A Classic Method
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, students learned Latin so that they would be able to do all of their other studies in that language. Their first introduction to the language was not Caesar or Cicero, but the forms of the language required to ask questions in class, to study grammar, and to listen to lectures on the liberal arts. Accordingly, dialogues were constructed that helped students master the important aspects of the language while at the same time drilling them in material they were expected to master.
Entire books of these dialogues survive. In addition to being pedagogically useful, they are also delightful. In this course, we will work through some of these dialogues, performing them as dialogues, in order to explore the riches and usefulness of this venerable teaching method.
This course is included in the Latin Package.
Summer 2025
$200 / student
or included in the Latin package
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Dr. Johnson’s personal, innovative, and engaging instruction has helped me, even as a longtime Latin teacher, to think about Latin in new and surprising ways, which has infused my teaching. I have been humbled and yet inspired anew to value the process more than the result and to share that vital perspective with my students.
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Junius Johnson is one of the best professors I have ever encountered. He is deeply knowledgeable and qualified, but also uses humor and a sense of play to foster a collaborative and engaging learning environment — all while pushing his students to do and be their best. He equipped me with the essential skills of nuanced Latin translation, and perhaps just as importantly instilled in me a love for the language and appreciation for its historical development and contexts. More than a decade after studying with him, I continue to benefit from Professor Johnson’s instruction and in fact am currently translating a ninth-century text for publication.
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With humor, intelligent discussion, and deep insights, Junius Johnson gives you more than an overview or introduction to Latin, he inspires you to keep learning hard things while giving you a vision and much fuller picture of Latin.
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Junius has such a robust understanding of the language, and his passion is contagious. His approach invites parents, educators, and students to re-imagine how they think about Latin, moving from merely transactional to experiential. He’s also not afraid to address many of the “why” questions that all too often go unanswered. Highly recommend!
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Simply put, Junius Johnson is the best Latin teacher I have ever experienced in my many years of supervising education. He is a true scholar of the Latin language from the classical period to the neo-Latin present; he has success teaching every age and skill level. Junius is compassionate with those who are less gifted than he, but still manages to stretch his students in a friendly and inviting manner. I wholeheartedly recommend him to you as your teacher. Trust me, the encounter will be memorable.