullus (Oxford 1988)
-William
Fitzgerald, Catullan Provocations: Lyric Poetry and the Drama of Position
(Berkeley 1995)
-
J. H. Gaisser, Oxford Readings in
Classical Studies: Catullus (Oxford)
-
P. A. Miller, Lyric Texts and Lyric Consciousness: The Birth of A Genre from
Archaic Greece to Augustan Rome (London 1994)
-J.
K. Newman, Roman Catullus and the
Modification of the Alexandrian Sensibility (Hildesheim 1990)
- D. O. Ross, Jr. Style and Tradition in
Catullus (Cambridge, MA 1969)
- J. Van Sickle, “The Book-Roll and Some Poetic Conventions of the Poetic
Book,” Arethusa 13 (1980) 5-42
-
M. Skinner, ed. A Companion to Catullus
(Malden, MA: Blackwell 2007)
Institute
Discussions and Reports:
After the first two days
of the Institute and after we have had a brief time to read our way into Catullus,
I will specify discussion topics. Each graduate student will be assigned to a
group, and that group will lead and discuss the topic for the session. When it
is the session for your group to lead each member of the group must have
prepared a well organized and thoughtful discussion outline that would provide
enough depth for an approximately 15 minute extemporaneous talk (if called
upon). I will ask that you turn in to me a copy of
your outline. Although you are required to prepare for the
discussions only a “talking outline” and not a paper, I would suggest that the
outline contain the following: (1) a statement of the question that you are
investigating; (2) an overview and introduction to the major bibliography on
the question and the works that you read; (3) detailed talking points on the
prominent issues the question raises. These talking points should contain exact
references to texts both primary and secondary and not be just a hodge-podge of
disconnected ideas. Your talking points should add up to some form of argument.
When your group is not leading the discussion, everyone should have read enough of the assigned material to understand
and participate in the discussion. When we all come prepared on the same
topic, the discussion is livelier and more meaningful. I would also suggest
that we make our outlines available to our peers for future reference.
Note Well: There will be
time given on the last few days of the Institute for those writing papers to
discuss their work and to receive feedback.
Optional
Credit (Paper): Your topic will more than likely be defined by your participation in
the discussions. All topics must be approved. I am not impressed by length
nearly as much as precision of the argument.
Grading:
• The grade for 3 credits undergraduate will be
based on daily participation in sessions 1-3 (50%), a midterm translation exam
(25 %), and a final examination (25 %).
•
The grade for three credits graduate will be based on daily participation in
sessions 1-3 (35%), discussions and outlines (30%), and a final exam (35%).
Optional Paper
•
Additional credits (up to 3) may be earned by writing a paper (a study on a
particular poem or poems of Catullus:
Guidelines
and Deadlines:
The
topic for the paper is designed to
facilitate feedback and peer discussion during the Institute. Those who elect
to write a paper are advised to start before the Institute, and be prepared
during the Institute to briefly share and discuss their work, of course thsi
work would be preliminary or “first draft.” I am willing to evaluate and advise
on any first drafts presented to me during the Institute.
Each
student should select a poem or series of poems
by Catullus (at least 25 lines) and write a commentary on it. The paper
should fall into four parts: (1) introduction with background information on
the author, genre, meter and context of the passage [1-2 pages]; (2) your own
translation of the poetry; [3] a line by line commentary which provides glosses
for unusual vocabulary, explanations of grammar, and commentary on allusions,
rhetorical figures, and mythological or historical references; and (4) further
commentary which addresses any stylistic, social, or cultural issues that you
feel are relevant [4 pages max.]. You
may wish to address in this latter part of the paper, for example, whether or
not you feel this poem is representative of Catullus’ work or not, or how the poem
relates to the rest of the corpus. It is expected that students will conduct
research for this paper and that students will cite the use of secondary
sources.
