Geza Alfoldi, professor at the University of Heidelberg, died on the Acropolis, probably from heart attack. He was in Greece in order to receive an honorary doctorate from Ionion University. It looks like Death took him before the honour was bestowed upon him. I was very sorry to hear the news but I cannot think of a more glorious death for such a diligent scholar of the Greek and Roman world. »
“Residential Awards for Research in the Archaeology, History, Art History, Society and Culture of Italy from Prehistory to the Modern Period 2012–13 The British School at Rome is a leading humanities research institute with outstanding facilities and an international reputation for research and interdisciplinarity in Italy and across the Commonwealth. Our highly competitive and prestigious awards have provided many leading scholars with a critical base for their subsequent careers. Applica... »
How does the Greek crisis affect Classics in the UK? Classical Studies in the UK are directly affected by the Greek crisis, not least because our research is about this part of the world. We regularly travel to Greece, we use its research facilities, we accept grants from its Foundations, we collaborate with Greek colleagues. On the whole, the fate of this country affects the fate of the discipline abroad. First of all, we should take into consideration the finances of the Greek students in the ... »
In ancient Athens there was a catchphrase for people who were missing: “He is either dead or teaching school”. What did it mean? »
The noblest of causes… “On 11th September 2011 a team of runners sponsored by Bristol’s Institute of Greece, Rome and the Classical Tradition will be running the Bristol Half Marathon to (a) mark the 2,500 year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon, and (b) raise money for the charity Classics for All. We are aiming to raise £2,500 and all donations, large or small, will be greatly appreciated.” classics list If you would like to support this fundraising effort, you can d... »
The following announcement comes from the Higher Education Centre. It is an attempt to map the professions our students follow. If you do not want to complete the survey, you may want to comment on the subject in this blog. I am sure we can map a lot of interesting professions. “Classics in the Subject Centre has commissioned a survey of Classics (and Classics-related) graduates from the last 10 years, and current students, in order to compile a report on their employment experience during... »
“Launch of grants programme and call for applications Classics for All is a new charity, set up jointly by JACT and Friends of Classics. Our aim is to complement the work of other Classical charities by raising significant funds to support projects for broadening access to Classical subjects. We are delighted to say that, thanks to the generous support of the major Classical bodies (the Hellenic and Roman Societies, the Classical Association, Friends of Classics and JACT) and of a number o... »
Robin Osborne brought to my attention the newly launched petition in defence of the humanities here, accessible via http://humanitiesmatter.wordpress.com/ with the hope that many classicists will sign up to this. It looks like a group of academics already took the initiative in the UK to defend the Humanities subjects across our universities. It is a worthy cause and ought to be honoured. If you wish, you can also leave a donation for the website but it is not compulsory. »
Below is a transcript of Bettany Hughes’ appearance on Woman’s Hour. Womans Hour, BBC Radio 4 November 16, 2010 “Jenni Murray: Now, even in the sixties, when I was at a state school and Latin was for everybody (Greek only for the very bright) there were plenty of mumblings about pupils wasting their time on dead languages when they could be learning French, German, Spanish and perhaps even Russian or Chinese. Well, its not on the National Curriculum and only 17% of state school... »