LEARNING TO LEARN
These statements can appear a minefield , especially when one ’ s own education or teacher-training seldom touched upon this debate . Regardless of a teacher ’ s personal stance , I questioned my role as a gate-keeper to this conversation . I align with the statement put forth by Mary Beard that “ to ‘ condemn ’ classical culture would be as simplistic as to offer it unconditional admiration ” ( Beard 2021 cited in Poser 2021 ). However , many teachers , such as myself , may feel initially intimidated by the challenge of addressing these topics in a productive and meaningful way due to the inflexibility of a standardised curriculum , the demands of an examination based system , student age and maturity , and the pervasive fear of ‘ tokenisation .’
Encouraging reflection on the reception of Classics
Giuliana Savini , Teacher of Classics
Classics teachers are no strangers to difficult topics . On any given day , lessons might include a discussion of the rape of Boudicca ’ s daughters in Year 7 Latin , the racially motivated humour of Aristophanes ’ comedies with sixth form Greek , and the abuse of enslaved peoples in Year 11 Classical Civilisation . Significant research has been conducted on how to address these sensitive topics inherent in the study of the ancient world ( Rabinowitz & McHardy , 2014 ).
However , there looms another topic of a more complex and divisive nature : the debate over the relationship between Classics and racism . A spectrum of public opinion has emerged internationally . Princeton Classics professor Dan-El Padilla Peralta states that the discipline is “ instrumental to the invention of ‘ whiteness ’ and its continued domination ” ( Poser , 2021 ). The Classics departments of Oxford and Cambridge have been petitioned with open letters by their students and some members of faculty themselves to acknowledge the role that Classics plays in racist and white supremacist ideas . Voices on the other side are just as vocal . Cambridge Classics lecturer David Butterfield retorts that he hears “ no praise of ‘ whiteness ’” in 21st-century Classics ( Butterfield , 2020 ).
Initial Departmental Response
In response to the school ’ s initiative that departments reflect on how notions of diversity and inclusivity can be meaningfully addressed through the content we teach , several members of the Classics department initially focused on creating a series of lessons that elevated the marginalised voices which exist within our curriculum ( that of women , slaves , refugees et al .) as an attempt to address exclusion . The intention is that by presenting a more varied landscape of stories from the ancient world , we can create opportunities to discuss how their narratives shed light on our own societies . Hardwick ’ s ( 2003 ) research into Classical reception studies documents the pedagogical benefits of this selfcritical approach . Across a student ’ s three-to-seven-year career in the Classics department , these lessons would serve as consistent and integrated periods of discussion and reflection . This approach consists of only one of hopefully what will become a many pronged approach to Classics and EDI .
Personal Response
This lesson series was a natural entry point into teaching a more inclusive Classics . However , I remained interested in stimulating theoretical debate about the nature of the discipline itself with students . I reflected on my habits of routinely espousing the benefits of studying Classics , primarily the intensity of the ancients ’ sophisticated enquiry into their own condition . Is it then a disservice to send my students into the world unaware of how individuals and groups have utilised elements of Greek and Roman culture for nefarious purposes ? When an instructor has subsequently recognised problematic elements of material to which they have had long exposure , “ silence is acquiescence to the subtext ” ( Joffe , 2019 ). Due to the maturity required for this discussion , I settled on holding a discussion with a small group of five Lower Sixth students who meet as a Classics society every Wednesday after school for one hour .
12