GRK-110, Elementary Ancient Greek

C. Blackwell, Department of Classics

MTHF 08:30–09:20

Furman Hall 111

Course website (assignments, topics, link to syllabus): https://eumaeus.github.io/blackwell_fall_2018/Greek110.html

Overview

In this class you will learn the basics of the ancient Greek language. This is a very difficult challenge. To meet this challenge we will address Greek vocabulary, morphology, grammar, and syntax (and what those terms mean!). We will talk about the language, its history and relationship to other languages, and about tools for working with Greek. To help you learn, and to give you some specific marketable skills relevant to the 21st century, you will work hands-on building your own digital tools for analyzing Greek.

Resources

Hansen, Hardy, and Gerald M. Quinn. Greek: An Intensive Course, 2nd Revised Edition. Fordham University Press, 1992.
The fall2018vm Virtual Machine image. Information here
The POS Tag Generator.
The Atom text editor.
The DejaVu fonts.

Grading

Item	Percentage
Quizzes	30%
Midterm	20%
Final Exam	30%
Engagement	10%
Resourcefullness	10%

Notes

Quizzes These will be daily affairs, very short. You will grade your own. (We will talk about how this works in class). If you are not present, you will earn a zero. If you are present and hand anything in, you will earn at least 80% for that quiz. If you score more than 80% on a quiz, you will earn what you score. I will drop any zero resulting from an excused absence. I will drop any three other zeros.
Exams These will be tests of your understanding and skill more than tests of your memory. The final exam will be a one-on-one session with me.
Engagement This will be my subjective assessment of your engagement with the material and with the class. The class is a team engaged in solving a problem: how to read Greek. As a member of that team you are expected to be supportive, active, respectful, cheerful, and as helpful as you can. Each member of the class will bring particular strengths.
Resourcefullness You are not yet good at Greek, nor are you good at the tools and techniques we will learn. This will be my subjective assessment of the extent to which you work to help yourself, to solve your own problem, to find answers to your questions, and to avoid being generally helpless.

Other Resources

The Student Office for Accessibility Resources exists to help with any questions or problems having to do with disability, accommodation, or access.
Academic Affairs is the place to go for questions, problems, or complaints about courses, exams, attendance, and grading.
Academic Assistance exists to provide help so you can success; they are excellent and dedicated. They are not here only for times of trouble; if you are doing well, they can help you do even better.
Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, which amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and provides: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance”. If you even suspect that another person (faculty, student, staff, outsider) is behaving improperly toward you this office is there to hear your concerns and advise you.