Why Classics Must Remain

A hope for a long life of the classical subjects

I first learnt of ‘Classics’ at a college open evening - the prospect of studying Greek myth in an educational environment excited me. Something which I would truly enjoy was imperative to me - having dropped out of high-school to be home-schooled (for reasons irrelevant here), engagement in the subjects I took at a higher level was necessary.

Previous to this, the closest I had gotten to the study of ‘classics’ or ‘ancient history’ was a weeks-long workshop in my last year of primary school about the Minoans. Aside from this, my (brief, yet growing) interest in classics had been fulfilled in researching the origin of different pagan religions in my own time and seeking out old pieces of art in occasional museum trips. I was unfortunately never introduced to Percy Jackson, God knows what would have happened if I was. When I enrolled to college three years ago, I chose ‘classical civilisation’ as my first option - a subject I found alluring due to the promise of learning about Sappho and old marble buildings. What a fool I was to be so ignorant of a subject that would change the trajectory of my life.  

Personally, classics introduced me to a form of study which was entirely new to me. When I joined college, I didn’t want to continue into higher education. I am now an undergrad, hoping to be a postgrad, classics student. The approach taken by the discipline of classics is one of the most useful and fulfilling methods of education I have ever experienced - but it is at risk. I hope to outline why classics (in reference to both the subject of classical civilisation itself and its adjacent subject) must remain in schools, and why they should be advertised and encouraged.

Dido and Aeneas - Manetti, a scene from Virgil’s Aeneid, perhaps one of the greatest pieces of literature ever conceived

In 2016 British exam board AQA announced that they will cease to offer the GCSE and A-level subject of archeology from 2018, along with art history, and discussion of axing classical civilisation followed. The decision to do so was based on the difficulty to average grades from the small sample of students who took the subject, AQA issued a statement claiming their ‘main priority is that students get the results they deserve.’ Surely students also deserve to study the subjects they desire, so they can get the results they deserve in the subjects they enjoy?

This sparked a petition to be put in action, created by the Young Archeological Society which gained a near 6,000 signatures in an aim to revive the subject. Nonetheless, students had to say goodbye to the past and could no longer study a primary component of the ‘classics’ curriculum. With the educational reforms which were popular not that long ago that focus on more manual and mathematical skills rather than nurturing ‘soft’ subjects such as classics, the study of the course faces extinction entirely.

So, what exactly is classics? I often summarise my experience with the subject of ‘classical civilisation’ as a culmination of all the humanities (history, art history, literature, philosophy, anthropology, politics) focused on a specific ancient time-span. Yet this is a primary cause of discontent amongst critics, raising queries regarding the ‘detachment’ which comes alongside being stuck in the past, what happened in whatever-BC is no longer relevant and there are more important things to care about.

Of course, understanding and learning about modern day issues is important. But classics students are still able to read the news. In fact, a majority of classics courses enforce the skill of connecting the past to the present - something scholar Mary Beard is renowned for. Knowledge of the origin of things such as democracy and other political systems only aids the understanding of the modern world - whether it be through similarities or contrast.

Another common criticism is that classics is an elitist subject, targeted at those with cultural capital built up from birth and can only be studied by those with ‘previous knowledge’ of the subject. Natalie Haynes, a prominent classicist herself, explains on AQA’s 2016 axing of archeology that “there is something grubbily elitist about restricting classics to those who can afford to pay for it” - referencing the privatisation of the classical subjects to private schools. In fact, by offering the subjects which people presume to be ‘elitist’ to state school students, knowledge they may not have gained through socialisation can be granted to them. Haynes explains that the loss of classical A-levels will most likely lead to a reduction of students going forward with classics based university degrees, as they have failed to ‘test’ out the subject without spending money on it. The primary reason classics has gained such an alleged negative reputation for itself is the very fact that it is only accessible to the privately educated. It should be widened to state schools, even if it doesn't seem appealing at face-value, kids aren’t going to choose a subject which isn’t given as a choice.

As I explained earlier, my experience with the area of classics was very sparse until I saw the advertisement at college. More so, the practical benefits which classics gave me, aside from nourishing my love for the content, are skills which the younger generation cannot afford to lose. For example, researching scholarship in a nuanced manner opened up media literacy to students - which is an asset many teenagers today lack. Studying the composition of Latin poetry and texts granted a greater understanding of language and grammar - aiding my literature studies and my general literary performance. I mentioned above that the subject covers all facets of the humanities, granting both the knowledge and skills of at least four different subjects in one.

Aside from this, is it not a beautiful thing to learn about the origins of culture and society? Education needn’t be focused so strictly on the productivity of its content - things have to be fun and interesting to gain the appreciation of the attention-deficient demographic of today. Classics is something people care about - they often just don’t know it. Many facets of pop culture are rooted in classical ideas, and what would life be without entertainment? For people to recognise their admiration for the subject, it needs to be offered to students, and for it to be offered to students it must remain on exam boards.

The future of classics seems promising, with the rise of the subject area on social-media platforms thanks to books such as The Secret History and various myth retellings. However this isn’t enough, and can be viewed as an attack on the integrity of the subject. Educational leaders must prioritise subjects which are fascinating to students, we cannot have a country where children detest learning because the subjects they are offered are lacklustre. Productivity comes from imagination and passion, and no subject invokes the muses as well as classical civilisation.