Over the years, we had all, in our interactions with teachers and through our own experiences in the classroom, come to the opinion that there was a growing need for a new Latin course, feeling increasingly that the existing Latin courses presented too simplified a narrative of life in the Roman world: focusing on the wealthiest individuals, giving a sanitised view of the experience of enslaved people, failing to reflect the diversity of the population, and underrepresenting women and girls, as well as being a poor match for the demands of the GCSE assessments. We came together with the wish to create a course that immersed students in narratives that would resonate with them, and that reflected life in the Roman Empire as it was for its ordinary people, with sensitivity to issues that are now so important to students and teachers: enslavement, imperialism, diversity, gender, sexuality, to name just a few.
Suburani: Writing a New Latin Reading Course – Antigone
Click through to read an outstanding article on a new Latin curriculum for 11-16 year-old students.
Sharon E. Cathcart 