Public Engagement – Classical Association of Scotland

The Classical Association of Scotland is pleased to announce the next in it’s Free Online Seminar Series. Following a fascinating look at Latin epigraphy and the way in which it has survived and evolved into Scottish material culture, CAS is now offering learners the chance to engage with Latin language from the ground up.

The seminar Euge! Latin for Absolute Beginners will take place on Saturday 21st November 2020. This will be divided into three sessions, like our previous seminar, and is aimed at showing people with no previous experience of Latin that engaging with ancient texts can be a lot easier than you might think! Details of the sessions can be found below. From learning the very foundations of Latin grammar and syntax, learners will move on to working with extracts of ancient text (notably some writing by Pliny the Younger on the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE). The seminar will be rounded off by a session exploring Latin in an embedded context, using a famous funerary inscription found in Britain to springboard into wider topics of discussion.

Sessions are open to all, but we are particularly interested to hear from students taking other languages at SQA Higher level and beyond (or equivalent).

Session 1: Absolute beginners introduction to Latin. Following the Cambridge Latin Course, students will be introduced to the rudiments of Latin syntax and read some basic Latin prose passages which illustrate everyday life in the Roman town of Pompeii.

Session 2: Near beginners introduction to reading Latin literature. By reading simplified versions of extracts from the letters of Pliny the Younger, students will develop their Latin reading skill and consolidate their understanding of rudimentary Latin; and at the same time appreciate the artistry and value of Pliny’s eyewitness testimony of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79CE.

Session 3: Wider discussion of Latin in context. Students will be introduced to the funerary inscription to Regina found in South Shields (RIB 1065). This session will look at the wider use of Latin in the Roman world, and will touch upon questions of history, language and culture. The personal story raised by the funerary inscription will also be considered.

These sessions will be led by: Andy McKellar (The Glasgow Academy) and Sam Newington (University of Aberdeen). Between them, they have decades of experience in teaching ancient language to learners of all ages!

The sessions will all take place on Saturday 21st November 2020. Sessions will run from 2.15-5.30pm (Session I: 2.15-3.15; Session II: 3.30-4.30; Session III: 4.30-5.30)

To sign up, or for more information, please contact Dr Alex Imrie ([email protected]). PLEASE NOTE: participants will need to register to receive the access codes for the Zoom live sessions. Some materials will be pre-circulated to attendees and/or will be made available on this website.

Since 2018, the CAS has been in the process of redefining itself as an organisation. While we remain committed to our ongoing mission to promote and disseminate the study of the ancient world in a general sense, our membership and committee have increasingly turned our attention to efforts directed at the landscape in Scottish schools.

It is no secret that provision of Classics in Scotland’s state schools is sparse compared to our neighbours to the south. In 2017-18, there were fewer than twenty state schools offering any opportunities in Classical Studies, with even fewer still offering any Latin. Since then, however, in close collaboration with Classics for All, CAS have begun to address this situation in a multitude of ways, be this through encouraging Latin in primaries; working with teachers and the SQA to make secondary level Classical Studies more accessible to non-specialists, through to working alongside colleagues in Edinburgh to secure the recommencement of initial teacher training in Scotland for the first time in decades.

Like the rest of the world, some of our wider outreach efforts have been heavily disrupted by the effects of the COVID pandemic. This has not stopped us trying to engage with anyone interested in antiquity, though!

It is with great pride, then, that we announce the beginning of a new series of online sessions that will take place over the coming year: The CAS Online Seminar Series. These will cater to a range of interests and abilities. They will be designed and delivered by a range of teachers, students and academics, depending on the topic and level being offered. Most importantly, however, they will be completely free to those who sign up!

Our working group overseeing this series of seminars decided that it would be good to tie these sessions together loosely with an annual theme. Somewhat fittingly for this new endeavour, not to mention the new reality we face in the midst of the pandemic, our theme for 2020-21 is ‘Beginnings’.

The first session will be announced shortly, and will take place at the end of August 2020, so watch this space for more information!

Dr Alex Imrie (CAS National Outreach Co-ordinator) [email protected]