What is the Schola Latina?

The Schola Latina is a week-long Summer School, open to members of the general public, which offers complete immersion in Latin for a full week.

Anyone who has completed a full course in Latin grammar is welcome to participate. The Schola Latina is particularly targeted at those who have limited prior experience of speaking Latin, though there will also be a range of levels among the participants, including very experienced speakers.

The course is ideal for students and researchers who wish to develop their reading fluency and familiarity with Latin style and idiom. It is also intended to assist Latin teachers who wish to develop their ability to teach the language using an active approach in the classroom.

The Schola Latina is directed by Dr Jason Harris (Centre for Neo-Latin Studies, School of History) and Dr Catherine Ware (Department of Classics).

Practical Information

Dates: 10-16 June, 2020.

Cost: €100

Location: West Wing Building, Main Quad, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland - Map.

Travel Advice: Travel‌

Accommodation Advice: Accommodation Near UCC

‌Expressions of interest or requests for further information should be sent to the course director, Dr Jason Harris: j.harris@ucc.ie

How to Prepare

At least a month in advance of the Schola, participants will be sent copies of all texts that will be read in class. These are generally short and not very complex. It is recommended that these be read thoroughly before coming to the Schola. Consultation of existing translations may prove helpful after a first read, but it is not advisable to persist in using them because the goal is to move away from mental translation into the vernacular, for which reason translations should not be brought to class.

Participants will also receive in advance documents containing some of the most useful phrases for basic conversation and classroom interaction; familiarity with these helps to ease the transition into full immersion.

For those who have not spoken Latin before, it is helpful to find someone with whom to practice in advance. If that is not possible, it is nevertheless extremely valuable to listen to Spoken Latin, since comprehension is fifty percent of conversation. There are many high quality examples that can be found on YouTube. It is also helpful to listen to recordings of texts that you have already read. Some of these may be found on LibriVox; in the past, others have found it beneficial to make their own recordings of the texts to be discussed in class, so that they can then listen to them repeatedly, getting used to the experience of listening to continuous passages of Latin.

At the Schola Latina in Cork, there is very little focus on vocabulary lists for modern phenomena, since these are by and large not necessary for the exercises we undertake. It would therefore probably prove more useful for participants to consolidate their existing knowledge rather than trying to find or coin neologisms. Nevertheless, for those who wish to expand their vocabulary to describe modern phenomena, a reliable source may be found here.

Participants are welcome to use either reconstructed classical or modern ecclesiastical pronunciation at the Schola Latina. The choice between them is a matter of little consequence and is rarely a barrier to understanding. Care should be taken, however, to ensure that vowel length is correctly enunciated.

Anyone who wants further advice on how to prepare should contact the course coordinator.