Research Supervisor

Prof. Arlene Holmes-Henderson, Durham University.

Background

While the numbers of school-age children studying Latin demonstrate at least a consistent presence in both UK and worldwide education, Ancient Greek is comparatively undervalued. This, combined with the relatively diminutive proportion that ancient languages make up in the wider field of language study, renders interest in Ancient Greek ultimately negligible, and at high risk of no longer being considered a relevant subject to teach students.

Outline

Resultantly, this research will focus on investigating the importance of retaining the Ancient Greek world in education. It will also explore the methods through which Ancient Greek can be taught to students, with analysis into the effects of combining the ancient world with various technologies and outlets available to modern children, in order to make the subject more accessible and relevant to their daily life. I will be working as an assistant to Prof. Holmes-Henderson in the process of collating this research, with the intention of creating a book manuscript that will eventually publish these findings.

Impact

The intended impact of this project is to assert the importance of teaching Ancient Greek in schools, particularly aimed at influencing policymakers to encourage them to give sufficient consideration the subject's place in the curriculum. This will allow for the skills and perspective gained from study of the ancient world to be accessible and effectively actualised by students.