Florida State University



Beginning Greek II

Greek 1121 sec. 1 / 5909 sec. 2

MTWTh 1:25 - 2:15 PM

CAR 103

1. Contact Information

instructor: Dr. Allen J. Romano, Assistant Professor of Classics

email: aromano@fsu.edu

office: Dodd 328

office hours: M and T 2:30 - 4:00 and by appointment

course website: campus.fsu.edu

| | |

2. About the Course

2.1 Course Description

This is the second half of the first-year introduction to classical Attic Greek. By the end of this course students will have learned the basic morphology and syntax of the language and be prepared to read elementary prose texts.

2.2 Course Goals

This course is designed to impress upon your brain for all time

1. the morphology of ancient Greek language (i.e. forms, principal parts, and such)

2. basic elements of ancient Greek syntax (i.e. how sentences are put together)

3. a basic vocabulary of Ancient Greek (i.e. words and stuff)

4. cultural knowledge/introduction to the history and culture of ancient Greece (i.e. the context in which the ancient Greek language developed and was used)

This last area, cultural knowledge, is at this initial stage much less relevant to the task of reading Greek than the first two areas. We will spend the majority of our time working on the basic tools for understanding the language: syntax, usage, and vocabulary. We will, however, study the history and culture of ancient Greece as time allows.

3. Course Materials

3.1 Required Book

Hardy Hansen and Gerald Quinn, Greek: An Intensive Course, Second Revised edition, 1992; reprinted several times. New York: Fordham University Press. (You must have the revised edition.)

3.2. Course Website

There is a Blackboard site for this course at campus.fsu.edu. Available documents include the syllabus, handouts, sample exams, and answer keys.

4. Evaluation (i.e. Grades)

4.1. Assignments:

|Class Participation and Preparation |25% |

|Quizzes |15% |

|First Exam |15% |

|Second Exam |20% |

|Final Exam |25% |

Note: Students must complete all exams in order to pass the course.

4.2 Grade Scale

|A |93-100% |C |73-76.9% |

|A- |90-92.9% |C- |70-72.9% |

|B+ |87-89.9% |D+ |67-69.9% |

|B |83-86.9% |D |63-66.9% |

|B- |80-82.9% |D- |60-62.9% |

|C+ |77-79.9% |F |59.9% and lower |

4.3 Participation

This is the easiest part of class. Show up consistently, on-time, and ready to participate in all class activities.

A typical week will progress from time spent largely on direct instruction early in the week to more in-class practice later in the week [material to be written out and possibly handed in is underlined]:

|Day |What you should do at home in advance of class on this |What we will do in class |

| |day | |

|Monday |Learn all the vocabulary for the week. |Vocab Quiz |

| |Read the chapter in full. |Explain and practice the material for the given unit. |

| |Start work on memorizing the forms from the week's | |

| |lessons. | |

|Tuesday |Do the drills (selections) |Continue going over material for the given unit. |

| |Memorize forms |Practice exercises in-class. |

|Wednesday |Do exercises (selections) |Practice |

| |Memorize forms some more | |

|Thursday |Review chapter |Morphology Quiz |

| |Keep memorizing those forms |Practice with larger portions of text. |

| | |Preview vocabulary for the next week. |

Missed Classes

Attendance, class preparation and participation are crucial in beginning language classes and for this reason class attendance will be considered in determining your final grade. You will be permitted 3 unexcused absences. Upon the 4th missed class, your total course average will be lowered by 1%. Your average will be lowered by an additional 1% for every absence thereafter. Absences may be excused for religious holidays, official FSU functions where your participation is required (e.g., varsity sports), verified emergencies, deaths in immediate family, and serious medical illness. Documentation is required in all cases in advance of or as soon as possible after the absence. Email notifications will not be honored. The decision to excuse absences rests with the instructor.

Missed Material

If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what class material and homework you have missed. Assignments for each week are posted on the course website and should be readily accessible in advance. In the rare case where this is not sufficient or there is difficulty accessing the website, you should email me or a classmate to find out what you have missed and what the homework is.

