Last week the Washington Post published an article on the adoption of oral Latin programs in several local schools. Now the same author, Frances Stead Sellers, has asked SCS members Milena Minkova and Terence Tunberg to turn famous quotes by U.S. Presidents into Latin.
Follow SCS News for information about the SCS and all things classical.
When I learned that I would be teaching my department’s graduate Greek survey in Fall 2021, I promptly burst into tears. The assignment was not what I was expecting; more painfully, it brought up all the barely suppressed memories of my own survey experience.
In one sense, that experience had been a success. It transformed me from a glacially slow reader of Greek into a slightly faster one, familiar with a range of authors and genres and capable of passing my Greek qualifying exam. It also left me with an enduring sense of inferiority, even fraudulence. I didn’t make it through a single one of our assignments (the standard 1,000 lines per week). I never felt in command of the language or my own learning. The fact that I had improved seemed more like a happy accident than an effect of the curriculum, let alone something I could be proud of. For years afterwards, even post-graduation, I would wake up wondering how many lines I had to read that day and then calculate by how far I would fail.
This might seem like an extreme reaction, but from what I can tell, it’s not uncommon. Greek and Latin Surveys, the foundation of Classics graduate curricula in the US, leave many people feeling ashamed of their language skills.
Program of the 1st IConiC Conference
Audience Response in Ancient Greek and Latin Literature
02-03 September 2022
https://sites.google.com/uoi.gr/iconic
Via Ms Teams
Directed by Christopher Bungard
Erin Moodie translator
The Committee on Ancient and Modern Performance (CAMP) presents a script-in-hand reading of a new translation by Erin Moodie of Terence’s Phormio. The African born Terence often gets short shrift when it comes to ancient drama, but he is tremendously influential in the history of western theatre.
Vol. 11, Issue 2, 2023
Edited by Giada Capasso & Alessandro Stavru
The international Journal Thaumàzein devotes a special issue to the relationship between kairos and the techniques in Graeco-Roman antiquity.
August 15 is the final abstract deadline for A Conference on Homer in Sicily, October 5-8 with a Homer-themed post-conference tour October 9-10, 2022
Keynote Speakers: Jenny Strauss Clay (Virginia) and Stamatia Dova (Hellenic College and CHS)
This is Part 3 of a three-part series. Find Part 1 and Part 2 here.
There is nothing ideologically neutral about grades, and there is nothing ideologically neutral about the idea that we can neatly and tidily do away with grades. We can't simply take away grades without re-examining all of our pedagogical approaches, and this work looks different for each teacher, in each context, and with each group of students.
— Jesse Stommel, “Grades are Dehumanizing”
The following obituary is reposted from legacy.com.
You can read the original posting at this link.
"We collectively mourn the loss of Dr. Corinne Ondine Pache, Professor of Classical Studies and a cherished member of the Trinity University community, who ended her battle with cancer on July 20, 2022. Corinne was an accomplished scholar, revered teacher and mentor, and terrific friend to many all over the globe. She will be sorely missed.
This is Part 2 of a three-part series. Find Part 1 and Part 3 here.
Only by abandoning traditional grading and performance assessment practices can we achieve our ultimate educational objectives.
Tradition in Classics is powerful. When the three of us started teaching as graduate students, we drew on our experiences as undergraduates in the many Classics courses we had taken, particularly when it came to assessing students. This is not a bad thing! We all need to start somewhere while we are growing as educators. Nevertheless, it was difficult for us to imagine, for instance, teaching Latin without traditional assessment practices (such as high-stakes tests), because that’s how we were taught.
The National Humanities Center invites applications for academic-year or one-semester residential fellowships. Mid-career, senior, and emerging scholars from all areas of the humanities with a strong record of peer-reviewed work are encouraged to apply. Scholars from all parts of the globe are eligible; stipends and travel expenses are provided. Fellowship applicants must have a PhD or equivalent scholarly credentials. Fellowships are supported by the Center’s own endowment, private foundation grants, contributions from alumni and friends, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Located in the vibrant Research Triangle region of North Carolina, the Center affords access to the rich cultural and intellectual communities supported by the area’s research institutes, universities, and dynamic arts scene. Fellows enjoy private studies, in-house dining, and superb library services that deliver all research materials.
Applications and all accompanying materials are due by 11:59 p.m. EDT, October 6, 2022.
For more information and to apply, please visit:
https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/become-a-fellow/.
This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Find Part 2 and Part 3 here.
Picture a student getting back a graded essay or exam. They glance at the letter or number at the top of the page and throw the paper in the recycling on their way out the door without reading the feedback, even when you think it will help them succeed on the next major assignment.
Imagine being consistently impressed by a student’s in-class work. Their insights and positive attitude contribute significantly to the learning environment. However, they do very poorly on the first major assessment, a midterm exam. Both of you are surprised and dismayed, and the student is discouraged.
Consider grading a batch of assignments. Looking at your rubric, you are struggling with the difference between an A– and a B+ for a few essays. You put them down to look at later.
