Friday Headlines

01 April 2022

On Wednesday our Sixth Form classicists arrived, sandwiches in hand, to the University of Birmingham, eager to hear from the vast array of speakers on offer to them at a special Classics conference. We were delighted to attend the unique Texts and Topics event, in which we spent the afternoon enjoying lectures from university professors on all the wonders of Ancient Greece and Rome. 

We began with seminars on The Late Republic, discussing writers of the likes of Cicero, and Greek Theatre. We then had an option between learning about Greece and Persia, or from a literature angle, an analysis of The Aeneid and the arguments both for and against it being ancient propaganda! Following this we were able to opt for either an insight into who held authority in Rome, with a lecture on Julio-Claudians, or into the fascinating realm of graffiti in Pompeii. It was intriguing to discover that, what we now would deem as vandalism, was widely accepted in the Ancient World. It introduced the question about how literate Rome actually was given that we believe only the elite in society could read and write, yet there is evidence of words and drawings we would expect of teenagers not of high rank men in fields such as politics. To conclude, we were treated to a discussion with current university students who spoke to us about studying Classics and life at university. 

Overall, it was an amazing opportunity full of new experiences which have enhanced our understanding of Classics as a subject and complemented our A-level course, increasing our love for our studies! 

Thank you to the Classics Department, especially Mrs McAlister, who organised such a special event for us. We look forward to all of the upcoming opportunities that studying Classics will introduce. 

Indira Jagpal