CAMS 3221 Survey of Classical Latin Literature. Three credit online course. University of Connecticut. Fall semester 2014

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1 CAMS 3221 Survey of Classical Latin Literature Three credit online course University of Connecticut Fall semester 2014 PLEASE NOTE BEFORE READING This course is taught in a highly unusual, game based format. When classes begin, you will receive an from Prof. Travis that will begin the process of setting you up in the course, which is also a game called Operation CAESAR. If you would like to begin your set up early, please mail Prof. Travis. Please also note that this course does NOT use HuskyCT AT ALL: you will engage with course activities on Prof. Travis' own website. Instructor: Roger Travis, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Classics Department of Modern and Classical Languages University of Connecticut Office hours: Oak Hall 230, Tuesday 9 10, Thursday (Eastern Time), and online by appointment TSTT INITIALIZING INITIALIZATION COMPLETE START OP="CAESAR" SEM=F14 COVER=UCONNLCLCAMS DEMIURGE ONLINE BEGIN TRANSMISSION 020 SIGNAL Syllabus START Greetings from the Demiurge. You have been chosen for an elite training course in the

2 interpretation of classical Latin literature, as part of an initiative to save Western Civilization from oblivion. Once you complete your tutorial, you will be ready to enter the immersion space of the texto spatio temporal trasmitter (TSTT), where you will, in association with the other members of your character team, play a young Roman in the first century BCE. Your mission: interpret essential texts of Latin literature in such a way as to rid the TSTT of the ghost of Julius Caesar. In order that this mission remain secret, I have instructed Special Agent Xenos of Project ARKHAIA Mission Control to disguise himself as a professor, and to disguise this operation as a course classed CAMS 3221 Survey of Classical Latin Literature. Read this syllabus for the details of this disguise, including course requirements and policies. ((Out of game information will be enclosed in double parentheses; if at any time you wish to communicate with me outside the game based framework of the course, simply enclose your communication like this one.)) ((Welcome to CAMS 3221, a course about what it means to be the kind of human being who takes a course about Latin literature at the University of Connecticut. What you ll find in this syllabus is a summary of the goals of the course, a list of course materials, an overview of course policies, and a schedule of missions, each one with a precis of that mission's activities. You ll find the instructions and materials for the mission activities on the course website, and the links in the instructions will guide you through the required activities, which include all the assignments you will be completing as the course requirements.)) ((This course is taught in a game based format. Game based learning is one of the fastest growing and most exciting developments in learning today, at every level from grade school through graduate school. Increasingly, teachers and educational theorists are moving towards a model not of games *in* school but of games *as* school. I m proud to say that my work in the field, in particular my work in collaboration with Professor Michael Young of the Neag School here at UConn, is considered some of the leading research and practice in the fields both of classics and of education. I say all that because otherwise you might well think that what I ll be doing with CAMS 3221 is some sort of gimmick, designed to try to get you to have fun while you re learning. I can honestly say that while I do consider you to be in danger of having fun while you take CAMS 3221, that s not the point

3 of the game based format at all. Game based learning allows you, as the student, to work towards the course s learning objectives not because I tell you that you should but because you have a reason of your own to get there. In the case of CAMS 3221, or, as you ll come to call it if you decide to continue in it, Operation CAESAR, you ll be learning about homeric epic through video games, and even learning how to read some Latin, because you need to explain to the modern world the vital necessity of performing and analyzing epic, both ancient and modern, as a way of dealing with our cultures problems.)) ((Please remember that this syllabus is, in terms of Operation CAESAR, a disguise. While everything in this syllabus is true, complete, and accurate, and held by me to be binding upon me, you need to remember as you re fulfilling the requirements on this syllabus that you are also aan operative in Operation CAESAR, and that nothing on this syllabus changes the game based methodology of the learning in the course.)) ((Finally, it s important to say that the game based format of the course is not a gimmick or, above all, something you can ignore. While it is possible to receive an A in the course without doing any serious role playing and by simply completing the assignments as if this were a traditional though online course, in order to do well on those assignments you are going to have to engage the rules of Operation CAESAR, which happen also to be the learning objectives of the course. Operation CAESAR is not an activity you can skip; the operation is the course, and the course is the operation.)) Goals, Objectives, Assessments Key to assessments: R: Reports: Five team collaborations on and individual versions of mission end reports ((four word analytic papers, one word research paper)), including final exam (=final report) = 40% T: TSTT immersion sessions: Twenty six team collaborations on narrative immersion sessions through performed close reading=40% L: Latin based theme annotation and collection: Twenty six reading and annotation sessions=20% A. Goal: Knowledge of key Latin literary works Objective: Describe the works; summarize the works achievement. Assessment: RTL B. Goal: Knowledge of the cultural background of Latin literature Objective: Describe the cultural background; identify and summarize its key

