Faculty Profile
Christopher Francese
The Asbury J. Clarke Professor of Classical Studies (1996)
Contact Information
East College Room 106
717-245-1202
http://blogs.dickinson.edu/francese/
Bio
My main teaching focus is on Latin literature and Greek and Roman Mythology. I also teach a course on a classical approach to public speaking. I have written books on ancient Rome and Latin literature: Ancient Rome: An Anthology of Sources (2014, with Scott Smith); Ancient Rome in So Many Words (2007), Parthenius of Nicaea and Roman Poetry (2001) and Latin and Ancient Greek Core Vocabularies (2020). I love working with secondary teachers and direct a series of professional development workshops for Latin teachers, the Dickinson Latin Workshops. My other passion is digital humanities, and getting students involved with the creation of high-quality resources for learners of Latin and Greek. I direct Dickinson College Commentaries, a series of online multimedia editions of classical texts, and co-direct Dickinson Classics Online, which provides resources for Chinese speaking students of Latin and Greek. I also produce the Latin Poetry Podcast, a series of Latin texts translated and read aloud in the original.
Education
- B.A., Oberlin College, 1987
- M.A., University of Texas at Austin, 1989
- Ph.D., 1993
2024-2025 Academic Year
Fall 2024
CLST 100 Greek and Roman Mythology
An introduction to the study and interpretation of Greek and Roman myths, as they appear both in ancient sources and in later music, sculpture, painting, and literature. The course focuses on interpretive approaches that can help us to define the insights of these myths into to human psychology and the predicaments of men and women, and to apply those insights critically to our own time.
LATN 201 Introduction to Roman Prose
Review of syntax and selected readings from prose authors, with study of literary technique and discussion of supplementary readings in English.
Prerequisite: 102 or the equivalent.
LATN 233 Roman Historians
Readings from Roman historians such as Sallust, Caesar and Livy, with study of Roman political values.Prerequisite: 202 or the equivalent.
CLST 500 Cicero, Philippics
Spring 2025
CLST 150 Pub Sp:Secrets fr Classical Tr
An introduction to the ancient art of public persuasion, with examination of more recent examples of effective speeches at crucial junctures in American history, insights from the Greek and Roman theorists and practitioners, and practice putting these ideas and techniques to use. Since speech can be a weapon as well as an art, the class examines the ethical aspects of oratory in the context of citizenship in a republic.
LATN 202 Introduction to Roman Poetry
Selected readings from Catullus and Ovid, with focus on poetic technique, and discussion of supplementary readings in English.
Prerequisite: 201 or the equivalent. This course fulfills the language graduation requirement.
LATN 234 Ovid
Selections from the Metamorphoses with study of the more important Greek and Roman myths and their modern reception.Prerequisite: 202 or the equivalent.