20 courses with the subject LAT, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
LAT 101Introductory Latin I
Instructor Truetzel In this course, you will establish a foundation in Latin vocabulary and grammar and develop skills in reading, writing, and speaking Latin. We will also explore the history and culture of the ancient Romans through our reading of adapted excerpts of Latin texts. Each week, in addition to three full-class sessions, you will participate in two smaller drill sessions led by our ATs. Prerequisites & Notes (Offered annually, Fall only.)
Instructor Truetzel This course builds upon the foundation in Latin established in LAT 101. You will continue to develop your skills in reading, writing, and speaking increasingly complex Latin. By the end of the term, you will have been introduced to all major grammatical constructions and will be prepared to read unadapted excerpts of Latin texts. Each week, in addition to three full-class sessions, you will participate in two smaller drill sessions led by Apprentice Teachers. Prerequisites & Notes LAT 101 or Placement Test (Offered annually, Spring only)
Instructor T. Lee This course fulfills the college’s language requirement and is your gateway to advanced Latin at Davidson. Together, we’ll review the language’s grammar, read and discuss a variety of excerpts in prose and poetry, and explore concepts such as semantics, pronunciation, metrics and translation. Fulfills the language requirement. Prerequisites & Notes LAT 102 or placement test. (Offered annually, Fall only.)
Instructor Truetzel Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a fifteen-book poem that weaves together stories from classical mythology into a continuous narrative proceeding, in the poet’s words, “from the origin of the world down to [his] own times.” While crafting this ambitious account of mythical figures such as Daphne, Phaethon, Narcissus, Pyramis and Thisbe, Arachne, Daedalus, Iphis, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Pygmalion, Ovid both engages deeply with his literary predecessors and reflects upon his contemporary world of Augustan Rome. The poet’s multifaceted magnum opus has something for everyone, and it has profoundly influenced subsequent literature, art, and music by artists like Shakespeare, Bernini, and Mozart. In this course, we will read the entire poem in English but spend most of our time focusing on excerpts in Latin, including the students’ own selections. As we enjoy Ovid’s witty, playful, and inventive poetic style, we will also meditate on serious themes in the poem that have continued relevance today: the challenges in distinguishing fact from fiction, the relationship between power and justice, and the fundamental role of change in the human experience. Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement. Counts towards the Classical Languages and Literature major and as an elective for the Classical Studies major. Counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory. Prerequisites & Notes Latin 201 or placement test. Students who have already taken a LAT course beyond 201 should enroll in this course as LAT 311. Not offered in 2026-2027.
Instructor T. Lee Do you ever just want to get away from it all? This class will read selections from Latin pastoral poetry, a mode of literature centering themes of nature, springtime, leisure, and relaxation. We’ll read from Vergil’s Eclogues, a collection that predates the Aeneid and whose legacy reaches from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to Milton’s Paradise Lost to the online Cottagecore aesthetic. We’ll also explore some lesser-known pastoral texts, some by anonymous authors and some written later under the Roman Empire. We’ll discuss how these ancient texts influence our modern pictures of paradise, and how sometimes even the idyllic countryside can be darker than it initially seems . Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Students who have taken a LAT course beyond 201 should enroll in this course as LAT 324. Not offered in 2026-2027
Instructor Cheshire This course will examine the whole of Ovid’s mysterious Ibis , a riddling curse poem inspired by a lost Greek work and directed at an anonymous personal enemy. We will mull over Ovid’s dark riddles, consider his motivations for writing such a work from exile, and read the poem against a selection of actual ancient curse tablets-all to help us gain some understanding of this peculiar genre within which Ovid whets his stylus of retribution. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement Satisfies Classical Languages and Literature major requirement. Satisfies Classical Studies major requirement. Satisfies Global Literary Theory interdisciplinary minor requirement. Satisfies Latin minor requirement. Prerequisites & Notes LAT 201 or placement test. Students who have not yet taken a LAT course beyond 201 may enroll in this course as LAT 225. Fall 2026
Instructor Cheshire This course examines Seneca’s Phaedra , a tragedy composed by the Roman Stoic philosopher and statesman during the reign of the emperor Nero (54-68 CE). Drawing largely on Euripides’ Greek tragedy Hippolytus of nearly 500 years previous, Seneca takes this mythic exploration of self-restraint (sexual abstinence), desire (a woman’s lust for her stepson), and vengeance to a whole new level. Through close reading of the Latin text of the play along with translations of some of his other works, we will analyze Seneca’s distinctive dramatic style and his innovative reimagining of Greek tragedy for a Roman audience, considering especially why this adherent of Stoicism would compose such plays, wherein the misguided actions of individuals threaten to have the very universe spinning out of control.\ Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement. Prerequisites & Notes LAT 201 or placement test. Students who have already taken a LAT course beyond 201 should enroll in LAT 327.
