LEARNING TO LEARN
I planned the lesson based on the principles outlined in the research of Steven Hunt ( 2016 ) who interviewed practitioners with experience in teaching sensitive subjects in the secondary classics classroom , most notably : teacher display of positive and comfortable disposition to the discussion , an unconstrained time period , clear rationale for discussion ’ s educational outcomes , and student agency in leading discussion .
The entry point I chose was laconophilia , or the admiration of Spartan culture . After an activity that established what we ‘ know ’ about ancient Sparta , and how we know it , the students ’ main responsibility was to analyse a source which demonstrates a reception of Spartan culture or ideology . Each student then presented to their classmates about the effects of this appropriation . By studying various modern interpretations and usages of Spartan themes , symbols , and ideologies , students questioned how history is mythologised , misinterpreted and weaponised .
I aimed to engender constructive reflection on how Classics is integrated into modern events with which they were already familiar . One student was tasked with an excerpt from Mein Kampf in which Hitler references an epitaph honouring German soldiers killed at Flanders , paired with Herodotus ’ account of a nearly identical epitaph in Thermopylae which honoured the Spartans who fell against the Persians . Easterling ( 2002 ) suggests that reception work encourages students to view literature as a mutable part of a canon open to reinvention . Another student was presented with photographs from the January 6 , 2021 attacks on the US Capitol in which protestors were waving flags brandishing the Greek phrase ‘ Molon Labe ’ ( or ‘ come and get them ’), which Plutarch alleged was uttered by the Spartans after the Persians called on them to drop their weapons at Thermopylae . The other sources touched on the French Revolution , the Greek migrant crisis of the last decade , and a philosophical treatise of Machiavelli on the ideal state . I intentionally chose a range of mild and more pernicious appropriations of the ancient world in order to avoid a sense of personal agenda in the lesson .
I was impressed with the fluency and willingness in which students were able to identify the enduring fetishisation of ancient Sparta , and how they articulated its damaging effects . Most notable was their shock at how the Classical world was embedded into recent events in unexpected ways . While this lesson was well-received , Strolonga ( 2014 ) encourages instructors to remember that we cannot predict the emotional responses of students as we are biassed by our exposure to the subject .
Sculptural remnants around the amphitheatre , Puteoli
Follow up work could have included student reflection on their knowledge of negative Classical reception prior to this lesson , and how their understanding of the discipline has changed . Additionally , there is scope for students to investigate their own interests in reception as part of a larger liberal arts curriculum ( McCoskey , 1999 ).
Conclusions
On the surface , this seems a wildly imperfect approach in that it was off-timetable to self-selecting students and was super-curricular to the IB Classical Languages syllabus . However , given the sensitive and critical reflection that this lesson encouraged ( skills which are aims of the IB Diploma !), I am inclined towards a Classical education which incorporates reception work as a module so that such conversations do not have to occur in such extra-educational windows . Perhaps there is scope within the Theory of Knowledge component of the IB for students to study the transmission and reception of one of their six subjects . Ultimately , this experience reaffirmed the educational and social advantages of students viewing their interests and passions with a discerning eye , and I intend to investigate how to continue holding these conversations across all years groups at the school .
13