This week I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to read the dissertations written by some of our wonderful OU MA students. Admittedly, the stack of 12,000-word manuscripts to mark is a bit daunting at this point (hence the brevity of this post)! But it’s been a real pleasure to follow people as they’ve moved from a tentative idea to a substantial piece of research, and some of the work I’ve seen so far is outstanding. So I’d like to congratulate everyone who’s made it to the end of the MA: whatever the outcome of the marking process, you should be tremendously proud of the work you’ve put in!
I know that there are people starting out on the MA (first or second year) this week who have worries about the dissertation. To all of you my advice is simple: trust the process! I’ve seen people start the final MA module with no clue what to do; but by the end of the year they’re tackling a project with commitment and confidence. You’ll get there too! And once you do, you’ll look back on what you’ve achieved and you’ll start to wonder what else you could do…
One of the things I’ll be adding to the website this year is a series of articles on Life After BA or MA, with stories and advice from Classics graduates (if you’d like to contribute an article, do get in touch with me). There’ll also be some articles on applying for and starting a PhD, just in case you have ambitions in that direction someday. It’s not an altogether crazy thought, you know…!
This week’s links from the Classical Interweb
News
A public dig in Wales – Daily Post
New Troy museum – Daily Sabah
Libya’s heritage at risk – Yahoo News
Roman villa in Cambridge – Current Archaeology
Award for translating Asterix – The Jakarta Post
Archaeologists in Samothrace – Archaeology
Programme announced for ‘Being Human’ – Being Human Festival
Bringing back a replica mosaic – BBC
A chariot in Yorkshire – The Yorkshire Post
Further contribution to the Elgin Marbles debate – The Guardian
Roman grave in Cumbria – BBC
Funding for the Walls – BBC
Debunking ancient history news stories – Jason Colavito
Mary Beard joins The Grand Tour? – Radio Times
New Roman movie? – Tornos News
From: https://twitter.com/simongerman600/status/1047570756878651392
Comment and opinion
Outstanding women – Eagles and Dragons
Classical allusions and civil war – Eidolon
Do we need less Rome? – National Review
On animating antiquity – Society for Classical Studies
Contrasting Athens and Sparta – Greek Reporter
Visiting Perugia’s well – Ancient World Magazine
A tour of Empurias – Le Temps Revient
On starting university – The Retiring Academic
Staging the ordinary people of the Iliad – The Guardian
Retelling Homer – Bustle
On diversifying Classics – Society for Classical Studies
What Aristotle would think of Brexit – The Edithorial
…and more on Brexit – The Sphinx
Reviewing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – The Telegraph
Appreciating Syme – The Wrong Monkey
Visiting plaster sculptures in Cork – A Don’s Life
Women in medicine – Mistaking Histories
Looking at epigraphy in Greece – CREWS Project
Verb aspect and narrative – Koine Greek
Dealing with female fighters – The Conversation
Baiae: the Las Vegas of Rome – The Daily Beast
Classifying Greek birds – Tufts Daily
On skin colour, mulberries and silver – The Petrified Muse
Sexual harassment and Roman law – The Conversation
Mean Girls and Classics – Eidolon
Podcasts, videos and other media
Villa of the Mysteries – When in Rome
Assassin’s Creed and Herodotus – Quality Control
Videos from #Askprofmcscott – Warwick Classics Network
Classical Studies Support 