Brian D. Hyland

Latin III

Seton Catholic Central HS

Binghamton, NY 13905

BDHceltic@aol.com

"Cicero Denouncing Catiline", a fresco in the Italian Senate House in Rome, painted in the 1880's by Cesare Maccari.

Introduction:

It is the year 63 B.C. and you are reporters for Vulpes Nuntii, a news service that promises to deliver nuntii librati aequique. There is breaking news from the Roman Forum that the consul, M. Tullius Cicero, has just uncovered a plot to overthrow the government and is about to denounce it before the Senate, which has gathered in the temple of Jupiter Stator. The leader of this plot is L. Sergius Catilina, whom Cicero defeated in the consular elections. As reporters for Vulpes Nuntii, you rush to the Forum to cover the unfolding events for your world-wide satellite broadcast.

Your Task:

You must produce a special satellite news broadcast in Latin covering the events in either VHS or digital format. Since the broadcast will be seen by barbari around the world, you must also furnish subtitles in English, the chief lingua barbara. The format of the newscast will be divided, like Gaul, into three parts:

I. Live coverage from the Senate of Cicero’s speech.

II. Interviews with Cicero, Catiline, senators and average Romans in the street to provide reactions in the form of sound bites.

III. Analysis provided by capita loquentia, supporters of both sides who will debate the pros and cons of Cicero’s actions.

The Process:

First of all, students will translate the text of Cicero’s In Catilinam. Then, using the Global History site for the Public Policy Analyst (PPA), students will work in pairs to analyze the problem confronting Cicero in 63 B.C. This will take four steps, and students must fill out the worksheets in each step. The four steps are as follows:

I. Identifying the problem.

II. Gathering evidence.

III. Determining the causes.

IV. Evaluating the policy.

With the information gained from the PPA, students will then write the script for the news broadcast. The text should be written in English and Latin—the Latin for the on-camera reporting and commentary, the English for the subtitles. This script must be divided into the three parts listed above. Part I will consist of an introduction by the news anchor and reporter at the scene and then the beginning of Cicero’s speech. Part II will consist of the reporter’s interviews after the speech with Cicero, Catiline and the others interwoven to form a coherent story. Part III will be patterned on cable news analysis, with a moderator and several capita loquentia who argue back and forth about the significance of the story.

Resources:

Ancient Sources:

Appian, Bellum Civile 2:2-7 (in English) Gives the details of the plot, Cicero’s actions and the Senate’s reaction. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Appian/Civil_Wars/2*.html

Cassius Dio, Roman History 37:29-42 (in English) Gives the details of the plot, Cicero’s actions and the Senate’s reaction. Source also contains some rather juicy tidbits about the conspirators—probably not historically accurate, but just the kind of salacious reporting that keeps Vulpes Nuntii in business.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/37*.html

Cicero, In Catilinam I (in Latin)–use your textbooks for the text of the speech.

Plutarch, Life of Cicero 10:3-22(in English) From Plutarch’s biography, a source generally favorable to Cicero.

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Cicero*.html

Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar 14 (in English)

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html

Sallust, De coniuratione Catalinae (in English) –see especially, chapters 27 ff. for the historical setting and the aftermath of Cicero’s speech. Source tends to be more sympathetic to Catiline and is the main historical counterweight to Cicero’s charges. http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/sallust/catilinae.html

Additional resources:

http://www.cambridgescp.com/latin/clc/onlineA/clc_onlineA_b5_s40.php The website for the Cambridge Latin course. Has many links to Roman legal sites. Also has link to picture at the top of the page.

http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/catr/ciceroSite/Political_Context/conspiracy2.htm Catiline and the Catilinarian Conspiracy: Cambridge University site describing the conspiracy from a modern scholarly perspective.

http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/catr/ciceroSite/Political_Context/challenge3.htm Cicero and Catiline: The Challenge of In Catilinam I: Helps explain the politics at the time of the conspiracy.

http://www.classics.cam.ac.uk/catr/ciceroSite/Political_Context/sources1_5.htm Cicero and Catiline: Sources and Historical Bias: An analysis of the biases in the two major sources for the conspiracy.

http://users.ipa.net/~tanker/catiline.htm The Life and Times of the Real Catiline (if the link does not work go to the site homepage, Bellum Catilinae, http://users.ipa.net/~tanker/index.html then click on the link for The Life and Times of the Real Catiline) Good source for the story of Catiline’s life.

