Why study Latin A level

Why study
Latin A level ?
Short presentation on A level Latin
from C J Currie HOD Classics
email at
[email protected]
MEET THE
PEOPLE
Julius Caesar
Cicero
OVID
Meet the people
Ovid Echo and Narcissus
Pentheus and Bacchus
Cicero – Pompey and
Mithridates
Learn more of the root of the
Romance languages Français
Italiano
Español
Português
Român
ENHANCE TRAVEL IN THE UK
British Museum
Fishbourne
Bath
ENHANCE TRAVEL IN ITALY
TRAVEL IN ITALY – gas trip 2015
ENHANCE TRAVEL IN GREECE
.
TRAVEL IN GREECE possible
destination 2016
Is it relevant today?
“Latin is not dead,
it is immortal!”
PEOPLE’S NAMES
DIDO – Queen of
Carthage – pop
songstress
Felix,
Felicity,
felix, lucky
Martin,
Mars,
god of war
PRODUCT NAMES
ABBREVIATIONS
a.m. ante meridiem
A.D. anno Domini
C.V. curriculum vitae
etc.
et cetera
e.g.
i.e.
id est
exempli gratia
p.m. post meridiem
P.S.
postscriptum
LATIN IN ENGLISH – increase
your vocabulary
To learn a speech verbatim
To deliver a speech ex tempore
To carry on ad nauseam
To disrupt the status quo
To go incognito
The crux of the matter
etc. etc. etc.
LITERATURE
J K Rowling:
“draco dormiens nunquam titillandus”
Philip Pullman; Lindsey Davis; John
Dryden; Ted Hughes; Shakespeare, James
Joyce ...
MUSIC
The opera: Dido & Aeneas; The title of a
Toploader song, Achilles’ heel; ….
ART & ARCHITECTURE
Botticelli, Birth of Venus
Antony and Cleopatra
by Lawrence Alma Tadema
FILMS
Gladiator 2003
The 300 2007
Clash of the Titans /
The Eagle 2011
TV Mary Beard on Pompeii
Rome – HBO series
Is it relevant today?
“Intelligent actions today are
informed by a knowledge and
understanding of what went
before, and a curiosity about what
brought us to where we are now.”
Whether we consider law ,English,
politics, philosophy, engineering,
languages,medicine or art,
the study of Latin enhances our
understanding of our lives today.
Why Classics at A level ?
 Latin and Classical Civilisation are
traditional A level subjects which are
highly regarded by all good universities
especially Oxford and Cambridge.
 Students who study these subjects at A
level have gained places on courses as
diverse as History , Medicine , Law ,
Philosophy , Politics , Public Relations,
Economics, Zoology, Marine Biology.
Destinations of ex
students
 2014 2 A2 Latin students have started Classics at
Durham – Luke Newman and Greg Baynham . Ben
Stevens is reading Latin at Reading along with Miranda
Bennett who did AS Latin and is studying Latin and
Museum Studies.
 2011 – Jack Johnson - Gonville and Gaius Cambridge
for Classics
 2010 – Tom Light reading Classical Archaeology at
Kent ; Veronica Hastings reading English with Classical
Studies at Surrey university.
Destinations of ex
students
 2008 Alice Merry – Cambridge Classics –
now working in City
 Amelia Bell – Classics at Balliol Oxford
 Now studying law at Guildford
Enrichment for Latin A
level students
 Essay competitions
 Classical WEX
 British Museum London – tour of Greek/
Roman galleries
 Classics Forum – at RGS Guildford
 Eton Summer School for Classics
 Classics Summer Schools – JACT
 Tutoring through the UCAS process – mock
interviews / open days / personal statement /
Benefits of Latin a level in
UCAS / Oxbridge application
 Students gain good grades – A and B
 Top universities (Russell Group ) regard Latin
as a traditional subject and one of the few
facilitating subjects which foster skills which
are directly applicable to independent study of
any subject at undergraduate level.
