This week I’ve been meeting new Open University students on A276, A330, A863 and A864 (Latin, Myth and the MA modules). I’ve been sending out welcome messages and hearing a little bit about people’s backgrounds and experiences. It’s always a humbling time, with stories about chronic illness, mental health challenges, the lives of student-carers, and all the shocking and devastating events which wreak havoc on the path we expected life to take. This year has been no exception. I often wish that other students could hear the stories that I hear, because the determination people show in pursuing their dream as a part-time learner is inspirational. Open University students really are remarkable, and I consider myself privileged to work with them!

Anyway… this post is aimed at those who are new to Classics this year, and who are feeling a bit like they’re walking into an unfamiliar room blindfolded. I thought it might be useful to offer a round-up of some places to start. If my more classically experienced readers have resources to add – or if you have any tips for new Classics students –  please do leave a comment at the bottom. And if you’re new to the OU, to Classics or to this website, feel free to leave a ‘hello’ too!

Here are my top places to start if you’re completely new to Classics:

 

Online: for thought-provoking stuff and the occasional giggle, check in on Eidolon from time to time; and for regular thoughts from ancient texts, read Sententiae Antiquae.

Books: Stephen Fry’s Mythos and Mary Beard’s SPQR are recent classical bestsellers. Female-centred retellings and translations have recently been hitting the headlines and prompting discussions about gender: books include Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls, Madeline Miller’s Circe and Emily Wilson’s translation of the Odyssey. If you’re interested in the wider context of Classics, you could check out Neville Morley’s Classics: Why it Matters or the recent compilation Forward with Classics.

Audio: BBC’s ‘In Our Time’ offers some really useful discussions on specific topics, like this recent episode on the Iliad. You’ll also find lots of links to regular podcasts in my Weekend Reading posts.

Television: Two of today’s high-profile TV classicists are Dame/Prof Mary Beard and Prof Michael Scott. Their programmes have inspired a lot of people to take up Classics – and they come with accompanying books!

 

 

This week’s links from around the internet

 

Classical Studies Support

If you’re new to my site and starting an OU module, here’s a quick roundup:

Material relating to A276 (Latin) here.

Material on A330 (Myth) here.

Some useful stuff for MA students here.

And a whole lot of random articles (some by fellow students) in the Library.

 

Below you’ll find my usually weekly collection of interesting things from around the internet; I post these every Friday night for you to read over breakfast during the weekend, instead of the Sunday papers!

 

News

Long-sought church under a lake? – The Daily Beast 

Finding a sphinx – BBC 

Lincolnshire building site discovery – BBC 

New universities website – The Guardian 

Greek stuff at Belsay Hall [I’ll be visiting this!] – Institute of Classical Studies 

Greek literature and feminism in fashion – The Guardian 

 

Comment and opinion

Trojan Women and refugees – Eidolon 

A racist vision of Greece – Pharos 

Reading the Odyssey – CNN 

Unpicking culture and identity – Le Temps Revient 

Reviewing Rodin – Lytham St. Annes Classical Association 

Routines and cultural scripts – Classical Fix 

The legacy of Spartacus – The Conversation 

Remembering Rome – Sydney Morning Herald 

Reviewing the Bacchae – Daily Breeze 

Encountering wax babies – The Votives Project 

On redefining ‘Classics’ – The Times Literary Supplement 

Hadrian and Pompey – Following Hadrian 

Roman fire brigades – Wanted in Rome 

Old age and lonely Romans – The Petrified Muse 

Archers on an urn – Ancient World Magazine 

Reviewing a Latin movie – Carmenta 

Ancient burials of pets – The Crux 

 

 

Podcasts, video and other media

Villa of the Papyri – When in Rome 

Talking about Amazons – Ancient History Fangirl 

On sophists and sophistry – Words for Granted 

Death, dying and killing – The History Network 

Hadrian, beards and murder – Our Fake History 

Talking about ancient slavery – The Partial Historians 

Martha C. Nussbaum on the history of fear – The Ezra Klein Show 

The history of automata – In Our Time

 

And finally…

I’m saving up for a ‘Flocci non facio’ stamp. That’s an expression I haven’t heard in some years! – Etsy