Offline resources (room 206):

In room 206 are several Latin-English / English-Latin dictionaries, as well as a copy of Bennett’s Latin Grammar, and numerous Latin textbooks. In addition, there are the following fun books for Latin conversation, which may be of use:

Beard, Henry, Latin for All Occasions: Lingua Latina Occasionibus Omnibus, (Villard Books,

New York, 1991)

__________, Latin for Even More Occasions: Lingua Latina Multo Pluribus Occasionibus,

(Villard Books, New York, 1991)

Traupman, John C., Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency, 2^nd ed., (Bolchazy-Carducci

Publishers, Wauconda, Illinois, 2002)

How You Will Be Evaluated:

Each worksheet will be evaluated on a 3 point scale for a total of 6 points per worksheet, using the following rubric:

	3 pts	2 pts	1 pt	0 pts
Content	Content is clear, concise, well-written. Answers all questions thoroughly with a logical progression and supporting evidence.	Content may contain mistakes in grammar or syntax. Answers all questions, but without a logical progression of ideas or with little supporting evidence.	Content is vague, poorly written. Does not answer all the questions, or answers may be irrelevant. No supporting evidence.	Worksheet not done or not handed in. Worksheet handed in, but is illegible, or contains poorly written work that does not address the task.
Research	Worksheet shows that the group accurately researched the problem, using a variety of resources, and carefully considered the data.	Worksheet shows that the group did some research on the problem, using some of the resources, and drew conclusions based on the data.	Worksheet shows that the group did only superficial research on the problem, using only one source. Conclusions may not be based on the source at all.	Worksheet not done or not handed in. Worksheet handed in, but shows no research done on the problem. No sources used. No conclusions drawn.

The final video will be evaluated on a 6 point scale, for a total of 48 points, using the following rubric:

CATEGORY	6	4	2	0
Knowledge	All students showed excellent knowledge of content, needing no cues and showing no hesitation in talking or answering questions.	All students showed excellent knowledge of content, but 1-2 students once needed notes to talk or answer questions.	Most students showed excellent knowledge of content, but 1-2 often needed notes to talk or answer questions.	Most students needed notes to talk and to answer questions.
Questions & Answers	Excellent, in-depth questions were asked by reporters and commentators and excellent answers supported by facts were provided by all news show members.	Questions requiring factual answers were asked by the reporters and commentators and correct, in-depth answers were provided by all news show members.	Questions requiring factual answers were asked by the reporters and commentators and correct answers were provided by several of the news show members.	Answers were provided by only 1-2 news show members.
Costume & Props	All students wore costumes and the group used some props.	Some students wore costumes and the group used some props.	Students wore no costumes, but the group used some props.	No costumes and no props were used.
Videography -Clarity	Video did not rock/shake and the focus was excellent throughout.	Video did not rock/shake and the focus was excellent for the majority of the video.	Video had a little rocking/shaking, but the focus was excellent throughout.	Problems with rocking/shaking AND focus.
Length of Video	Video was 12-15 minutes long.	Video was 11-12 minutes long.	Video was 8-9 minutes long.	Video was less than 8 or more than 15 minutes long.
Subtitles and Credits	All subtitles and credits are accurate, legible and draw the viewer's attention.	Most subtitles and credits are accurate, legible and draw the viewer's attention.	Some subtitles and credits are accurate, legible and draw the viewer's attention.	Few (less than 50%) subtitles and credits are accurate, legible and draw the viewer's attention.
Pronunciation of Latin	All spoken Latin was correctly pronounced, with appropriate phrasing and emphasis.	Most spoken Latin was correctly pronounced, with mostly appropriate phrasing and emphasis. May have occasional inconsistencies.	Some spoken Latin was correctly pronounced, with some appropriate phrasing and emphasis. Some inconsistencies apparent in the pronunciation.	Spoken Latin was generally incorrectly pronounced, with little appropriate phrasing and emphasis. Many inconsistencies apparent in the pronunciation.
Latin Grammar	For the most part, written and spoken Latin was grammatically and idiomatically correct, with appropriate use of authentic passages.	Uneven quality of written and spoken Latin, with appropriate use of authentic passages, or good quality Latin, but no authentic passages used.	Written and spoken Latin was generally incorrect grammatically and idiomatically, with poor use of authentic passages.	Written and spoken Latin was generally incorrect grammatically and idiomatically, with no use of authentic passages.

NY State Standards:

LOTE Standard 1: Students will be able to use a language other than English for communication. Latin—Reading, Speaking & Listening Checkpoints B & C

LOTE Standard 2: Students will develop cross-cultural skills and understandings. Latin—Latin Acquisition Checkpoints B & C

The Arts Standard 1: Creating, Performing, and Participating in The Arts. Students will create and perform theatre pieces as well as improvisational drama.

ELA Standard 1: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

ELA Standard 3: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

Mathematics, Science, and Technology Standard 2: Information Systems—Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

Social Studies Standard 2: World History—Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in world history and examine the broad sweep of history from a variety of perspectives.

Social Studies Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government—Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations.

Conclusion:

Thanks to your hard work, Vulpes Nuntii has once again scooped the competition, providing up-to-the-minute breaking news, with the hard-hitting, in-depth analysis that allows the network to maintain its reputation for nuntii librati aequique and its number one rating. You have produced live news coverage of an important political event in Roman history, showed the consul, Cicero, at his most resolute, given Catiline a chance to respond, and have provided your world-wide audience with the complexities of the issues from both sides, so that come the next consular elections, the Roman electorate will know whether to choose candidates who think Cicero should be hailed as the pater patriae or sent into exile.