Scholarships available for the Academy Vivarium Novum in Rome

Announcement of Competition

Latin, Greek and Humanities at the Academy Vivarium Novum in Rome – Italy

Academic year 2013-2014

The Academy Vivarium Novum is offering ten full tuition scholarships for high school students of the European Union (16-18 years old) and ten full tuition scholarships  for University students (18-24 years old) of any part of the world. The scholarships will cover all of the costs of room, board, teaching and didactic materials for courses to be held from October 7, 2013 until June 14, 2014 on the grounds of the Academy’s campus at Rome.

Application letters must be sent to info@vivariumnovum.net by July 15th in order to receive consideration.

A good knowledge of the fundamental of Latin and Greek is required.

The courses will be as follows:

Latin language (fundamental and advanced)

Greek language (fundamental and advanced)

Latin composition

Roman History

Ancient Latin literature

History of ancient Philosophy

Renaissance and Neo-Latin literature

Latin and Greek music and poetry

Classics reading seminars

The goal is to achieve a perfect command of both Latin and Greek through a total immersion in the two languages in order to master without any hindrances the texts and concepts which have been handed down from the ancient times, middle ages, the Renaissance period and modern era, and to cultivate the humanities in a manner similar to the  Renaissance humanists.

All the classes will be conducted in Latin, except for Greek classes which will be conducted in ancient Greek.

In the letter the prospective student should indicate the following:

1. Full name;

2. Date and location of birth;

3. What school you currently attend;

4. How long you have studied Latin and/or Greek;

5. Which authors and works you have read;

6. Other studies and primary interests outside of school.

In addition, please attach a recent passport/ID photograph.

(For more information about the Academy, you may visit the website www.vivariumnovum.net.)

Classics at Cheltenham – and Chedworth Roman Villa

Quite a lot of people said they were coming back to Latin after 30 years or so. … I had a fun discussion with Natalie Haynes about classics, blogging and …

From Mary Beard’s TLS blog: http://timesonline.typepad.com/dons_life/2012/10/classics-at-cheltenham-and-chedworth-roman-villa.html

Final update on the 6th international CICERO competition

Rex Stretton-Pow with the Malvern St. James CICERO Cup

     

from Anne Dicks

It was a great success again, with a total of 117 Sixth Form students taking part in the UK: 79 taking the cultural test on ‘Aeneas from Troy to Latium’ and 90 attempting edited passages from Quintus Cicero’s ‘Short Guide to Electioneering’. They all really enjoyed the challenge of the tests and were able to video-chat with students around the world as well.

Prizewinners were announced at the JACT Conference and AGM on 19th May and you can see the full list on the UK page of the website http://www.ciceroconcordia.com along with credits to all those who supported the competition either financially or by donating signed books. The winning student came from France this year.

If you click on the ’2012′ link you can see some of these students and hear the video-messages they have sent to each other. Unfortunately there was a problem with the recording from Australia which we have so far not been able to resolve, but I particularly recommend the videoclip from the Serbian students and (of course) my own students’ version of the story of Aeneas, even though I don’t think it can rival the one they made about Jason last year!

As I am retiring from teaching at the end of this school year, the CICERO UK competition will be taken over by a new team: details will appear on the website as they are finalised but more volunteers are always welcome …. I will continue as international Webmaster.

Here are two accounts of the day: the first one written by the winner of the U6 Latin section and the second by one of my students.

• …………………
  Having arrived at Malvern St James School relatively early one Saturday morning, the warm greeting we received more than made up for the loss of a potential lie-in. As always, MSJ were more than happy to see us and made us very welcome; the other students participating were equally friendly and we all got off to a flying start. This, to me, struck the first difference between CICERO and other competitions of its nature. Though everyone seeks to do well, no-one provokes competition or rivalry. The inherent message of harmony is taken to heart.
  As part of the opening ceremony, Duncan and I had the privilege of reading a piece of the Aeneid to the group, followed by a video from Boris Johnson, outlining and praising the competition, and a recorded video-conferencing message from Anne Dicks, the founder of CICERO, speaking to us from a school in Serbia. After a lovely lunch, we also had the chance to talk to some of the many other schools across the world taking part in the competition over video conferencing, including Serbia, Italy and Spain, and received messages from those who had already done the competition due to time zones, such as Australia. It was truly amazing to be able to communicate on such a global level so effortlessly and openly, and especially refreshing to find that, on the whole, there were people like us – Classicists – all over the world, who shared our interest.
  The first test was the Latin translation, a piece by Quintus Cicero, brother of Marcus Tullius Cicero, on how to win an election in Ancient Rome. Though the passage was in places tough, containing some idioms difficult to translate, it was very enjoyable and (unusually for a test) provided a window into Ancient Rome that I hadn’t looked through before.
  Classicists can often feel that the world of Classics nowadays is tightly knit, and it is a shame that this is so, since it really can be a tool for bringing people together. Through CICERO we were able to meet many people and start many friendships, as well as communicate on an international level. A good day and an extremely worthwhile competition.
  
• ……………….
  For 6 years the Cicero competition has inspired budding young classicists all around the world and it truly is a valuable experience for everyone involved. It has benefited me on so many different levels; the papers were challenging and intellectually stimulating, whilst I enjoyed the chance to meet and forge friendships with other like-minded teenagers at our centre as well as those from other schools in Britain, Spain, Italy and Australia. It really is a fantastic opportunity for students to come together and share a common interest outside the classroom, in a competitive yet friendly setting. I would highly recommend it to all and very much hope that someone will take on the responsibility of organising the British centres so that future students will be able to benefit in the same way that I have.
  ………………..

CICERO international Classics competition 

For the love of Latin

‘Once a compulsory part of any education, today Latin and ancient Greek die silently.’
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Later this month, as part of the Mayor’s new Latin volunteering initiative, I will be going into comprehensive schools across the capital to talk to the students about the joys of Latin; more precisely, in an attempt to dispel Latin’s fusty, doddery and quite frankly arcane image problem (which we would be churlish to deny it has), I’ll be talking about why we need more (not fewer) Dead White Men in our lives and why ancient Rome was in fact, contrary to popular perception, a very multi-cultural place, with Black and brown emperors, playwrights and generals, not just slaves or menials. I’ll be asserting that in ancient Rome colour didn’t matter, only whether or not you were a Roman citizen. Other volunteers will be giving talks on a multitude of classical topics, such as democracy, the Olympic games, gladiators and the Latin language.

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Is it too late to learn Latin?

The Telegraph advises an enquirer and advocates Cambridge Online Latin. Read on …

Worldwide lovers of Latin connect to Cambridge

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Latin course at Gloucester Cathedral

15-19 August 2011 with George Sharpley

The course sketches the history of early Rome and tells the story of the end of the republic and rise of the emperors. Readings are taken from ancient Latin writers, and through their story-telling the course weaves a picture of the people of Rome, their lives, their history, their mythology, their aspirations and beliefs, their joys, foibles and cruelties.

There is a progressive step-by-step approach to the language and grammar, and an introduction to Latin verse.

For details go here >>>