Facets of Classics

Facets of Classics

Facets of Classics is a series of workshops for A-Level students of philosophy, history, languages and literature, who do not have the opportunity to study classics at school. The workshops are designed to help students apply the skills they have learnt in other disciplines to studying classical material, in order to empower them to take on a new subject at university.

The workshops are designed to draw key connections between subjects they already study and classics.

In the history workshop, "Is this Sparta?", students identify and challenge modern portrayals of the Spartans through source evaluation; comparing films, video games and marketing with archaeological sites, artefacts and ancient texts.

The literature workshop, "The Ragged Pyrrhus and Hamlet's Revenge", sees students unlock the secrets of Shakespeare's most famous tragedy by unravelling the classical references in his reeling revenge speech.

The "Lost in Translation" languages workshop takes students through the puzzles of Greek and Latin (with no prior knowledge of knowledge of either language required), before taking Antigone as a case study to reveal how translation can also mean manipulation.

The philosophy workshop, "The Meaning of the Golden Mean", designed with clear connections to the A-Level syllabus, gives students an overview of ancient epistemology, before delving into ethics. Here we ask learners to solve modern problems with ancient wisdom.

What students have said about Facets of Classics sessions:

"Very well presented and entertaining."

"Learning the Greek alphabet and analysing texts such as Hamlet and Medea was really enjoyable as it was an eye opener and gave insight to definition of Classics."

"Really interested and engaging"

For details on how to book a workshop or a more detailed overview of what they involve, please get in touch with Educational Engagement Officer, Alex Peel at A.Peel1@leeds.ac.uk