Classics Now!

At a time when Classics is more relevant than ever to contemporary social, cultural, historical, and political debates, its pervasive impact sometimes goes unrecognised. This course probes the most relevant and current issues of the discipline that are fundamental to its future direction and active in shaping contemporary attitudes to the Greek and Roman past. The course addresses big questions through current controversies. A 2023 Netflix documentary on Cleopatra VII cast a black actor in the titular role in the face of internet outrage, but what were ancient Greek and Roman attitudes to race, is this casting actually far-fetched, and why does the public care so much? The National War Memorial in Canberra possesses artefacts collected by Australian troops on assignment in Greece, Turkey, and Egypt: are these simply souvenirs or is there more to it; who should own these objects and why do people invest powerful emotions in material things? Computer games like Assassin's Creed Odyssey reconstruct visions of classical cities like Athens, but how accurate are these representations and why does it matter? How can we as modern scholars access the voices and experiences of marginalised peoples in the ancient world? The Athenian acropolis proudly displays its 5th century classical phase for tourists and scholars alike, but 150 years ago it was an eclectic combination of buildings and remains from the Mycenaean period to the nineteenth century: why promote one chronological phase over another; what is lost and what is gained; who makes these decisions and why does it matter? In recent years in nations like the US, UK, and Australia, controversial figures of the past who have been celebrated with monuments have become lightning rods for debates about contemporary identity and values: what was the impulse for this statue habit of modern societies and what does it mean to raise or remove a monument? Greek theatre as therapy has had a dramatic and positive effect on displaced peoples in refugee communities this century: why do plays like Euripides' Trojan Women still resonate so profoundly and how does the experience of performing this material help the emotional and psychological lives of individuals? Classics Now! allows students to sink their teeth into these questions and more.