Fall 2023

This article outlines the goals and methods for publishing a student-created edition of a Latin text. Our primary goals were 1) to create a more inclusive canon by expanding the number and kinds of texts available to Latin students, 2) to foster a more inclusive classroom by including students in the publication process, and 3) to expand access to Latin teaching and learning resources by making our editions open access. Our method for the project involved four main stages. After assigning every student a portion of the Latin text, they would 1) write a vocabulary, 2) add macrons, 3) write a translation, and 4) write a commentary to explain the Latin.

This article outlines a multivocal approach to teaching Petronius’ Satyrica in intermediate Latin at the college level. By blending dialogism and critical literacy with GTM, we demonstrate how to use a standard Latin text to push back on the traditionally negative view of freedpeople in ancient literature and modern scholarship. We facilitate egalitarian dialogue and subversive talk in the classroom to center student voices alongside those of the freedpeople in the novel to challenge the authoritative voices of author, narrator, and editor. Students also complete active learning assignments that are designed to foster their voice and a critical examination of past and present social inequalities from diverse perspectives. This results in a deeper understanding of how different groups in Roman society used language to construct status and identity and prepares students for interrogating power structures in other Latin texts. A multivocal approach to Latin learning is more inclusive of diverse students and successful at improving student engagement and investment in the language, but another goal of this approach is to enhance our students’ respect for difference, a concept we hope they carry with them beyond our classroom and into society.

The author argues that a more diverse definition of classics leads to a more diverse population of classics students. In addition to classes that focus on language acquisition, the field of classics should include courses that center mythology, history, civilization, and material culture. These classes allow for creative pedagogy such as STEM and maker challenges that attract students interested in those areas of classical studies. The author details the curricula of two courses she has developed, Roman Technology and Myth Makers, which have increased the diversity of her classics program, brought awareness to other areas of classical studies, and earned grant money for the program.

This article describes a method for teaching ancient and modern languages, the Polis Method, which was developed in recent years at the Polis Institute in Jerusalem. The method follows two main theoretical principles: Full Immersion (teaching classes entirely in the target language) and Dynamic Language Development (using the order in which the learner internalizes various features of the target language respecting the inner structure and dynamics of the language). Following these principles, the Polis Method has adopted some techniques developed in the field of Second Language Acquisition since the 1970s (TPR, TPRS, Story Building, etc.) As well, instructors at the Polis Institute are currently developing a new technique called Living Sequential Expression (LSE) inspired by the work of François Gouin (1831-1896). These practical techniques are meant to develop the language skills of grammar, vocabulary, conversation, storytelling, speech, reading and writing in holistic fashion.