4 elements. Assessment: RTL C. Goal: Skill at analysis of Latin literature Objective: Produce a culturally informed analysis of a key passage. Assessment: RTL D. Goal: Skill at analysis of modern analogues of ancient works Objective: Produce a comparative analysis of a passage from Latin literature and an example of modern cultural production. Assessment: RTL Required Course Materials Books (nothing needs to be bought, but your access to Internet resources is absolutely crucial) Online Googledoc versions of ancient texts Online JSTOR versions of secondary works Forum Access You will be required to participate in forum discussions on the practomime.com/arkhaia website as part of this course. Links to the specific discussions will be provided within each module. You are required to keep a gmail account, and an associated forum account at practomime.com/arkhaia. Please refer to the e mail you will receive, or have received, from me. Course Policies This course requires a great deal of work. As you ll see from the schedule of missions, you will have briefings to watch, reading to do, reports to turn in, and ((operation related)) discussions to participate in faithfully. The written assignments themselves are not especially time consuming, but to complete them on time and successfully, and thus pass the course, you will have to do the discussion, watching, and reading assignments, which are much more time consuming activities. Assignments must be submitted on time, except in case of documented emergency. This policy includes the required collaborative discussions, the annotations, and the collections: none of these will receive credit if made after the date when that portion of the operation

5 closes, which is the same time the lead op s post is due for each immersion session, though failure to complete the minimum standard, whether for credit or not, has serious assessment consequences (see below). If you foresee a conflict, please inform me of it as soon as possible. In the absence of a documented emergency, you may not make up the credit for missed work. Computer problems by themselves do not constitute a documentable emergency unless you can provide evidence, for example from the HuskyCT support team, that you made a diligent effort to complete the assignment but were prevented by the computer problem. You will receive credit for your contributions to the collaborative activities in the course, and not for the finished product. Your credit for a collaborative assignment, that is, is not dependent on anyone else s contribution. Note that because reports are partially collaborative, this policy applies only to the collaborative part of the report activity. Grading for the course is progressive, and depends to some extent on the activities you undertake, but the total Latinity Points available for each assessment category are as follows: R 400,000, T 400,000, L 200,000. Each activity has its own number of points available; Annotations, for example, are capped at 40,000 points per module. In order that you receive full credit for full work, you will need to ensure that your contributions to your team s collaboration contain a richness of research and detail that demonstrates your advanced progress towards the learning objectives. I will be consulting with you throughout the course to help you reach this standard. This is an online asynchronous course with semi synchronous online activities. That means that you may choose your own schedule for completing course activities on a short term basis that is, in a 24 hour period, you get to choose when to work on the course. It does not mean that you can go long periods between sessions of working on the course. Most importantly, this course thrives on discussion, and discussion requires constant attention. If you want to perform well in this course, you should at a minimum post every 48 hours in your team forum. Introduction to course structure: The operation is divided into five mission modules. To complete each mission, you must do the assigned reading, annotate the reading, participate in online class discussion in a way that demonstrates that you have done the reading, and file a mission end briefing report.

