Dickinson Latin Workshop: Prudentius’ Psychomachia
July 12–17, 2017
The Dickinson Summer Latin Workshop is intended for teachers of Latin, as a way to refresh the mind through study of an extended Latin text, and to share experiences and ideas with Latinists and teachers. Sometimes those who are not currently engaged in teaching have participated as well, including retired teachers and those working towards teacher certification.
Moderators:
Marc Mastrangelo (Dickinson College)
Christopher Francese (Dickinson College)
The text for 2016 will be Prudentius’ Psychomachia. This miniature epic of 915 hexameter lines dramatizes the “Battle of the Soul,” pitting colorful and articulate dramatizations of the virtues and vices in mortal combat.
Chasity Pierces Lust, illustration from a manuscript of the Psychomachia, British Library. Cotton MS Titus D XVI, folio 7r St Albans, England, 1120AD.
Prudentius (died after AD 405) was from Roman Spain. He practiced law and was twice provincial governor, perhaps in his native country, before the emperor Theodosius I summoned him to court. Towards the end of his life Prudentius retired from public life to become an ascetic, fasting until evening and abstaining entirely from animal food, and writing poems, hymns, and controversial works in defense of Catholicism.
Prudentius’ elegant and vigorous Latin has earned him the title “The Roman Vergil,” and the Psychomachia creatively uses many phrases and ideas from Vergil’s works, especially the Aeneid.
Deadline for applications is May 1, 2017. The participation fee for each participant will $300. The fee covers lodging, breakfast and lunch in the Dickinson cafeteria, the facilities fee, which allows access to the gym, fitness center, and the library, as well as wireless and wired internet access while on campus. The $300 fee does not cover the costs of books or travel, or of dinners, which are typically eaten in the various restaurants in Carlisle. Please keep in mind that the participation fee of $300, once it has been received by the seminar’s organizers, is not refundable. This is an administrative necessity.
Lodging: accommodations will be in a student residence hall near the site of the sessions. The building features suite-style configurations of two double rooms sharing a private bathroom, or one double and one single room sharing a private bathroom.
The first event will be an introductory dinner at 6:00 p.m., July 12. The final session ends at noon on July 17, with lunch to follow. Sessions will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. each day, with the afternoons left free for preparation.
TO APPLY: please contact Mrs. Terri Blumenthal, blumentt@dickinson.edu by the application deadline May 1, 2017. The fee for 2016 is $300, due in a check made out to Dickinson College, by the fee deadline June 1, 2017.
For more information please contact Prof. Chris Francese (francese@dickinson.edu).