NORTH STAFFS BRANCH OF THE CLASSICAL ASSOCIATION
Chair: Father Anthony Dykes; Treasurer: Mr Richard Wallace; Secretary: Mr Stephen Clifford
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Events 2009/2010
PLAY READING: (in translation) of Sophocles' Electra
7.30 p.m., Thursday 29 October 2009
Meeting Room, The Leopard, 21 Market Square, Burslem
The Roman Theatre at Orange.
Copies of a translation, probably not Penguin Classics,will be available.
LECTURE: John Ellis Jones (University of Wales: Bangor)
'THEATRES AND AMPHITHEATRES'
7.30 p.m., Tuesday 10 November 2009
St Wulstan's (RC) Primary School, Church Lane, Wolstanton, Newcastle-under -Lyme
LECTURE: Dr Patrick Finglass (University of Nottingham)
'MYTHOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN SOPHOCLES' ELECTRA'
7.30 p.m., Thursday 26 November 2009
Nesfield Suite, Keele Hall, University of Keele
Joint meeting with the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies
LECTURE: Professor Helen King (University of Reading)
'WHO NEEDS DOCTORS? REPRESENTING ROMAN MEDICINE'
7.30 p.m., Tuesday 16 February 2010
Wade Lecture Theatre, Medical Institute, Hartshill Road, Stoke-on-Trent
Joint meeting with the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
PLAY READING: (in translation) of Plautus' The Self-Tormentor
7.30 p.m., Thursday 4 March 2010
Priest's House, St Wulstan's, Church Lane, Wolstanton, Newcastle-under -Lyme
Copies will be available, but please bring the Penguin Classics edition, if you are able
LECTURE: Richard Wallace (University of Keele)
'THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL: TRAVEL IN THE ANCIENT WORLD'
7.30 p.m., Tuesday 16 March 2010
Clayton Hall Business & Language College, Clayton Lane, Newcastle-under -Lyme
LECTURE: Nick Thomas (University of Wales: Lampeter)
'MINUCIUS FELIX: HOW TO TALK TO POSH PAGANS'
7.30 p.m., Thursday 22 April 2010
St Wulstan's (RC) Primary School, Church Lane, Wolstanton, Newcastle-under -Lyme
All welcome - all the above events are free of charge
LEICESTERSHIRE COACH TRIP
ANNUAL COACH TRIP, Saturday 9 May 2009, this year to Museums and other sites en route to and from the City of Leicester, led as before by Dr Andy Fear (University of Manchester). Further details will appear on this site later in the year.
Latin and Greek Reading Groups 2009/10
The Latin and Greek reading groups continue to meet every 3 - 4 weeks at 7.30 p.m., independently of the general programme, for those who wish to read ancient (and medieval Latin) literature in the original, and to work together on deciphering the meaning, in a relaxed atmosphere. Next meetings are as follows:
Greek The group is now splitting its time between reading excerpts from the New Testament, across the three Synoptic Gospels, and classical texts. The next meeting is at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday 13 October 2009, when it will continue with the classical period. It is intended to continue reading Sophocles' Antigone in the JACT anthology from line 68 to the end of the passage and then (by 10 pm) it is hoped to read the whole play in translation. This group, which is currently at nearly maximum size, usually meets in a private house in Newcastle-under-Lyme. This next meeting will be in Newcastle. For further information on the text, venue, etc, email: the Secretary.
A Greek text of the Miracles can be found on the Nestle-Aland NT web site.
Latin The next meeting will be in the SCR Bar, First Floor, Keele Hall, University of Keele, at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday 22 September 2009. We shall continue reading Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae from the end of the second sheet of the extract provided, King Lear's despairing rant "O inreuocabilia
seria fatorum, quae solito ...."
We shall begin the evening however with a brief discussion of next stage of our Memorial Inscriptions project, looking at what churches we should investigate and cover in the boundaries of Stafford District Council. We shall then continue with Geoffrey.
Memorial Inscriptions
Some members of the Branch are currently undertaking a project to record and translate Latin Memorial inscriptions in local churches. Following the most recent work, a small group has been delegated to take forward the first article arising from this work for possible publication.
All welcome - all events except coach trips are free of charge
Last year's programme and annual report
Classics Teachers
There is a termly meeting of Staffordshire Classics Teachers, at a private house in Newcastle. This is on a Saturday near the beginning of each school term, and operates as a mutual support group for people teaching Classical subjects in any shape or form, e.g. Minimus. New members are always most welcome. The meeting is very informal and lunch is provided. The next meeting is at 11 a.m. on Saturday 14 November, 2009. Please email the address below for further information.
Board Game for Schools
The Branch is pleased to announce that, through the generosity of the Hellenic Society, we now hold a copy of the new board game Pots! The Game, suitable for age 10 and upwards. This is available to be borrowed at no charge by Schools in our area, and is a fast paced game for 3 - 6 players, bidding against each other to acquire the biggest and best collection of Greek vases. The Hellenic Society has made it available as part of its own Schools Programme since, as well as being good fun and instilling a general interest in Greece, the game has useful images and details of Greek vases in the British Museum. It should be of particular interest to any school students looking at Greek Art modules, but could also be used with older Minimus groups, to extend their interest to Greece as well as Rome. Interested schools can request a loan at the termly meeting above, or direct from this Branch (below). The Game web site (above) contains a useful database with more details of the vases in the game.
For further details, please contact the Hon. Secretary: Stephen Clifford, Tel: 01630-647765, email: [email protected]