ARLT Summer School 2013

The 2013 ARLT Summer School will be held at Roehampton University, and will be directed by Alex Smith.

Some highlights  include the Pompeii exhibit in the British Museum, Kaloi Kagathoi doing ‘Medea the Musical’, a new panel style discussion on various aspects of Classics Teaching and a host of stimulating lectures. We have a limit on numbers, so you will need to apply early to guarantee a place.

Dates: 23rd - 27th July 2013

Booking Form and further details are here

And don’t forget the Refresher Day in Loughborough:

To be directed by Hilary Walters, this is a good opportunity to share some last minute exam advice and ideas for next year.

Saturday 2nd March 2013

This lunacy about Latin makes me want to weep with rage

How can we understand our world unless we understand the ancient world first?

Read Boris Johnson doing what he does best:

   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/7445850/This-lunacy-about-Latin-makes-me-want-to-weep-with-rage.html

 

Tweet in Latin

Recently posted on the ARLT Message Board:

It is with pleasure that we would like to announce the opening of the Twitter Translation Center for Latin. The Twitter Translation Center enables registered users to translate the Twitter user interface into their own language. This helps bring Twitter to a broader base of global users, who are then able to use Twitter for communication with their friends and family, fellow speakers of their language globally, and for informational purposes (as has been the case during recent earthquakes, tsunamis, and, most recently, Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines.)

The 800,000+ volunteer translators currently registered for the Translation Center come from all corners of the world, walks of life, and major language groups.

By opening the Translation Center in Latin, we hope to attract a population of both teachers and students who seek real-world applications for this classical language, and also hope to encourage the use of the Twitter Translation Center in language pedagogy.

Languages available for translation in the Twitter Translation Center belong to one of two models: moderated, or self-service. Latin is the fifty-first language supported by the Twitter Translation Center; it is being opened as a community-moderated, self-service language designed to encourage participation by the greatest number. The first portion of the Center that is open for any given language is the Glossary: this allows the community of translators to decide on the most appropriate terms for a number of particularly common words in the Twitter lexicon. Accompanying forums also provide a space for language discussion.

As you are a community engaged with the teaching and study of Latin, we wanted to let you know. We are also particularly receptive to feedback that can help us make the Translation Center work better for you.

We’ve blogged about opening Latin for translation on the Twitter International blog:

http://translate.twttr.com/cms/node/3147

The Translation Center itself can be found at: translate.twitter.com

We hope that you forward this news to your membership, and we look forward to receiving feedback and ideas from you for the use of the Translation Center for language learning.

Salvete!

@avalenc, on behalf of the Twitter Translation Center Team

Look out the Romans are coming ……to Frenchgate shopping centre

From the Doncaster Free Press:

St Leger Festival Week is fast approaching with over 200 events running from September 7 – 16. As part of the festival, the Romans are coming to town, however this time they are marching through the Frenchgate Shopping Centre which should prove quite the spectacle to the retailers and people shopping within.

 On Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 September the Romans will set up camp around Doncaster and will begin marching at 12noon from the Minster. They will then proceed down Baxter gate until they reach the Frenchgate Shopping Centre shortly after 12noon.

Around 2pm the Roman army recruitment team will be signing up children to join the Roman Army (suitable for 4-10 year olds); full uniform and training will be provided! Finally at 3pm a range of Gladiators will line up for the grand “Gladiator Contest” and do battle on the Doncaster Minster grounds.

Outside the Minster, there will be displays of drill, Roman coin making and visitors can even learn how to write their names in Latin. Archaeologists are also on hand with genuine Roman artefacts found in Doncaster. Both days should prove great fun for all the family.

Colin Joy, Tourism Manager for Doncaster said “I’m delighted that the Frenchgate Shopping Centre is going to be part of the route for the Roman Army and supporting the St Leger Festival Week celebrations. Shoppers will experience something quite unique, but we hope everyone enjoys the Roman Army’s triumphant return to Doncaster and joins in the fun.”

Festival Guides, listing all of the 200+ events, are available from the Information Desk inside the Frenchgate Centre and also the Tourist Information Centre on the High Street. Should you require anymore information visit St Leger Festival Week.

A legion of Roman soldiers take over the town as part of the St Leger Festival celebrations. Picture: Shaun Flannery

The item has attracted one comment so far:

“The Romans coming to Donny?

Lets hope they’ve got immobilisers fitted to their chariots or they’ll soon be gone.

As Julius Caesar once said when he came to Doncaster -
‘I came, I saw, I signed on’.”

