First on the agenda (which, by the way, is a great word to use to introduce students to the gerundive) is packing for the trip to Seattle. I have a very strong history of bringing more than I can ever hope to read, both scholarly and otherwise. Any advice from experienced travelers both on packing books for travel, and planning well so as not to be wasteful?
Second, I’m still working out the details of my Latin III and IV courses for the coming Fall and Spring. Poetry is very approachable and digestible on a certain level, but authentic prose can be a killer for high school students. I’m planning to use a simple narrative of Roman history in prepared Latin as the base for Latin III, along with a systematic review of vocabulary and grammar, with bits of authentic Catullus, as well as individual presentations on Greek and Roman literature in translation. We are reading all of Ovid’s Metamorphoses in translation in Latin IV to round out knowledge of culture, literature, and reception, and of course good bits of Ovid, Horace, and perhaps Vergil in Latin, but I need to find a good sampling of authentic prose that doesn’t seem completely out of joint or redundant.
Lastly, we’ve still got many ideas brewing, but have only had time to post a few more t-shirts at zazzle. Here are the two latest shirts, neither of which tries to be clever, funny, or ironic (which should be a relief to some of you don’t like my sense of humor):
The design on the front of the Cicero shirt:
And now the back:
Pollice Verso (with the line Juvenal III):
Note: I typed the title as miscellania (sic). I think I should go back to bed. Luckily I caught it as soon as I published.