Monmouth College professor of classics Tom Sienkewicz is currently enjoying a much needed break from the classroom. At the same time, his current work means that the classroom is never far from his mind. Sienkewicz is collaborating with his colleague in the classics department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Kenneth Kithcell, to write an elementary Latin textbook for college students. Sienkewicz says, “we have already been working on the project for a number of years, but this sabbatical gives me a much needed opportunity to focus full-time on this book.”  The two men have a contract with Prentice Hall and intend to have a manuscript finished by the end of 2009.

Sienkewicz has traditionally used “Wheelock’s Latin” as the text for his elementary Latin courses; however, he realized that “Wheelock’s” was “originally written in the early 1950s for a very different kind of college student than exists today.” This understanding informed his and Kitchell’s goal “to bring elementary Latin textbooks into the 21st-century by combining the traditional grammar-based approach to learning Latin with a more modern reading approach.” According to Sienkewicz, this means, “students who use our book will still learn grammar, study declensions and conjugations, and memorize vocabulary, as Latin students have done since the time of Cicero, but they will do so in the context of reading a continuous Latin narrative.” 

This particular story takes place in the late 1st century B.C. and focuses on the lives of two families in ancient Rome. The text fuses aspects of literature, grammar, culture and history, which means students can expect exciting scenes at “the theatre, gladiatorial contests, horse races, banquets, funerals and marriages.” Sienkewicz says he anticipates that the book will also incorporate multimedia aides, including online resources and possibly audio and video tape to supplement the text.

Sienkewicz and Kitchell are almost two-thirds of the way towards their final chapter count, and Monmouth students will get to enjoy the benefits of this collaboration as early as the fall 2008 semester, when he will field test his book in the classrooms of Monmouth College. Kitchell is already field-testing the book with his students at the University of Massachusetts.

Sienkewicz encourages students who are interested in learning first hand about his work this semester to enroll in LATN101 for the upcoming fall semester. Otherwise, look for DISCE LATINAM! (“Learn Latin!”) on the shelves of your local Barnes and Noble in 2010.

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