Classics in the News: ubi est ignis?

It’s Spirit Week in my neck of Southern Maine. Yesterday, I was particularly feeling the spirit, bundled in my school colors, protected from the wind in my four-walled classroom. But as I stood in the snow in my beach apparel counting heads for the so aptly timed fire drill this morning, I did ponder this vocation I’ve taken up. Thankfully the British Museum is hiring a treasure hunter. Maybe I’ll send in my resume. Surely finding stolen Roman jewelry (or the oldest wooden tool set) is easier than locating those vocab quizzes that are definitely somewhere in my classroom?

As you ponder whether being the next Indiana Jones is in your future, make sure to put these local upcoming Humanities events on your calendar:

February 18th: Poetry Out Loud Central Regional Finals (Brewer)

March 2nd: Poetry Out Loud State Finals (Waterville)

For those less interested in driving, consider this upcoming virtual talk on Homer and the Odyssey by Laura Jenkinson-Brown, author of You Are Odysseus (February 26th).

And if you haven’t already, check out the Maine winners of the CANE Writing Contest! What a joy it is to see a new generation engaging with the past (speaking of which, applications are being accepted for the Dickinson College Commentaries’ high school internship). Even Russell Crowe, or should I say Maximus, is celebrating his son graduating with a degree in Classical Languages.

Let us not forget though that our field still faces challenges, both within and without, such as the banning of certain sections of Plato to be read and discussed in philosophy courses at Texas A&M. Read the college’s response here.

But even if Classics should fade away into oblivion, we still have the Irish. . .