JSST Classical Civilisation & Ancient History Summer School
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Programme for 2019

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The summer school starts with registration from 4:00 pm on Sunday 28th July and ends at 11:00 am on Friday 2nd August, after a talk given by a visiting speaker.

There are six one-hour teaching sessions each day (four in the morning, two in the afternoon), covering all the topics listed below. Most of the sessions are run as seminars, with students encouraged to take an active part in the discussions. Each student takes four or five options (not including session 6, which is compulsory for all students) and we ask that you avoid topics which you have already studied in depth: these sessions are designed to be introductory courses, not revision classes.

N.B. The sixth teaching session about 'Myth' is compulsory for all students and involves a series of whole-school activities

There is also an evening session when students prepare extracts from an ancient comedy or tragedy for a live performance on the final night of the course, or help backstage with set design and costumes.

There is an hour and a half of free time in the afternoon which you can use as you please, either for wider reading or for recreational activities. As part of our "Facts at Five" activity, students have the option to attend talks put on by members of staff relating to the Ancient World or university applications for Classics and related subjects. 

For students interested in languages, optional lunch-time sessions will provide an introduction to ancient languages other than Latin and Greek.


Topics

(a summary of each class offered is available here)
Literature

Greek comedy (an overview of the genre)
Greek tragedy (an overview of the genre)
Homer's Iliad
Virgil's Aeneid
Ancient epics
Myths and the transmission of stories
Classical Reception
Cicero (works, life and times)
Personal poetry

History
Minoans and Mycenaeans
Athens (from a military or non-military perspective)
Alexander the Great
Finest years of the Roman Republic
Julio-Claudian Emperors
Fall of the Roman Republic

Culture
Art and Architecture
Women and gender in antiquity
Barbarians in the Ancient World
Ancient Religion

Philosophy
Philosophy, from ancient to modern
Socrates and the birth of philosophy

Language
An introduction to Ancient Greek
An introduction to Latin
Intermediate Latin (for those with GCSE Latin or higher)

Daily schedule

 (The majority of the teaching takes place in the morning in order to create some space in the afternoons for private study and relaxation. The daily schedule is as follows:

08.15    breakfast
09.00             teaching session 1
10.00             teaching session 2
11.00-11.30    break
11.30              teaching session 3
12.30              teaching session 4
13:25-15.00    lunch (including optional sessions and talks)
15:00             teaching session 5
16:00             teaching session 6
17:00             free time
17.00-17.45   Optional 'Facts at Five' talks
18:30             evening meal
19:30-21.00   Drama 
​21.00-22.30   ​free time
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JACT Summer Schools Trust
www.jact.org

Registered Office: 10 Market Walk  Saffron Walden Essex CB10 1JZ 
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