 Few state schools offer Latin at A level and this
makes your choice of A levels unique and it will
catch the eye of the admissions tutor when
they see Latin on your Ucas form.
What skills will you gain?
  The ability to understand a foreign language
to a high level of competence
  Improved literacy generally
  Increased written communication skills
  A high level of adaptability and mental agility
What do I do with it
next?
Classics beyond school
AT UNIVERSITY
CLASSICS DEGREES may include:
Greek language / literature
Latin language / literature
Ancient History
Philosophy
Greek & Roman Art & Architecture
Philology (origins & development of language)
Archaeology
Any one of the above can also be studied as a degree in itself
CLASSICS GRADUATES
…are highly employable in all fields
An ability to study the subject to a high level indicates
an ANALYTICAL and LOGICAL approach
ACCOUNTANCY, CONSULTANCY, MANAGEMENT,
HOME/FOREIGN OFFICE, LAW….
as well as an EMPATHY for
the LITERARY and the AESTHETIC
JOURNALISM, PUBLISHING, TEACHING….
What do the courses
involve?
GCE Latin(OCR)
Specification for
2015- AS exam 2016/ 2016-A2
exam 2017
AS Latin for June 2016
Latin Verse and Prose Literature F362
Selections from :
Ovid Metamorphoses 3
Cicero, the Speech in support of Pompey’s generalship
in the war against Mithridates 3
Key skills:
Ability to translate “real” Latin into idiomatic English
Ability to comment on writer’s literary technique
(choice of vocabulary, word order, sound effects etc.)
Ability to comment on historical context / mythological
references
Cicero and Ovid
De imperio - Cicero
 . De Imperio Cn. Pompei, also known as Pro Lege Manilia, was
a speech delivered by Cicero in 66 BC in support of the proposal
made by Gaius Manilius, a tribune of the people, that Pompey the
Great be given sole command against Mithridates in the Third
Mithridatic War. “On the Command of Gnaeus Pompey", in
support of Pompey's appointment to command the Roman forces
against Mithridates VI in their quest to expel him from their new
Province of Bithynia/Pontus – modern northern Turkey ‘s Black
Sea coast
 Cicero advertised Pompey as the only man with the skills for the
campaign but also attempted to avoid offending the senatorial
aristocracy unnecessarily. However by supporting Pompey Cicero
had publicly committed himself.
Ovid metamorphoses 3



Met 3 – The Metamorphoses (Latin: Metamorphoseon libri: "Books of
Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem by the Roman poet Ovid,
considered his magnum opus. Comprising fifteen books and over 250 myths,
the poem chronicles the history of the world from its creation to the
deification of Julius Caesar within a loose mythico-historical framework.
One of the most influential works in Western culture, the Metamorphoses
has inspired such authors as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante and Boccaccio.
Numerous episodes from the poem have been depicted in masterpieces of
sculpture and painting by artists such as Titian. Although interest in Ovid
faded after the Renaissance, towards the end of the twentieth century there
was a resurgence of attention to his work; today, the Metamorphoses
continues to inspire and be retold through various media.
1.Cadmus & the Dragon
2. Actaeon
3. Semele & Jupiter
4. Tiresias
5. Narcissus & Echo
6. Pentheus & Bacchus
7. Tyrrhenian Pirates & Bacchus
AS Latin for June 2016
Latin Language F361
Examined through unseen translation and/or prose
composition
Key skills:
Ability to learn vocabulary
Ability to understand and recognise grammatical
features
Ability to translate slightly modified Latin into accurate
and idiomatic English and vice versa for the prose
compostion
A2 Latin for June 2016 exam
2017
Latin Verse Literature F363:
Poems of Catullus
and Ovid hexameters as unseen
Latin Prose Literature F364:
Pliny Letters or Tacitus Annals book 4
and Livy unseen or prose composition
Please collect :
TAKE THE LONG VIEW
LEAFLET – AVAILABLE FROM
MRS CURRIE – EMAIL AT
[email protected].
Finis
(The End)