Open Book Publisher announces

Following the success of Ingo Gildenhard’s recent textbook ‘Cicero,
Against Verres: 2.1.53-86: Latin Text with Introduction, Study Questions,
Commentary and English Translation’, Open Book Publisher is delighted to
announce the forthcoming publication of

‘Virgil, Aeneid 4.1–299: Latin text, study questions, commentary, and
interpretive essays’ by Ingo Gildenhard.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-909254-15-2. Price: £14.95.

This work focuses on one of the Latin A-Level set texts on the OCR
syllabus 2013-2015: Virgil, Aeneid 4.1-299.

A unique teaching tool, it offers a portion of the original Latin text, a
commentary, study questions, and a selection of interpretative essays.
Ingo Gildenhard’s incisive commentary in particular is designed to guide
readers through, and encourage them beyond, what is prescribed by the
A-level syllabus. Detailed linguistic explanation combines with and
encourages critical analysis and discussion of the most recent scholarly
thought.

Free to read, digital and paper editions will be available from our
website
http://www.openbookpublishers.com/product/162/virgil–aeneid-4-1-299–latin-text–study-questions–commentary-and-interpretative-essays
and from traditional book retailers from November 2012. If you would like
to pre-order and be the very first to receive this new work, please
contact sales@openbookpublishers.com.

Exciting new website

No, not the new ARLT site, which is now up and running but showing all those little glitches you could not have suspected were there. Incidentally, how often does a page look perfect and complete on your own laptop screen in preparation, then turn out to be a dog’s dinner  when you publish it? I am working on it.

But back to the new Classics website which is described as follows by its authors:

THE CLASSICAL ANTHOLOGY

The Classical Anthology is  a new website which we hope will grow into a collection of beautiful, inspiring and memorable passages from Greek and Latin literature, each with a translation so that anyone can enjoy them and share them. It includes anything written in Greek or Latin, from earliest times to the present day.

A surprising number of people have studied Latin or even Greek at some point and even those who have not also have a great enthusiasm for the Classics. One of the aims of the anthology is to foster this enthusiasm by making the gems of Classical literature easily accessible to anyone and by encouraging anyone to suggest a passage.

The anthology also aims to celebrate and share the huge range of experience and expertise among those teaching and studying Classics worldwide. We hope that scholars and teachers will also contribute, either to suggest a well-loved passage that many people will know and appreciate, or to recommend a passage from a less well-known author that others would be delighted to discover.

The best length for passages is around 20-40 lines and please can you recommend a translation too – a more literal one is better, to help with reading the original. Your own translation would be great and would avoid copyright problems, although the publishers approached so far have been very supportive. Lastly, a few introductory words explaining what you find special about this passage will really help to make the anthology inspiring. We will edit and upload the contributions but will consult you first if we see the need for any significant alterations.

So please visit http://classicalanthology.theclassicslibrary.com and send in your suggestions via the form there or via this link (http://www.theclassicslibrary.com/anthology/Contributions toTheClassicalAnthology.doc). Please also tell your friends. Lastly, we hope you enjoy using the website yourself. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!

Jane Mason and Stephen Jenkin

We wish the new venture all the best. I am sure it will be well supported.

 

website maintenance

The ARLT website might disappear for a short time as it is undergoing a major refit. I hope the disruption will only be short-lived. Check back from time to time and let me know what you think.

Roman Walls

The September edition of National Geographic will be featuring a richly illustrated piece on on Rome’s frontier walls.

Roman Frontiers

Rome’s border walls were the beginning of its end.

You can find out more here:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/09/roman-walls/curry-text

 

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 

Ludi Scaenici 2012

Sancton Wood School’s Year 8 Latin burst on to the stage at the Ludi Scaenici competition held in the city of Cambridge.

Judge Alexander Welby Head of Classics at the Leys School said; “ The Sancton Wood play went to the core of what Classics is about.”

“It explored the tensions between the Modern and the Ancient World.”

Xan Hill of Year 8 was singled out for praise. “To pronounce well when screaming as Laocoon (Xan) did showed enormous skill. Hard work had clearly gone into the whole cast’s learning.

In the play Xan was declaiming in Latin whilst simultaneously being strangled by a sea serpent.

“There were some wonderful examples of pronunciation particularly on the words Pugnax and magnus. The pronunciation was beautiful,” said Mr. Welby.

Second Judge actress Elisabeth Donnelly commented:

“We wanted to see you perform. The characterisation was excellent. You made the Latin your own”.

Charlie Fynn as an outraged Hercules was praised highly.

The play was co-written and co-directed by Darin Mount and Russell Lord.

Teams travelled from as far away as Ipswich, Norwich and Rugby to compete.

 (Russell Lord is Latin teacher at Cambridge International School and Sancton Wood School in Cambridge. He is a keen supporter of ARLT and has taught options groups at the ARLT Summer School.)