Teaching Classics Worldwide - by Steven Hunt & John Bulwer (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

Designed for instructors in schools and universities, as well as stakeholders and policy-makers in education everywhere, this book is a systematic guide to contemporary school teaching of classical languages, literature and civilisation in major countries across the world. This book examines the trends and assesses the rationale for such diversity in programmes of study and asks the question: What are classical subjects for in today's schools?

Each chapter is arranged by geographical area and draws on the experiences of teachers and other education experts in each country, commenting on contemporary practices. Themes such as the impact of national education policies, enrolment, assessment, accessibility and inclusion are discussed. The teaching of Classics has wide variations in practices and purposes from one education system to another: in some, the teaching of Classics continues to be focused on the mastery of language and grammar; in others, active use of the ancient languages is growing in popularity; and yet in others, the focus is shifting towards the study of the languages and civilisations in translation. Presenting an overview survey and comparison of practices across the world, this book is essential reading for instructors and teaching training courses in the world of classical education.

Review Quotes

"A welcome new resource for the global classics community... A heartening account of the many people... who care deeply about the provision of classics education and can speak to the immense good it can do for students and for society without turning a blind eye to the historical and contemporary problems of the discipline." --Classical Journal

"Teachers of Latin (and to a lesser extent, of Greek) in the U.S. often find themselves the only classics teacher in their school, or even in their community. This book demonstrates that they are part of a diverse international fellowship, in which everyone faces and responds to an array of challenges." --Mary L. B. Pendergraft, Professor Emeritus of Classics, Wake Forest University, USA

"In Teaching Classics Worldwide: Successes, Challenges and Developments, Steven Hunt and John Bulwer have put together an immensely illuminating volume. With a whopping sixty-eight chapters covering five continents, this was a monumental task ... it is fantastic to see so many countries represented." --Greece and Rome

About the Author

Steven Hunt is Associate Teaching Professor in Classics Education at the University of Cambridge, UK. He is Subject Lead for the PGCE in Latin and Classics and is editor of the Journal of Classics Teaching. He works extensively with the charity Classics for All to develop Classics in state schools in the UK. He is author of Starting to Teach Latin (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023) and Teaching Latin: Contexts, Theories and Practices (Bloomsbury Academic, 2022).He is co-editor of Communicative Approaches to Teaching Classical Languages (2021), Teaching Classics with Technology (Bloomsbury Academic, 2019) and Forward with Classics (Bloomsbury Academic, 2018).

John Bulwer is a former teacher of Latin at the European School, Brussels, Belgium, and former President of Euroclassica (2015-2019). He has been active in promoting Classics teaching in Europe over many years. He is editor of Classics Teaching in Europe (Bloomsbury Academic, 2006). He is currently Chief Examiner and Adviser for Latin for the European Baccalaureate and the European Schools.