As Classicists we all know that our subject is multi-disciplinary: ours is the study of the language, literature, history, philosophy, politics, art and architecture of the ancient Greeks and Romans across a vast time period.
To me – as for many – this breath of study is one of the subject’s great attractions: as indeed is the subject’s diachronic nature, an aspect that has been brought out in relatively recent times with the growth of Reception Studies. To take an example that is representative of the whole: the eponymous heroine of Euripides’ Medea famously makes a speech about the lot of women in 5th century Greece, a speech which was read aloud at suffragette meetings in the early 20th century as a rallying cry for revolt. It is a female voice from the ancient past that, as Edith Hall has noted, was not heard again in European literature until the 19th century and the plays of Henrik Ibsen. But Euripides’ text, of course, is not solely to be read from a feminist perspective. The play also deals with the status of foreigners and their perceived threat to society. In fact, productions of the play were banned by the Nazis in wartime France and by the apartheid government of South Africa in the 1960s; in both instances it was thought that the play would incite revolution and civil unrest.
To my mind, it is this multi-disciplinary and diachronic nature of Classics that gives the subject its excitement and energy. It allows Classicists to explore different academic disciplines over different times and places and to consider from many different viewpoints the perennial issues of what it means to be human.
It is in such a spirit that I would like to propose for consideration the adoption in school curricula (especially at Key Stage 3) of what might be provisionally called Cross Syllabus Link (or CSL) Studies.
CSL (Cross Syllabus Links) Studies is not a ‘topic’ approach to what we teach in schools
To be clear from the outset, CSL Studies is not what is often referred to as the ‘topic’ approach to teaching, where pupils in a year group study a topic, such as the Viking Ship, in all their classes. In their History lessons they might study the Vikings as they relate to the Viking ship; in their Geography they might study places and locations as they relate to the travels of a Viking ship; in their Art they might study the design and aesthetics of a Viking ship, and in their Science classes the materials used to construct a Viking ship. It’s a similar story for all the discrete subjects.
Such a cross-curricular ‘topic’ approach – as I think Key Stage 3 teachers will unanimously agree – would be too superficial for pupils and lead, almost certainly, to a decline in academic standards and thereby retard intellectual achievement and development.
In any change in approach to Key Stage 3 , it is vital that we preserve the purity, depth and rigour of the discrete subject syllabi that are currently taught. Indeed, one of the great changes that occurs in the transition from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 is that pupils are no longer taught by generalists but by subject specialists – these subject specialisms must be maintained. As such, one of the goals of CSL Studies is to enhance subject specific knowledge.
Some Preliminary Examples of CSL (Cross Syllabus Links) Studies in Science, Geography and Latin
Let us start with a basic example. ISEB’s 13+ Science syllabus has a unit of study entitled, ‘Materials and their Properties’. As part of this unit pupils study Geological Changes. The ISEB syllabus states that pupils should be taught:
- how igneous rocks are formed by the cooling of magma, sedimentary rock by the deposition of rock fragments …… (and) metamorphic rocks by the action of heat and pressure on existing rocks.
In the ISEB 13+ Geography syllabus ‘Earthquakes and Volcanoes’ is a unit of study. The syllabus states that pupils should be taught:
- the causes of earthquakes and the formation of volcanoes, as well as their environmental and human effects.
- the global distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes
There is a clear connection and overlap between the Geography and Science syllabi. Thus, one strategy for teaching this material might be for the respective subject teachers to work together on the delivery of these topics in the classroom, so that pupils can make the connections and links between what they are learning in both Geography and Science. Such an approach, by putting both teaching and learning in a wider context, could extend knowledge on the part of the pupils. Thus the subject specialisms of Geography and Science can only be strengthened and enhanced.
The Latin teacher might now hear of what is going on in Geography and Science and reveal that the ISEB Latin syllabus has an option to study the ruins of Pompeii, the Roman city destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Pupils study the layout of Pompeii, the architecture of its monumental buildings, the interiors of its villas, as well as the life and trade of its citizens. During a snatched conversation in a busy staff-room, the Geography teacher realises that there is in the story of Pompeii and Vesuvius a clear historical example of the environmental and human effects of a volcanic eruption, something that, as we have seen, the pupils are studying in Geography. Thus, there is an opportunity to broaden pupils’ geographical knowledge beyond the confines of the Geography syllabus and link it in with the pupils’ study of the ancient Romans and their language.
In turn, the Latin teacher will discover that the ISEB Geography syllabus requires pupils to study ‘Economic Activity’. The syllabus states that pupils should be taught:
- the different levels of economic activity, viz. primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary
- the relationship between the level of economic activity and the percentage of people working in each sector
The Latin teacher might then decide to utilise the notion of the different levels of economic activity when teaching about the various trades and industries in ancient Pompeii. For instance, Pompeii’s wine and garum industries could act as an illuminating case study of a secondary level economic activity. Thus, both the Geography and Latin teachers, by coming together and exploring each other’s syllabuses, can plan lessons that refer to, and draw on, each other’s subject disciplines. Indeed, in these brief examples, we have seen how a ‘Cross Syllabus Link’ might be created between Geography, Latin and Science. The various subject teachers can exploit this ‘Cross-Syllabus Link’ to deliver their subjects to their pupils in new and perhaps more relevant ways.
The possibilities for connection between all the school subjects are endless. Its manifestations will depend upon the willingness and erudition of individual teachers.
In the next post, we will look at a few more of these possibilities for connection.
Indeed. A useful task over the next break (!) might be to study the syllabuses of CE or GCSE and mark where subjects might interact with Latin/Class Civ.; conversations with colleagues, as Patrick writes, are also often illuminating (since they know the requirements for their own subjects intimately).
For example: did the Romans treat dogs as pets? Yes and no, is the answer; young dogs were often fawned over by children, but older dogs are seen (much like slave children) as tools, for guarding, herding and hunting. The few, touching pieces of literature about dogs that remain (e.g. epitaphs) usually emphasize the dog’s intelligence as usefulness.
Thanks for your suggestion – it would interesting to see where Classics interacts with the CE and GCSE syllabuses of other subjects. As well as a holiday project, schools could also schedule time at INSET, or even during the working week, for teachers interested in this approach to get together and start making the connections between their subjects.