The East Oxford Classics Centre aims to open Classics up to a wider audience. It has been set up at Cheney School, in Headington.
Workshops, events, exhibitions and lessons in Latin and Ancient Greek will enable members of the community to explore the ancient world. The facilities of the centre will be available to students at the school and members of the public. All activities will be free.
The Centre is run by the Iris Project in partnership with the Oxford Faculty of Classics. The Iris project is a charity founded in 2006 by Dr Lorna Robinson, which promotes Classics in city schools and organises classics theatre projects and the Literacy through Latin scheme. The latter brings Latin to the curriculum for disadvantaged schools in Oxfordshire.
Cambridge classicist and journalist Professor Mary Beard opened the centre with a speech on the Thursday 24 October.
She said that stamping out stereotypes is a key objective for the centre, adding, “It isn’t the case that the classics are just for rich boys.”
It is hoped that the centre will help raise the profile of Classics as an interesting and relevant subject for everyone. Beard explained, “Latin and Ancient Greek are demanding but there are also wonderfully fun and spirited sides to them as well.”
Classics Outreach Office Mai Musié pointed out that Oxford students will benefit from the scheme, through helping with teaching at the centre. She said, “Students will get a chance to gain skills that they are not able to within the structure of academia. This could provide a platform to pursue careers such as teaching and working with young people and at the same time consolidating their subject knowledge.
“Despite the wonderful initiatives that have been set up by various Classics-oriented organisations, the increase of GCSE and A-Level take up of Ancient History and Classical Civilisation and popular BBC documentaries and dramas, Classics still has a problem of being seen as elite.”
She highlights the fact that not many people know that you can study Classics at Oxford with no prior knowledge of Latin or Ancient Greek, an option known as Course II.
Former President of the Classics society Jane Chan praised Oxford’s good work, but thinks there is still much to be done. She commented, “Classics is no longer limited those who have the privilege to learn the languages in school but it still has the highest private intake amongst all courses. Of the more than one hundred and twenty classicists in a year fewer than twenty of them come in without Latin and Greek.
“To allow Classics to be more accessible it is not Oxford, but society’s perception of it that must change.”
The first talk, entitled ‘Who is Sappho?’, is to be given by Dr Felix Budelmann. His lecture will be the first in a monthly series by department tutors.