4.4 Homework

Homework does not figure into your grade as a specified percentage. However, consistent work on the practice exercises and drills is expected as this sort of practice is essential for learning the material for each unit. Therefore, you are expected to write out the homework assignments for each week as noted in the typical schedule above. Homeworks are due on Wednesdays and on Thursdays. I will collect the homework assignments on a random basis, but you can expect to hand in your homework at least once a week. Consistently good performance on homework assignments will result in a bump up in your final grade. Consistently not –so-good performance on homework (including failure to complete homework assignments) will result in a bump down.

4.5 Quizzes

There are two quizzes each week: a vocab quiz on Mondays and a morphology/syntax quiz on Thursdays. (If there is no class on a given Monday, then the vocabulary quiz will be given on Tuesday.) These are designed to encourage consistent memorization of the course material while providing a metric for assessing your progress. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped.

Missed Quizzes: There are no make-ups for missed quizzes. Quizzes missed for unexcused absences are scored 0. Quizzes missed for excused absences are not calculated into your grade for this portion of the course.

4.6 Exams

There are three exams, given at roughly 5 week intervals. As the material is cumulative, each exam counts for slightly more than the previous exam. Exams will test all areas (morphology, syntax, and vocabulary).

Missed Exams: The first and second exam may be taken early or late only in the event of an emergency or illness (on which, see above under attendance). Absences of this nature must be supported by documentation and/or my prior approval if it is clear in advance that you cannot be there for an exam. However, it is in all cases against University policy to take the final exam early without the written permission of both the instructor and the Dean of Arts and Sciences well in advance of the exam date.

5. Other University-Mandated Fine Print

5.1 Honor Code

Students are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code published in the FSU Bulletin and the Student Handbook. The Academic Honor Code is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility to uphold and foster the highest standards of academic integrity in the student’s own work and in the university community. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to “be honest and truthful and...[to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University.” (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at .)

5.2 University ADA Policy

Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should (1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC), and (2) bring the letter provided by the SDRC, indicating the academic accommodations that are needed, during the first week of class. For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact:

Student Disability Resource Center

97 Woodward Avenue, South

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167

(850) 644-9566 (voice)

(850) 644-8504 (TDD)

sdrc@admin.fsu.edu

5.3 Multiple Submission Policy

No work completed in a previous or concurrent class may be submitted for credit in this class.

5.4 Collaboration Policy

You are encouraged to hold group study and review sessions and, if you so choose, share resources such as vocab lists, paradigm study sheets, and notes. You may work on exercises together if you choose to do so. Note however that such study partnerships should be mutually beneficial and should be aimed primarily at helping each of you improve in your individual abilities. That is to say, everyone in such study partnerships or groups must contribute and each individual must complete the entire assignment.

5.5 Syllabus Change Policy

Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice.

6. Schedule

The following is provided as a guide and daily assignments may be adjusted as we proceed. Exam dates are fixed.

|Date |Assignment |Date |Assignment |

| | |M 3/2 |Unit 15 |

|T 1/6 |Introduction / Rust-removal |T 3/3 |Unit 15 |

|W 1/7 |Unit 10 §§82-85 |W 3/4 |Unit 15 |

|Th 1/8 |NO CLASS (Independent Review) |Th 3/5 |Unit 15 |

| | | | |

|M 1/12 |NO CLASS (Independent Review) |M 3/9 – Th 3/12 |SPRING BREAK |

|T 1/13 |Unit 10 §§82-85 | |NO CLASS |

|W 1/14 |Unit 10 §§86-87 | | |

|Th 1/15 |Unit 10 §88 | | |

| | | | |

|M 1/19 |NO CLASS – MLK Day |M 3/16 |Unit 16 [all] |

|T 1/20 |Unit 11 §§89, 90, 96 |T 3/17 |Unit 16 |

|W 1/21 |Unit 11 §§89, 90, 96 |W 3/18 |Unit 16 |

|Th 1/22 |Review |Th 3/19 |Unit 16 |

| | | | |

|M 1/26 |Unit 11 Principal Parts Extravaganza( (§§91-95) |M 3/23 |Unit 16 §§125-126 |

