SUMMER 2023 UPDATE: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and in order to maintain the safety of our students and instructors, this summer's Latin Workshop will again be conducted remotely. Click here to see a description of the remote format. After the success of last summer's remote workshop, our instructors are confident in their ability to maintain the rigor, engagement, and enjoyment of this course. If you have any questions, please email the director, Claire Healy, at claire.healy@berkeley.edu
Since its founding over forty years ago, the Latin Workshop has successfully guided thousands of students to proficiency in Latin. Students of all ages and from all stages of academic life have successfully participated in the course, including high-school students, undergraduates, graduate students, and adults simply seeking to learn a new and exciting language. The Latin Workshop has proven effective not only for students of the ancient Mediterranean, but also for students of history, philosophy, theology, and many other disciplines besides. While the course focuses on the dialect used in the literature of Cicero and of Virgil, students have also completed the program exceedingly well-prepared to read medieval and ecclesiastical Latin.
Replacing more than two semesters of regular language work, this immersive ten-week program requires a significant commitment of time and intellectual energy. In the first six weeks, students master the essentials of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary by working through Keller and Russell's Learn to Read Latin; in the last four weeks, they put their new knowledge to work reading extensively in selected texts, one of prose (e.g. Cicero, Livy, Sallust) and one of poetry (e.g. Catullus, Virgil, Ovid). Students are expected to spend several hours daily in study and homework preparation in addition to the in class work. Classes are small, though, and students can count on having plenty of individualized support throughout their journey. Beyond the classroom, guest lectures from distinguished Classics faculty members offer context and insight into cutting-edge research.