Instructor Truetzel Titus Livius (59 BCE - 17 CE) wrote a 142-volume history of the city of Rome from its founding down to his own day. This monumental opus became the standard account of the history of the Roman republic, and it remains one of the best historical sources for this period. But Livy’s work is also a complex piece of literature in its own right, as he selected, arranged, and presented the historical material to create his own overarching story of the Roman past and its relationship to the Roman present. In this course, we will read selections from the extant portions of Livy’s work, ranging from the expulsion of Rome’s kings, to the war against Hannibal, to the infamous Bacchanalian conspiracy. In doing so, we will explore topics such as Livy’s conception of history, narrative structure, literary style, characterization, speeches, morality, monumentality, religion, and women. We will also consider where Livy himself stands in history, by looking back at selections of his sources (for example, Cato the Elder, Polybius, inscriptions) and by eamining the impact on Livy’s work of the transition from republic to empire that occurred during his own lifetime. Prof. Truetzel will be on campus, and she welcomes the opportunity to meet outside of class - both in-person and digitally - throughout the semester. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement. Counts towards the Classical Languages and Literature major and as an elective for the Classical Studies major. Counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory. Prerequisites & Notes LAT 201 or placement test. Students who have taken a LAT course beyond 201 should enroll in this course as LAT 334. Spring 2027
Instructor Cheshire “Your Life as a Donkey” might just as easily serve as title for this course. Ostensibly writing to titillate his readers, the Numidian (modern Algeria) Platonic philosopher Apuleius confounds them with his meandering tale of Lucius, a man transformed into an ass that endures unimaginable (yet gripping!) sufferings until his shocking religious conversion to the Egyptian goddess Isis. We will read the entire novel in English, but spend the majority of the course focusing on excerpts in Latin. As we familiarize ourselves with Apuleius’ playful, hypnotic prose style, we will inevitably confront what the philosopher’s novel seems to demand of us: the gulf between expectation and fulfillment, the illusory nature of form and perception, and how in fact we “donkeys” know what we know. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement. Counts towards the Classical Languages and Literature major and as an elective for the Classical Studies major. Counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory. Prerequisites & Notes Prerequisite- LAT 201 or placement test. Students who have taken a LAT course beyond 201 should enroll in this course as LAT 351. Not offered in 2026-2027.
Instructor Cheshire This course treats the Confessiones of St. Augustine (354 - 430 CE), an indigenous African man from the ancient Roman province of Numidia (modern Algeria). A learned master of the Latin language, he produces in his Confessiones a rich literary work at once philosophical, informed by his rigorous study of Greek thought, and deeply personal, an intimate account of, among other things, his struggles - in all their ugliness and beauty - with morality, the liberal arts, his mother, and God. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement Counts towards the Classical Languages and Literature major and as an elective for the Classical Studies major Counts towards the Latin minor and the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory Prerequisites & Notes Latin 201 or placement test. Students who have already taken a 200-level course beyond Latin 201 should enroll in LAT 377. Not offered in 2026-2027.
Instructor Truetzel Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a fifteen-book poem that weaves together stories from classical mythology into a continuous narrative proceeding, in the poet’s words, “from the origin of the world down to [his] own times.” While crafting this ambitious account of mythical figures such as Daphne, Phaethon, Narcissus, Pyramis and Thisbe, Arachne, Daedalus, Iphis, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Pygmalion, Ovid both engages deeply with his literary predecessors and reflects upon his contemporary world of Augustan Rome. The poet’s multifaceted magnum opus has something for everyone, and it has profoundly influenced subsequent literature, art, and music by artists like Shakespeare, Bernini, and Mozart. In this course, we will read the entire poem in English but spend most of our time focusing on excerpts in Latin, including the students’ own selections. As we enjoy Ovid’s witty, playful, and inventive poetic style, we will also meditate on serious themes in the poem that have continued relevance today: the challenges in distinguishing fact from fiction, the relationship between power and justice, and the fundamental role of change in the human experience. Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement. Counts towards the Classical Languages and Literature major and as an elective for the Classical Studies major. Counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory. Prerequisites & Notes Latin 201 or placement test. Not offered in 2026-2027.