|T 1/27 |Unit 11 PPE( |T 3/24 |Unit 16 §§125-126 |

|W 1/28 |Unit 11 §97 |W 3/25 |Unit 16 §§125-126 |

|Th 1/29 |Unit 11 §98, Unit 12 §101 |Th 3/26 |EXAM 2 |

| | | | |

|M 2/2 |Unit 12 §§99-100 |M 3/30 |Unit 17 |

|T 2/3 |Unit 12 §§99-100 |T 3/31 |Unit 17 |

|W 2/4 |Unit 12 §§99-100 |W 4/1 |Unit 17 |

|Th 2/5 |Unit 12 §§99-100 |Th 4/2 |Unit 17 |

| | | | |

|M 2/9 |Unit 12 §§99-100 |M 4/6 |Unit 18 |

|T 2/10 |Unit 12 §§99-100 |T 4/7 |Unit 18 |

|W 2/11 |Unit 12 §§99-100 |W 4/8 |Unit 18 |

|Th 2/12 |EXAM 1 |Th 4/9 |Unit 18 |

| | | | |

|M 2/16 |Unit 13 |M 4/13 |Unit 19 |

|T 2/17 |Unit 13 |T 4/14 |Unit 19 |

|W 2/18 |Unit 13 |W 4/15 |Unit 19 |

|Th 2/19 |Unit 13 |Th 4/16 |Unit 19 |

| | | | |

|M 2/23 |Unit 14 |M 4/20 |Unit 20 |

|T 2/24 |Unit 14 |T 4/21 |Unit 20 |

|W 2/25 |Unit 14 |W 4/22 |Unit 20 |

|T h 2/26 |Unit 14 |Th 4/23 |Unit 20 |

| | |TBA |Review Sessions |

| | |Friday 5/1 @ 10 |FINAL EXAM |

A Note on Memorization

Learning a language, especially an ancient language and an inflected language like Greek, requires memorization. In order to do well in this course, you will spend time memorizing vocabulary, paradigms, and grammatical rules. Further, since learning a language requires cumulative knowledge (i.e. each bit of new knowledge builds upon and requires previous knowledge), you will want to get this sort of information (the "basics") into your long-term memory. The problem is, however, that the first time most people read something, all that information goes into short-term memory. I'm sure all of us are familiar with the experience of learning something in the short-term only to forget it in the long-term. We end up remembering that we once knew something but forgetting what it is we knew.

With this in mind, there are a few ways you can make sure to exercise your memory in the long-term.

1. Repetition: One way to make sure stuff stays in long-term memory is by simple repetition. Some of this repetition will be accomplished through the exercises, quizzes, and in-class practice. However, our time in class is limited and the bulk of this memorization work needs to be done when you are studying the material on your own. Thus, learning the vocabulary means not simply being familiar with the words and being able to recall them after extended deductive reasoning. (Let's call that the words-as-passing-acquaintances model: "I distinctly remember seeing that word somewhere . . .") It means knowing the words cold. (More like a words-are-your-best-friends model: "I feel like I've known that word my whole life . . .") I would urge you to make and use flash cards for this task. Further, most people will be more successful memorizing small sets of words (on the order of 10-20) at one time rather than larger sets. So, be sure to break up your memorization tasks into small blocks of time. In addition, you will be required to memorize a series of paradigms (e.g. the list of endings for different tenses of verbs or case endings for nouns). Methods to memorize paradigms can be as simple as writing the paradigm out ten times or similarly using flash cards and quizzing yourself. I will show you patterns and mnemonics to help you remember some of these details, but you should also consider making up mnemonics of your own when necessary as well.

2. Use: In addition to simple repetition, you can aid your memory through processing the information. For example, you may have as an assignment a few pages in the grammar book. Rather than putting the book aside after reading those pages, you can review the material in a number of ways which will help you remember it.

a. Go back and take notes on it [i.e. take notes after reading it through once, not while reading it for the very first time]

b. put the content into your own words, out loud, in full sentences [e.g. "a particle is a little word that can be used to signal nuance or as a connective and often occurs as the second word in the sentence. An example is the word γάρ which can be left untranslated or can be translated 'because'" etc.]; and

c. use the rules to make up a sentence of your own. (Similarly, it can be especially effective to use new vocabulary words out in the world at large. As you go about your business, try to think of the Greek words for key things. You will almost certainly remember them later.)

The bottom line is to find whatever ways you can to work towards knowing "the basics" -- vocabulary and paradigms -- without having to work at the recall stage. In other words: the main work in this course should be in preparation, with the goal of (eventually) making the reading and recalling parts as immediate and painless as possible.

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