Classics in the Wider Community
In the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Warwick, we believe that research into Greek and Roman antiquity brings a variety of important social and cultural insights for modern society. We are committed to making our subject area accessible to anyone interested in it - regardless of background or prior knowledge.
We engage with diverse audiences and take every opportunity to communicate our research in innovative and relevant ways to organisations and individuals who might benefit from it. For more information on our activities beyond academia, please explore the options below:
Through the Warwick Classics Network - a network of teachers and academics dedicated to the promotion and support of Classics and Classics teaching in Coventry, Warwickshire, and beyond - we support and collaborate with schools in a range of ways:
- Improving the quality of teaching and learning in classical subjects by informing the curriculum with the latest research, sharing pedagogical innovations, and providing expert resources to support and enrich teaching - for instance, through Teachers' Days, the A. G. Leventis Ancient Worlds' Study Day and our Ancient Drama Festival
- Bringing the Classical World to students who are not able to formally study it at school level, and helping schools and colleges to introduce classical subjects to their curriculum offering. Find out more about our partnership with Classics for All
- Creating sourcebooks and textbooks used by UK exam boards for GCSE and A-Level courses in Ancient History and Classical Civilisations
- Contributing to pressing educational and social issues, such as decolonising the curriculum.
“I just wanted to repeat my thanks for your meticulous, thoughtful organisation and communication. There was a genuine sense, both before and during the day, that your department really think about people, how to help them and how to deliver things in a supportive and accessible way. Directing students to universities - especially post Covid - is as much a pastoral as an academic issue, and my experience of your department has made me much more likely to recommend you!”
Teacher who attended the 2022 Classical Civilisation Teachers' Day
We have long-standing relationships with several world-leading museums, and work closely with them to improve engagement with their collections, innovate in the way objects are displayed, and provide expert support with cataloguing and research
-
We harness the latest digital technology to preserve, enhance and increase access to classical materials and their history
- We collaborate with neighbouring museums and heritage sites to help bring the history of the local Coventry and Warwickshire area to life - such as through the Coventry: A City of Cultures project, in which we collaborated with Coventry University, the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Lunt Fort Roman and local Coventry schools.
- The department’s strengths in numismatics have led to hosting the Money and Medals Network, an organisation originally set up by the British Museum to connect curators, researchers, collectors and others working in the field of monetary and economic history and numismatics.
-
The AHRC-funded Ashmolean Latin Inscriptions Project (AshLI) changed the curation of ancient epigraphy in Oxford’s world-famous Ashmolean Museum
-
An interdisciplinary collaboration between Fishbourne Roman Palace and Warwick Manufacturing Group is bringing new technologies and ways of engaging with the ancient world to visitors
“The 3D scanning of key Roman objects from Lunt Roman Fort will bring the items to life. It will offer opportunities at Lunt and through [Dr Paul Grigsby’s] schools project to allow examination of the items in ways not possible through a traditional museum display. Large scale copies will show details normally difficult to see with the naked eye. 1-1 copies and virtual representation will connect pupils with Roman society. This would not have been possible without Paul’s vision, drive, organisation and connections with the scanning department at the university.”
Ali Wells – Curator, Culture Coventry
Our researchers seize every opportunity to engage with the public, contributing to whole-university events – such as the Resonate Festival – as well as devising our own activities
We enjoy bringing the Classical World to those who don’t or didn’t have the opportunity to study it, and popularising an area of research that has sometimes been hard to access and appreciate. We relish the opportunity to demonstrate the relevance of the Classical World and its study to modern life and to the different challenges currently facing society, and to engage a broad range of people with the insights that exploring Classical Antiquity can bring.
Read on to find out more about how we reach out to the public through:
- Publications, broadcasting and podcasts
- Blogs - such as Material Musings
- Hosting events - such as public lectures, hands-on workshops and festivals - for diverse and non-expert audiences. Find out about some of our past events here.
- Designing resources to enable those with little prior experience of Classics to explore their interests in the subject, its applications and the latest research findings
“The opportunities for undergraduates and postgraduates to get involved in a variety of outreach activities with the Warwick Classics Network provide extremely valuable practical experience, adding value to the student experience in a way which is also potentially useful for future career plans.”
Jacqui Butler – Postgraduate Research Student