Tuesday, May 26, 2009

SALVI Rusticatio 2009 Scholarship Announcement

Breaking news for Latin-speakers and aspiring Latin-speakers: SALVI (Septentrionale Americanum Latinitatis Vivae Institutum) (known in English as the North American Institute for Living Latin Studies) is pleased to announce the availability of three need-based scholarships, funded by the Amy High Latin Foundation of Virginia, for its general-enrollment spoken-Latin workshop Rusticatio Virginiana Omnibus Destinata 2009. Applications for scholarships to Rusticatio Omnibus will be accepted through June 10, 2009. The SALVI Scholarship Committee chair will notify applicants of the Committee’s decision via email on June 15. Please note that scholarships cover only the Rusticatio Omnibus program fees, and do not include support for travel expenses.

To compete for a scholarship, please do the following:

1. Download an application for Rusticatio Omnibus from http://www.latin.org/rusticatio.html.  Send the completed application to SALVI, c/o Jacquelyn Myers, 1252 11th Street, #107, Santa Monica, CA, 90401. (Disregard this step if you have already submitted your Rusticatio application.)

2. Provide a personal statement of no more than 250 words in which you:

  • Briefly describe your present occupation.
  • Explain why you believe your attendance at Rusticatio Omnibus will benefit you and/or others.
  • Explain why receiving this scholarship is necessary for you. If you are currently employed, please explain the likelihood of receiving institutional support for program fees, travel, etc., or the circumstances which might preclude such support.

Please send your personal statement by email to the Scholarship Committee chair, Jacquelyn Myers, at iacoba@latin.org.

Deadline for scholarship application: June 10, 2009.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day

Christopher Francese, Associate Professor of Classical Studies at the highly-regarded Dickinson College, has a wonderful Latin Poetry Podcast that is well worth downloading from iTunes!  You can also listen online at the Dickinson College Blog. 

In March 2008, Professor Francese read an Epitaph for a Roman Soldier (CLE 537 = CIL 5.5824), which is the lament of a mother for her fallen son, a soldier who died far from home without a proper burial.  

Today, on this Memorial Day, let us all remember the American airmen, soldiers and sailors who have died for our freedom, as well as their families.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Tarheel Reader Update!

There are now over forty free Latin stories available at the Tarheel Reader website! Latin is now listed as an available language in the sidebar menu, along with French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, Swedish and Hebrew.   

Tarheel Reader began as a collection of online, illustrated books targeted toward accessibility, especially for the disabled.  (Teachers in special education will likely find this an excellent resource for creating "Social Stories.")  

Students who are visual learners will especially enjoy these stories. Photographs are available from Flickr through Creative Commons licensing.  (Photographs that permit such derivative usage are typically tagged on Flickr.)

Some of the tales are simple, such as Karen Budde's Poeta et Milites, Bob Patrick's Arbores Magicae, and AnnaPMagistra's De Lupo in Pelle Ovis.

Others are more advanced, based upon the poetry of Horace, Ovid and Catullus.

Latin language authors have started to tag their work as "easy," "beginning," "intermediate" and "advanced." This will help readers choose books at the appropriate reading level.

Many of these online books have been written by Latin teachers and professors.  Some have been written by students, with the assistance of their instructors.  

The books are viewable online or downloadable in a variety of formats (Flash, Powerpoint, etc.)

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Latin Diplomas and Prayers

Christopher Francese, Associate Professor of Classics at Dickinson College, contends that the use of Latin on diplomas has got to go, while Mary Beard questions whether or not Newnham College, Cambridge, needs a new grace (and if so, how Christian should it be, and whether or not it should be written in Latin).

Ultimately the question is why Latin is being used on diplomas and in prayers said at college gatherings?  Is Latin being used to genuinely communicate in these two situations, or is Latin being used to show the elite nature of the diploma and the Formal Hall?

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Cambridge University Press Announces Minimus Webinar

Cambridge University Press has just announced an invitation to classroom teachers and homeschooling families to participate in a free online webinar featuring Barbara Bell, author of the primary school Latin language series Minimus.  Barbara Bell is visiting the United States this summer from July 14th to July 25th in order to provide training to teachers using the Minimus Latin series.

The Webinar will be in session on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, from 2:00-3:00 PM, Eastern Daylight Time.   Reservations are required in order to participate.  Please visit the Barbara Bell Minimus Webinar page at the Cambridge University Press website to sign up.

If you live in the Pittsburgh or Baltimore-Washington area there will be additional events coinciding with Barbara's visit.

One Latin Teacher Speaks for Many

In this morning's Washington Post, Jane Miriam Epperson Brinley (St. Anselm's Abbey School, Washington D.C.) voices what many Latin teachers undoubtedly have been thinking since the College Board announced the discontinuation of the Advanced Placement Latin Literature Exam.   Read Et Tu, College Board.

Friday, May 08, 2009

Simple Latin Stories to Read!

The Tarheel Reader website is an online collection of free, easy-to-read, accessible books.  A joint project of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies and the Department of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel, this is a great way to create and publish simple, illustrated stories.  Laura Gibbs, author of Aesop's Fables in Latin,  creator of the LatinViaFables website and instructor at the University of Oklahoma, recently requested that Latin be added to the growing range of tagged libraries.  Laura has already written and posted a short story about lions in Latin entitled De Leone.   Be watching for more stories, or consider writing your own!    

Tarheel Reader electronic books can be downloaded in a variety of formats, including Powerpoint and Flash.