Pramit Chaudhuri

Debate and Diplomacy in Classical Literature

Classical epic and historiography are centrally concerned with war, against which context they feature scenes of councils and embassies in which characters argue for peace. These moments of tension and possibility have much to teach us not only about Greco-Roman attitudes to war and peace, rhetoric and negotiation, but also about the interpretation of literary texts - since interpretation can itself be viewed as a form of debate and diplomatic exchange with one’s predecessors, peers, and successors. Texts include selections from Homer through to Silius Italicus, especially Augustan and Flavian works, with a particular view to tracing out the nuances of their treatment of embassies and councils. In terms of theory and criticism, we will focus on the work of the early modernist Timothy Hampton as well as some recent scholarship on Roman diplomacy from a historical perspective. Graded assignments will include translation and components of the research project culminating in a final paper.

This course studies a wide range of Latin literary production from the 1^st century AD with some selective forays into later periods. The treatment of material and assignments are partly designed to prepare students for graduate examinations, including a focus on literary history and translation of Latin. As well as getting to know major individual works and their place in the tradition, we will practise two skills crucial for anyone seeking to work in the field: 1) defining a literary problem and a plausible critical approach to that problem; 2) connecting a text or a feature of a text with illuminating comparanda. To that end the course will also introduce some major trends in the recent study of Latin literature, which will allow us to better contextualise our own approaches. By the end of the semester, students should be able to present their knowledge according to a variety of configurations suitable for answering a diverse array of questions about Latin literature. Since the course cannot be comprehensive in its coverage, it is expected that the methods and techniques learned will be applied to material beyond the syllabus.

In the past thirty years, few areas of Latin literature have enjoyed as much scholarly attention as Silver Latin epic. Three principal features account for this popularity: 1) themes of violence, excess, and subversion have appealed to contemporary tastes; 2) produced within a relatively brief period from Nero to Domitian, the corpus is remarkably coherent and invites detailed local comparisons; 3) unlike for Augustan literature, many of the primary models of Silver epic are extant: the Aeneid, Metamorphoses, and Senecan tragedy, besides Greek works. The corpus thus offers critics a rare opportunity to study the workings of Roman poets within near contemporaneous as well as longer timeframes, including reception studies focused especially on the high middle ages and early modernity. In this seminar we will survey portions of each of the surviving epics: Lucan’s Bellum Ciuile, Valerius Flaccus’ Argonautica, Silius Italicus’ Punica, and Statius’ Thebaid and Achilleid. As well as seeking to understand the key themes of these works and their place in literary history, we will also use the corpus as a means of practising methods of criticism, ranging from traditional philology to the digital humanities, and paying attention to literary theory.

The Fall of the emperor Nero in AD 68 brought to an end the reign of Rome’s first imperial dynasty, the Julio-Claudians, and sparked a year of civil war. Four generals in succession struggled to gain control of the Roman empire, from which turmoil would eventually emerge the Flavian dynasty, whose military and cultural accomplishments shaped the fabric of the city of Rome and the course of history. In this course we read selections from the major accounts of the civil war in Latin by the historian Tacitus and imperial biographer Suetonius. The course has two principal aims: 1) to develop the ability to read Latin prose through enhanced knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and style; 2) to understand how literary language represents conflict and shapes the reader’s response to narrative and character.