Clica una miniatura per anar a Google Books.
S'està carregant… The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition (1998)de E. Christian Kopff
Cap S'està carregant…
Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar. No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra. I have mixed feelings about this book. The first and last chapters relate to the title, as in why we need to understand the classical tradition to further Western Civilization. Mainly he is talking about studying Greek and Latin and changing the rhetoric for our elementary schools. The middle of the book is unrelated schlock. It is a combination of tirades about liberalism, different artists, reviews of films about farmers and Clint Eastwood. And how if we don't return to traditional Christian ethics, the world is doomed. I was so inspired that I took up studying Latin after the first chapter, but was disgruntled after a few more chapters. The stuff is not even related to the proposed subject. Your mileage may vary. Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
The Devil Knows Latin is a provocative and illuminating examination of contemporary American culture. Its range is broad and fascinating. Whether discussing the importance of Greek and Latin syntax to our society, examining current trends in literary theory, education, and politics, or applying a classical perspective to contemporary films, Christian Kopff (Professor of Classics at the University of Colorado) is at home and on the mark. He outlines the perils and possibilities for America in the coming decades with learning and verve--demonstrating that the highway to a creative and free future begins as a Roman road. No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
Debats actualsCap
Google Books — S'està carregant… GèneresClassificació Decimal de Dewey (DDC)480.071073Language Greek Greek GreekLCC (Clas. Bibl. Congrés EUA)ValoracióMitjana:
Ets tu?Fes-te Autor del LibraryThing. |
But for those who still want to know about this book, The Devil Knows Latin is a collection of what is essentially conservative literary and film criticism with a focus on the influence and importance of the classical tradition. Some of it is very good (the essay on The Godfather and The Lion King as well as the one on Clint Eastwood especially), some of it makes for miserable reading (like the giant one on why postmodernism is bad), and a lot of it is just average. The first section does cover the importance of learning classical languages (and an appendix covers suggested resources to doing so), but the arguments are weaker than Simmons, which really is the book to get for that.
There's also the fact that Kopff really could have used an editor, as I found at least two obvious factual errors without even trying: 1. He claimed that Tecumseh's brother invented the ghost dance and it was responsible for his defeat at Tippecanoe (he didn't and it didn't) and 2. Scar's henchmen were jackals (they were hyenas) 2. Scar's henchmen were jackals (they were hyenas). There's no telling what else I missed, but an editor definitely should have caught those.
But especially if you're interested in classical tradition and its influence on film, there is actually a lot of interesting material here. Just don't judge the book on its title. Recommended with caveats. ( )