DESCRIPTION: This course will submerge the student in the Latin language through daily readings in classical, medieval, and modern Latin texts. Due to its intensive nature, this course will demand a much more substantial time investment than students anticipate for a four-unit course.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: Knowledge of Latin is essential for the advanced student of church history and Christian theology. Leaders in the church today enhance their role as servant-scholars through a solid facility with the language inextricably linked with the idiom of our faith.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students who successfully complete this course can expect to have

1. navigated, with the aid of a dictionary, passages from Latin theological, historical, and literary texts;

2. developed strategies to identify quickly the lexical form of any word they encounter in a text;

3. employed their individual learning styles as they assimilate large amounts of new information; and

4. gained a more immediate understanding of theological terminology and a deeper appreciation for the English language's indebtedness to Latin.

5. Most important of all, students can expect to become active readers of Latin from day one, not memorizers of innumerable grammar paradigms.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet twice weekly for two-and-a-half-hour sessions for eight weeks, with the last class meeting on August 11, 2011. At least eight hours of study outside of class per week are typically required for adequate class preparation.

REQUIRED READING:

Collins, John F. A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1985. ISBN 0813206677. $19.95.

Prior, Richard E., and Joseph Wohlberg. 501 Latin Verbs. Barrons Educational Series, Inc., 2007. ISBN 0764137425. $18.95.

Simpson, Donald P., ed. Cassells Latin Dictionary: Latin-English, English-Latin. New York: Macmillan, 1977. ISBN 0025225804. $24.95.

Course Reader.

Goldman, Norma. English Grammar for Students of Latin: The Study Guide for Those Learning Latin. 3rd ed. Ann Arbor, MI: The Olivia and Hill Press, 2004. ISBN 0934034346. $19.95.

• Translation of one approximately 500-word Latin passage of the student's choice (40% of grade).

• Brief daily quizzes on the prior week's material (30% of grade).

• Final open-book translation exam (30% of grade).