Length:12 pages minimum; 15 pages advised
Due
Date: July 31, 2009
LATE
PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED
Institute Schedule
Session1:
10.00 - 11.15
Lunch Break (1 hour)
Session2:
12.15 - 1.30
Coffee Break (15 minutes)
Session3.
1.45 - 3.00
Coffee Break (15 minutes)
Session4.
3.15 - 4.30 (Graduate Students Only)
Day 1: Monday, July 6 (Getting Started)
Session 1:
Introductions and Organization
Session 2: Reading:
Session 3: Optional Programming Questions (Library
Resources Overview; Finishing the Program)
Session 4: Reading:
Day 2: Tuesday, July 7
Session 1: Prepared Reading:
Session 2: Prepared Reading:
Session 3: Sight Reading:
Session 4: Impromptu Discussion: Our Experiences
Teaching Catullus (Some interesting reading in Skinner, A Companion to Catullus (Blackwell 2007) in Part VII [Pedagogy]:
“R. Ancona and J. P. Hallett, “Catullus in the Secondary School Curriculum”; D.
H. garrison, “Catullus in the College Classroom.”
Day 3: Wednesday, July 8
Session
1: Prepared Reading:
Session
2: Prepared Reading:
Session
3: Sight Reading:
Session
4: Discussion/Report Group 1: Roman
society and literature: where does Catullus fit? That is, specifically what
are his social and literary contexts? [1] Begin by detailing the basic
bibliographic information (life situation, works, friends, etc.). [2] Then
develop some timelines: at least (1) one
detailing the major events when Catullus
lived and wrote and (2) another placing
him within a chronology of first century B.C. Roman writers. [3] What are the
specific primary sources for information on Catullus and what are any problems
that his life presents. Suggested Sources: introductions to the required texts by Thomson and Garrison; M.
Skinner, ed. (2007) A Companion to
Catullus (Blackwell) Part II, pp. 55-110.
Day 4: Thursday, July 9
Session
1: Prepared Reading:
Session
2: Prepared Reading:
Session
3: Sight Reading:
Session
4: Discussion/Report Group 2: Catullan
Style and Meter. Give a full overview of Catullan style and metrics. How
would Catullus’ poetic techniques be best described? Suggested Sources: M.
Skinner, ed. (2007) A Companion to
Catullus (Blackwell) Part III, Ch. 11: pp. 190-211; Ross, D. O. Jr., (1969) Style and Tradition in Catullus
(Harvard) and (1965) “Style and Content in Catullus 45,” Classical Philology
60: 256-259.
Day 5: Friday, July 10
Session
1: Prepared Reading:
Session
2: Prepared Reading:
Session
3: Sight Reading:
Session
4: Discussion/Report Group 3: What is
meant by Neotericism? Then how does Catullus represent Neoteric
attitudes? Suggested Sources: Wheeler,
A. L. (1934) Catullus and the Traditions of Ancient Poetry (Berkeley) pp.
77-86; Clausen, W. V. (1964) Callimachus and Latin Poetry,” GRBS 5: 181-196. M. Skinner, ed. (2007) A Companion to Catullus (Blackwell) Part
IV, Ch. 11: pp. 174-189; Lyne, R. O. A. M. (1978) “The Neoteric Poets,” CQ
28: 167-187 and Lyne again in Oxford
Readings in Classical Studies: Catullus
(Oxford) pp. 109-140; Crowther, N.B. (1970) “OI NEOTEROI, Poetae Novi, and the Cantatores Euphorionis,” CQ 20: 322-327; compare Frank,
T., “Cicero and the Poetae Novi.” AJP 40 (1919) 396-415 with W. Clausen,
“Cicero and the New Poetry.” HSCP
90 (1986) 159-170.
Also for fun, when there is time: Mendell, C. W.
(1962) Latin Poetry: The New Poetry and
the Augustans (Yale); Tatum, William
(1997) “Friendship, Politics, and Literature in Catullus: Poems 1, 65, 66,
116,” CQ 47: 482-500.