Instructor T. Lee Do you ever just want to get away from it all? This class will read selections from Latin pastoral poetry, a mode of literature centering themes of nature, springtime, leisure, and relaxation. We’ll read from Vergil’s Eclogues, a collection that predates the Aeneid and whose legacy reaches from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to Milton’s Paradise Lost to the online Cottagecore aesthetic. We’ll also explore some lesser-known pastoral texts, some by anonymous authors and some written later under the Roman Empire. We’ll discuss how these ancient texts influence our modern pictures of paradise, and how sometimes even the idyllic countryside can be darker than it initially seems . Satisfies the Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Not offered in 2026-2027
Instructor Cheshire This course will examine the whole of Ovid’s mysterious Ibis , a riddling curse poem inspired by a lost Greek work and directed at an anonymous personal enemy. We will mull over Ovid’s dark riddles, consider his motivations for writing such a work from exile, and read the poem against a selection of actual ancient curse tablets-all to help us gain some understanding of this peculiar genre within which Ovid whets his stylus of retribution. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement Satisfies Classical Languages and Literature major requirement. Satisfies Classical Studies major requirement. Satisfies Global Literary Theory interdisciplinary minor requirement. Satisfies Latin minor requirement. Prerequisites & Notes LAT 201 or placement test. Students who have not yet taken a LAT course beyond 201 may enroll in this course as LAT 225. Fall 2026
Instructor Cheshire This course examines Seneca’s Phaedra , a tragedy composed by the Roman Stoic philosopher and statesman during the reign of the emperor Nero (54-68 CE). Drawing largely on Euripides’ Greek tragedy Hippolytus of nearly 500 years previous, Seneca takes this mythic exploration of self-restraint (sexual abstinence), desire (a woman’s lust for her stepson), and vengeance to a whole new level. Through close reading of the Latin text of the play along with translations of some of his other works, we will analyze Seneca’s distinctive dramatic style and his innovative reimagining of Greek tragedy for a Roman audience, considering especially why this adherent of Stoicism would compose such plays, wherein the misguided actions of individuals threaten to have the very universe spinning out of control. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement. Prerequisites & Notes LAT 201 or placement test. Students who have already taken a LAT course beyond 201 should enroll in LAT 327.
Instructor Truetzel Titus Livius (59 BCE - 17 CE) wrote a 142-volume history of the city of Rome from its founding down to his own day. This monumental opus became the standard account of the history of the Roman republic, and it remains one of the best historical sources for this period. But Livy’s work is also a complex piece of literature in its own right, as he selected, arranged, and presented the historical material to create his own overarching story of the Roman past and its relationship to the Roman present. In this course, we will read selections from the extant portions of Livy’s work, ranging from the expulsion of Rome’s kings, to the war against Hannibal, to the infamous Bacchanalian conspiracy. In doing so, we will explore topics such as Livy’s conception of history, narrative structure, literary style, characterization, speeches, morality, monumentality, religion, and women. We will also consider where Livy himself stands in history, by looking back at selections of his sources (for example, Cato the Elder, Polybius, inscriptions) and by examining the impact on Livy’s work of the transition from republic to empire that occurred during his own lifetime. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement. Counts towards the Classical Languages and Literature major and as an elective for the Classical Studies major. Counts towards the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory. Prerequisites & Notes LAT 201 or placement test. Spring 2027
Instructor Cheshire “Your Life as a Donkey” might just as easily serve as title for this course. Ostensibly writing to titillate his readers, the Numidian (modern Algeria) Platonic philosopher Apuleius confounds them with his meandering tale of Lucius, a man transformed into an ass that endures unimaginable (yet gripping!) sufferings until his shocking religious conversion to the Egyptian goddess Isis. We will read the entire novel in English, but spend the majority of the course focusing on excerpts in Latin. As we familiarize ourselves with Apuleius’ playful, hypnotic prose style, we will inevitably confront what the philosopher’s novel seems to demand of us: the gulf between expectation and fulfillment, the illusory nature of form and perception, and how in fact we “donkeys” know what we know. Satisfies Classical Languages and Liturature major requirement. Satisfies Classical Studies major requirement. Satisfies Latin minor requirement. Satisfies Global Literary Theory major requirement. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing and Rhetoric requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Prerequisite- LAT 201 or placement test. Students who have taken a LAT course beyond 201 should enroll in this course as LAT 351. Not offered in 2026-2027.
Instructor Cheshire This course treats the Confessiones of St. Augustine (354 - 430 CE), an indigenous African man from the ancient Roman province of Numidia (modern Algeria). A learned master of the Latin language, he produces in his Confessiones a rich literary work at once philosophical, informed by his rigorous study of Greek thought, and deeply personal, an intimate account of, among other things, his struggles - in all their ugliness and beauty - with morality, the liberal arts, his mother, and God. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric distribution requirement Counts towards the Classical Languages and Literature major and as an elective for the Classical Studies major Counts towards the Latin minor and the interdisciplinary minor in Global Literary Theory Prerequisites & Notes Latin 201 or placement test. Students who have not yet taken a 200-level course beyond Latin 201 should enroll in LAT 277. Not offered in 2026-2027.
Readings and research on Latin texts, under the direction and supervision of a faculty member who reviews and approves the topic(s) and evaluates the student’s work. Prerequisites & Notes Latin 201 or placement test and permission of the instructor.
Writing of a thesis under the supervision of an appropriate professor. Oral defense before the entire classics faculty required. Admission by unanimous consent of the Department of Classics.
