SCS-75: Classics and Pedagogy

Applying Pedagogical Models from Modern Arabic to Ancient Greek

By Simeon Ehrlich, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Pedagogical methods from modern Arabic curricula offer promising models for introducing undergraduates to complex aspects of ancient Greek, whose enrollments routinely trail those of Latin – and Arabic (Looney and Lusin 2019). The additional complexity – a new alphabet, more principal parts, definite articles, aorists, optatives, middles, duals, and the ever-dreaded accents – intimidates new students. Attrition rates in introductory Greek can be steep and the inclination is often to delay presenting complex material until students have attained higher levels.

Classics and the Incarcerated: A Symbiotic Relationship

By Kirsten Day, Augustana College

In the past decade, Classical scholars have been working to remake the field, pushing back against the field’s white, elitist reputation and calling out the oft-touted rigor of its philology as exclusionary gate-keeping (Eccleston and Peralta 2022: 201). At the same time, the discipline itself seems perilously close to a death-spiral, with departments and programs being shuttered both in secondary schools and in higher education.