Day.5: Saturday, July11
9:00-12:00: Prepared Reading:
6 PM: Cookout and Pool Party (apud magistrum:
1216 NW 39th Drive [maps provided])
Day 6: Monday, July 13
Session
1: Prepared Reading:
Session
2: Prepared Reading:
Session
3: Sight Reading:
Session
4: Discussion/Report Group 4: Just Who is
Lesbia? Or in general terms, what does Catullan poetry have to say about
Roman womanhood and manhood? Suggested Sources: Wiseman, T. P.
(1990) “Lesbia – When” and “Lesbia – Who?” in Catullan Questions (Leicester) pp. 42-60; Skinner, M. B. “Clodia
Metelli,” TAPA 113: 272-287 and “Ego
Mulier: The Construction of Male Sexuality in Catullus in Oxford Readings in Classical Studies: Catullus (Oxford) pp.
447-475; Cicero’s Pro Caelio; M. Skinner, ed. (2007) A Companion to Catullus (Blackwell) Part V, Ch. 14: pp. 255-275
; Wray, D. (2001) Catullus and the Poetics of Roman Manhood (Cambridge); Kostenko, B. A. (2001) Cicero, Catullus, and the Language of Social Performance (Chicago).
Also note that Julia Dyson has recently published through Oklahoma Press, Clodia: A Sourcebook (2008).
Day 7: Tuesday, July 14
Session
1: Prepared Reading:
Session
2: Discussion/Report Group 5: Is there any evidence that Catullus’ poems were
deliberately arranged. If so, how were they arranged and does that arrangement
convey meaning? Suggested Sources: M. Skinner, ed. (2007) A Companion to Catullus (Blackwell) Part I, Ch. 13: pp. 35-54; W.
Clausen (1976) “Catulli Veronensis Liber,” and T.P. Wiseman (1979) “The
Collection,” both in Oxford
Readings in Classical Studies: Catullus (Oxford) pp. 56-75; Van Sickle, J. (1980) “The Book-Roll and Some Poetic
Conventions of the Poetic Book,” Arethusa 13:5-42; Segal,
C. P. (1968) “The Order of Catullus, Poems 2-11,” Latomus 27: 305-321; M. Skinner, Catullus in Verona: A reading of
the Elegiac Libellus, Poems 65-116 (Ohio State). H. Dettmer (1997) Love by the Numbers: Form and Meaning in the
Poetry of Catullus (New York).
Session
3: Sight Reading:
Session
4: Discussion/Report Group 6: Why all the
scurrility? Consider, what is the “iambic idea” and how Catullus should be
placed within the iambic tradition. Suggested
Sources: Iambos,” in Gerber (1997) 13-88; S. Halliwell, “Aischrology,
Shame, and Comedy,” in Sluiter and Rosen (2004) 115-144; Note well in Oxford
Readings in Classical Studies: Catullus (Oxford) part V: “Obscenity and
Invective [two chapters by D. Lateiner and Amy Richlin]; S. J. Heyworth,
“Catullian Iambics, Catullian Iambi,” in A. Cavarzere, A. Aloni, and A.
Barchiesi, Iambic Ideas (Lanham 2001) 117-140; Newman, J. K. (1998)
“Iambe/Iambos and the Rape of a Genre: A Horatian sidelight,” ICS 23:
101-120.
Also
of interest: Richlin, A. (1983) The
Day 8: Wednesday, July 15
Session
1: Prepared Reading:
Session
2: Prepared Reading
Session
3: Sight Reading:
Session
4: Presentation of Graduate Student Papers
Day 9: Thursday, July 16
Session
1: Prepared Reading:
Session
2: Prepared Reading:
Session
3: Sight Reading:
Session
4: Presentation of Graduate Student Papers
Day 10: Friday, July 17
Final Exam: This exam will be taken in class