Teaching Attic Inscriptions (online, June 5, 2021)

Posted for Peter Liddell:

Classical Association Teaching Board/Classics for All/British School at Athens CPD on Ancient Athenian Inscriptions in UK Collections, 10am-4pm BST, 5th June 2021 (virtual event)

Among the most enduring habits of the ancient world was the inscription of public and private documents and accounts on stone and other hard surfaces. From ancient Athens alone there survive some 20,000 inscriptions written on stone; they are deeply informative about all aspects of ancient public and private life, culture, society, politics and diplomacy.

Of the extant ancient Athenian inscriptions, a small but significant number (ca. 225) are to be found in a dozen public and private collections across the UK. The AHRC-sponsored Attic Inscriptions in UK Collections project, hosted on the Attic Inscriptions Online website, is developing editions, translations and notes on all of these inscriptions. Our Youtube channel is developing a series of videos aimed at a wide audience interested in the inscriptions of ancient Athens.

In mid 2021 we will launch the Attic Inscriptions: Education (AIE) part of our website. This will bring together resources based on our research designed to support teachers of classical subjects at all pre-18 levels. These resources are designed to be of relevance to the KS 1 and KS 2 national curriculum, to be of interest to those teaching KS 3 and to address aspects of the specifications for GCSE and A-level Classical Civilisation and Ancient History. We hope also that we will be able to identify specific areas of ancient Greek history and culture that could be better addressed (through ancient Athenian inscriptions) in future versions of these specifications.

This CPD event will support the launch of AIE. It is aimed at schoolteachers of any of the Key Stages, though we understand that participants may not find all the sessions immediately relevant. No prior experience of studying inscriptions or knowledge of Greek is required (though we welcome those who are interested in exploring the possibility of using Athenian inscriptions to teach Greek language).

We envisage offering 8 sessions from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm then 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm. Each session will consist of a conversation, with guest discussants (including Charlie Andrew (Classics for All), Dr Sharon Marshall (University of Exeter), Dr April Pudsey (Manchester Metropolitan University), Rob Hancock-Jones (Tonbridge School), Liam Holian (Weaverham High School), Sophie Evans (Pimlico Academy)), on the potential that ancient Athenian inscriptions have for current and future syllabi and specifications:

1. A Beginners’ Guide to using Ancient Athenian Inscriptions in the Classroom (plenary session).
2. KS 1 and KS 2 Literacy, History and Art and ancient Athenian inscriptions (with Charlie Andrews of Classics for All).
3. GCSE Ancient History specifications (Athens in the Age of Pericles) and ancient Athenian inscriptions.
4. GCSE Classical Civilisation specifications (Myth and Religion; Women; War and Warfare) and ancient Athenian inscriptions.
5. A-level Ancient History specifications (depth study in Culture and Politics of Ancient Athens; period study on Relations between Greek states) and ancient Athenian inscriptions.
6. A-level Classical Civilisation specifications (World of Heroes; Culture and the Arts; Invention of the Barbarian; Greek Religion) and ancient Athenian inscriptions.
7. Ancient Athenian Inscriptions and pre-18 education generally (KS 3; ancient numeracy, the history of medicine, the history of collection).
8. Plenary discussion of teaching Ancient Athenian Inscriptions in the Classroom. Conclusions.

Lunch break 12.30 – 2.00 pm after session 4.

Registration fee: £5.

To register for the event, please see our Eventbrite site: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ancient-athenian-inscriptions-in-uk-collections-classical-association-cpd-tickets-142573805089 

For questions, please contact peter.liddel@manchester.ac.uk