Greek 11: Beginning Greek
Fall 1996
MTThF 12:30-1:20 Admin. 202

INSTRUCTOR: Robert W. Cape, Jr., Assistant Professor of Classics
OFFICE: AD 310 PHONE: x2241 MAIL: 61539 EMAIL: rcape@austincollege.edu
OFFICE HOURS: 2:00-3:00 MWF, & by appointment or just dropping by.

Text:
  • Maurice Balme and Gilbert Lawall, Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek, Book I (Oxford University Press: New York, 1990)

    • Course Objectives:

    The primary goal of this course is to help students develop skills for reading ancient Greek. To do this we will focus on learning the principles of Greek grammar and building a solid vocabulary. Since it is necessary to know something about the culture in order to understand a language, the course will also provide an introduction to Greek civilization. Another goal of the course is to help students enhance their English vocabulary and understanding of English by paying attention to Greek's contribution to our language.

    At the end of one semester of Greek, each student should be able to:

    1. recognize, pronounce and write all letters in the Greek alphabet; have a basic knowledge of accentuation; understand the concept of gendered nouns and articles
    2. understand the primary functions of Greek noun cases and recognize the basic forms of the first three declensions
    3. understand the principle of noun and adjective agreement
    4. recognize and understand the forms for a variety of basic pronouns (personal, reflexive, interrogative, indefinite)
    5. understand the concept of prepositions taking cases and the function of prepositional phrases
    6. understand the functions of verb forms and recognize the basic active and middle forms of regular and contract verbs in the present tense
    7. comprehend and translate into English short passages of simple sentences which may include parallel and basic-level subordinate clauses
    8. write Greek at the basic sentence level
    9. have an acquaintance with fifth century Athenian culture
    It is expected that each student will achieve these objectives at his or her own level, depending on individual time, energy, and commitment to learning the material.

    Attendance and Participation:

    Because this is a performance class, regular attendance is required of all students. Students are expected to be prepared for and to participate actively in every class. Lack of preparation is no excuse for not participating. Since learning a language is a sequential process and any class sessions or homework missed can seriously affect future performance, only four absences will be allowed. Each absence after the fourth will lower the total grade by three percentage points. With nine absences a student may be dropped from the course.

    Assignments and Grading:

    Homework assignments are given daily for the next day's class. These are to be completed prior to the class meeting and will be the basis for that day's participation. In addition, about once a week there will be a written homework assignment to be turned in at the beginning of class. Students are responsible for finding out what the homework assignment is if they have missed a class. Homework, quizzes and exams missed during an absence cannot be made up except under exceptional circumstances.

    A short, 10-15 minute quiz will be given approximately every week. These quizzes are meant to help students review material recently covered and serve as diagnostic instruments to indicate how well they are progressing in discrete areas of grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension. The midterm and final are comprehensive exams which measure the student's total progress at specific points in the course. The midterm will be given during the sixth or seventh week of class; the exact date will be announced at least two weeks in advance. The final will be given at the regularly scheduled time. The midterm and final may include "take-home" sections.

    Grade percentages:
    weekly quizzes 35%
    written homework 10%
    attendance and participation 15%
    midterm 20%
    final 20%
    Austin College's Standards of Academic Integrity are assumed to apply to your work for this course.

    [Bob Cape's Homepage] [Classics Program Homepage] 

    Robert W. Cape, Jr., Assistant Professor of Classics
Classical & Modern Languages
900 N. Grand, Suite 61539
Sherman, TX 75090-4440
phone: (903) 813-2241  fax: (903) 813-3197

    Mail comments to rcape@austincollege.edu