6 The course is assessed in Latinity Points (LP). 930,000 LP gets you an A; 870,000 a B+, 770,000 a C+; 670,000 a D+; 600,000 and below an F (note that it is also possible to get an F by failing to fulfill the minimum standards detailed below). There are at least 210,000 points available in each module, and there will be frequent opportunities to earn more. Reading: Selections from classical Latin literature, including Caesar, Cicero, Virgil, Ovid, Lucan, and Seneca. Selected criticism. Assessed in all activities below. Immersion discussion: inside the TSTT interface located at as specified in each mission module (assessed via LP [Latinity Points]): 80,000 LP each. Annotation: on Googledoc versions of the primary source reading: variable LP per note (usually 200 LP), to a maximum of 40,000 LP per mission. Collection: collection in your operative dossier of examples of key themes. Variable LP per group collected, usually 1000 LP per group. Reports: 5 semi collaborative reports ((papers)); your work is assessed only on your contribution to the final product, not on the product itself: 80,000 LP each. Minimum standard: one hundred words either in the briefing itself or in a contribution to team discussion (these words need not appear in the final version of the briefing), except in case of documented emergency. Note that the word count applies to the final, collaborative report and not to your individual contributions. Additional Policies This is the formal stuff that really completes the disguise of this mission as a regular old course. You are expected to complete all assignments on time. In case of documented emergency, I will excuse you from an assignment, and it will not be counted in your final grade, except in the case of papers, for which extensions until a specified date will be granted. You are required to complete the assignments for the course on your own except when collaborative work is specified in a particular assignment, and without breaching rules of academic conduct concerning cheating and collusion. If you should be found by the teacher of this course to have committed a breach of these rules, you would be notified by me in writing, with a copy of the notification sent to the Head of the Literatures, Cultures. and Languages Department and to the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The

7 notification would describe the penalty instituted by me. You would have ten days to appeal the finding and/or the penalty to me, and to request a hearing. That hearing would be arranged by the Dean. Please refer to the UConn Student Code for further details. DEMIURGE ONLINE BEGIN TRANSMISSION SIGNAL "SCHEDULE" FOLLOWS Schedule (a granular schedule will be available at the start of classes) Mission 1: The roots of Romanization Objective: Discover the nature of Romanization in Gaul, by playing a part in the Roman occupation in 31 BCE. Relay that information to Mission control in the form of a report on an ancient/modern comparison. Time: Weeks 1 4 Reading: Caesar, Commentary on the Gallic War; selected criticism. Module 2: The ghost of the God Objective: Discover the nature of Julius Caesar's effect on Rome through his campaigns in Gaul and Britain, by playing a part in an attempt at reopening the British campaign. Relay that information to Mission control in the form of a report on an ancient/modern comparison. Time: Weeks 5 6 Reading: Caesar, Commentary on the Gallic War; selected criticism. Module 3: The "genius" Caesar Objective: Discover the nature of the turn from away from the Republic as reflected in Caesar and his opponents, by playing a part in the uprising of 54 BCE in Gaul. Relay that information to Mission control in the form of an interpretative essay. Time: Weeks 7 8 Reading: Caesar, Commentary on the Civil War; Cicero, selected letters; selected criticism. Module 4: Maecenas and Augustus Objective: Discover the relationship between Julius' legacy and the cultural project of Augustan literature, by playing a part in the creation of the Aeneid. Relay that information to Mission control in the form of a report on an ancient/modern comparison. Time: Weeks 9 11

8 Reading: Virgil, Aeneid; Ovid, selections; Seneca, selections; Lucan, selections. Module 5: The Death of Virgil Objective: Discover the importance of classical Latin literature, by disposing of the ghost of Julius Caesar. Relay that information to Mission control in the form of a research paper on an aspect of the Augustan cultural project. Time: Weeks Reading: Lucretius, selections; Catullus, selections; Propertius, selections; Horace, selections; Livy, Sallust, Tacitus, selections; Statius, selections. END SIGNAL END TRANSMISSION DEMIURGE OFFLINE