Teaching Classics as an applied subject

Abstract

This article discusses the opportunities and challenges of teaching Classics as an ‘applied’ subject. It outlines the development of a new module at the University of St Andrews which asks student teams to research and design a project that draws on ancient sources, practices or ideas to address a challenge in the 21st century, such as ‘fake news’, racism, or climate change. It distinguishes Applied Classics from Public Classics and Reception Studies, defining the former as ‘the purposeful application of carefully-chosen aspects of antiquity as a useful intervention in a contemporary challenge.’ It also underlines its value as a form of ‘Citizen Scholarship’, a branch of academia that builds bridges to activism and has tangible impacts, creating change (not just disseminating knowledge) in the wider world. The article considers the ethics of Applied Classics; the mentoring that students require, to work in novel ways and on topics well outside their comfort zones; and the assessment challenges that come with project-based learning. It reflects on the skills that students acquire from this kind of module (in leadership, collaboration, creative thinking, critical self-reflection and outcomes-focused thinking), on their sense of empowerment as they identify ways to translate their studies into socially impactful work, and on the contributions they can make to wider debates about the future of Classics as a discipline.