Lapsed Classicists

[TunipTheVegemal]

As mentioned on the Mary Beard thread.

My name is Tunip and it is twenty eight years since I last read a full-length piece of Latin or Greek literature.

However I am glowing at the discovery that I can still apparently translate 'What's your favourite biscuit?' into Latin.

Anyone else?

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Ooh! That would be fantastic!

I live in Oxford and I am feeling a bit guilty - if someone else is up for organizing, I am up for helping. I just don't want to have the responsibility of it all, because I'm not terribly organized and working to a lot of deadlines at the moment (sob, sob, I know, I have it pretty easy really).

[TunipTheVegemal]

Vesela, I was an undergrad with one of the St Hildas tutors (the one with the dog in her photo) and she's lovely. Once we have a specific idea what we are asking them to do, I am happy to contact her, even though we haven't been in touch since the mid-90s!

[mascarpone]

Another lapsed Classicist here! Left Cambridge in 1997 (wonders whether I would remember Rollercoasteryears) and haven't read any serious Latin since! But I am teaching my mum, and am debating offering to teach Latin as a lunchtime club at the village school (just a bit worried no one would want to join...).

Any Latin teachers out there - any suggestions for good texts to start my mum off on? We're about half way through the 'So you want to learn Latin' text book series - I think you get to GCSE standard by the end of it. She's doing well and is basically covering work that she dimly remembers from school. I can't for the life of me remember exactly what I studied for GCSE - Ovid I think? And bits of Virgil??

As for the lapsed Classicist weekend, does it matter if you can't remember much?

[funchum8am]

We can tailor the sessions to those who can attend, and if we had 2 or more teachers we could do simultaneous classes so you choose what to go to. We could do some language and some reading texts. Might reduce complexity if we stick to either Latin or Greek, rather than trying to do both, but if demand is there we could try both.

How do you think we approach MNHQ about this?

[TunipTheVegemal]

I think one language at a time would be simpler.

I think we would need to start off with a revision class on the grammar, then move onto some easy texts, then harder ones depending on how we get on.

[funchum8am]

Te teaching your mum, mascarpone you could check the current gcse and welsh board certificate (same level as gcse) set texts. Ocr.org.UK for gcse and www.wjec.co.UK/Latin for welsh board. Ones that have been set in the past are sections of the Aeneid, selected poems from various authors in a textbook called the OCR Latin Anthology, bits of Suetonius, Livy and also, I think, Caesar. Caesar is quite straightforward Latin though the military content is not to everyone's taste!

[almapudden]

Tunip, she was my tutor too...do we know each other?!

[TunipTheVegemal]

She didn't teach me Alma, she was the year above me as an undergrad though she may have helped me out with the odd difficult bit of translation once or twice.

[notnowImreading]

Is that Katherine Clarke? She arrived as a
Fellow at Hilda's in my last year - I wish she'd been there earlier; she seemed great. I dropped most of the history options because I was so terrified of Miss Levick! She told me I'd 'bitterly regret it' and she was right.

[almapudden]

Ah okay, makes sense. The dog's name is Scipio, by the way. He was great distraction in tutorials...

[funchum8am]

Katherine C taught me briefly as well, she was a graduate student at the time I believe, or very early in her career. She wouldn't remember me though!

If we did just one language who votes for Latin and who's for Greek?

[SuiGeneris]

I'd vote for Latin but would be glad of a beginner's introduction to Greek, if others were interested...

[Issy]

I agree with Sui Generis.

[azazello]

A lapsed classicist event would be marvellous. I'd rather it was in Oxford (I live there too!) but was at Cambridge so I would be up for either. The colleges do lots of events and I think would be quite keen on doing something like this, especially if lots of alumnae would be going and might be persuaded to donate

Latin for me please!

[Issy]

OK. I spoke to Conference Oxford. This is a university appointed service that will conduct a free venue search on our behalf. We provide them with a rough number of participants (e.g. 20-25), number of bedrooms (generally single or twin but not double), meals required, number and duration of seminar rooms, a date range and a contact person. Conference Oxford circulates those details amongst all the colleges and the colleges come back directly to the contact with specific proposals. Simples.

There's only a small number of colleges that can accommodate children or babies. Something to do with licensing and insurance I think.

If we're serious about this I think this we need at least a 'Logistics Director' to liaise with the college as a venue and a 'Program Director' who will sort out speakers/tutors.

I would tentatively volunteer myself as Logistics Director, provided we don't have to make decisions by consensus. Looking at the kerfuffle for the average Mnet meet up, I think this would only work if we plan it like a real conference: you decide you want to go based on the program and venue (an Oxford college) and then you turn up and roll with the punches!

[SirBoobAlot]

This is very exciting

I'm happy to help with arrangements, but I don't drive, so would only be able to help via email or phone. Good work, Issy!

I'd be happy with anything really on a programs basis, though I speak / read no Latin

[notnowImreading]

That sounds so lovely. I'd be happy to do easy Latin refresher lessons (up to GCSE, as that's what I've taught most recently) but would love a refresher class in Greek. I used to be brilliant at Greek (smug) but have forgotten almost every word. How about a Loeb session of Bacchae or Medea?

[TunipTheVegemal]

Do you think we need teachers for all of it or if you put a small group of keen adults who used to be good at classics, in a room with a text and a translation, they'll be able to figure it out?
If there are enough of us then we could have Latin and Greek in parallel.
Having initially wanted to just do Latin, all this talk of Euripides is making me yearn for Greek. The idea of a bunch of MNers getting together to read Medea makes me laugh (Leave the bastard!)

[SirBoobAlot]

Tunip I was just thinking the same thing

[LineRunner]

The Medea Club.

[notnowImreading]

I agree, actually - we probably don't need any teachers. Why not just get everyone to dig out all their old dictionaries and grammars and texts so we can all have asthma attacks share resources.

The more I think about it, the better Euripides sounds - Medea or Women of Troy might be quite mumsnetty (or book six of the Odyssey where Nausicaa gets distracted from doing the laundry by naked Odysseus in the bushes).

I have a cupboard at work full of Cambridge Latin Course books that I could bring along.

[SirBoobAlot]

Can anyone recommend a basics self teach ancient Greek book, in that case? I have a lot of them in translation but don't want to be the only tit not able to read it in original

[TunipTheVegemal]

I think we need teachers a bit, to get us going and jolly us along a bit. I would love an initial grammar revision class, for instance.

[notnowImreading]

If you're anything like me, you won't be able to read it in the original at first (I had a look the other day when this thread started and simply can't do it anymore) - I think it'll be quite laborious, looking up every other (or just every) word. Maybe read in translation and just do gobbets in Greek, rather than full text? Oh, it will be so lovely .

[SirBoobAlot]

Well I taught myself to read hieroglyphics, so it might take me a while, but would really like to get to grips with both Greek and Latin. I always wanted to, this has just made me think about it all again!