{"id":11651,"date":"2023-10-05T13:13:21","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T13:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=11651"},"modified":"2023-10-05T15:05:27","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T15:05:27","slug":"classics-past-and-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2023\/10\/05\/classics-past-and-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Classics: Past And Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Classics Department at the University of Reading has been a resident of the Edith Morley building (previously HumSS) for decades. Today we look back at how the Department has changed over the years as we mark the retirement of recent Co-Head of Department, Professor Barbara Goff.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Barbara Barbara has worked in the Classics Department<\/a> since 2001 and has held a number of positions within the Department during her time here \u2013 from Director of Teaching and Learning, to Co-Head of Department with Professor Amy Smith.<\/p>\n

Having taught around 50-70 students each year, over her 22 years here, Barbara has been involved in many of our alumni\u2019s classical education, and so CONNECTED asked her to share her memories of the Department before she heads off.<\/p>\n

Barbara said: \u201cI loved teaching all my students over the years. They\u2019ve always been interesting and committed to doing their best and succeeding.\u00a0The best of them have been energetic, throwing themselves into their studies and the other opportunities that the Department offers.\u00a0I have happy memories of many seminars, of organising Minimus classes \u2013 readings for the European Festival of Latin and Greek \u2013 and even once a film festival celebrating Greek Tragedy on TV.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been fortunate to remain in touch with many of our graduates and have enjoyed working on the Department alumni newsletters to share all of our news with our past students.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Changes over the years<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Department has gone through some changes over the last two decades. From their home being renamed the Edith Morley building \u2013 in honour of Britain\u2019s first female professor \u2013 to a move to online learning during the pandemic, Barbara shares the most notable change for her.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cThe discipline of Classics has changed over the years. The Department teaches many more modules on reception topics [the study of how the classics world has been received since antiquity] than used to be the case. For example, modules such as \u2018Pioneers of Classical Archaeology\u2019 and \u2018My Mother\u2019s Sins\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department also teaches a much wider and more diverse version of the ancient world than used to be available; for instance, this year students can take \u2018\u201cRace\u201d in the Ancient Greek and Roman Worlds\u2019, \u2018Ancient Ethiopia: The Aksumite Kingdom\u2019 and \u2018The Romans and the Natural World\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, the Department still teaches Ancient Greek and Latin and covers all the more familiar\u00a0aspects of antiquity such as ancient rhetoric, art, different literary genres, history, and gender. I\u2019m proud of the range and diversity of classical topics the Department now offers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbara is also proud to share that one important aspect of the Department remains unchanged. She said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cOne thing that has never changed is the friendliness and progressive nature of the staff. The Department\u2019s staff has always been younger than might be traditional in Classics departments, and there is a strong female presence with many women in leadership positions.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe Department has always been very welcoming to students and colleagues of all backgrounds, including students who haven\u2019t had a chance to study Classics before. I\u2019m very proud to have been part of such a welcoming and forward-thinking community.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few of my favourite things<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Barbara shares that with so much to love about the Department and the University she\u2019s having a hard time pinpointing what she will miss the most.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI have lots of favourite things about the University.\u00a0I\u2019m quite fond of the Edith Morley building and how central it is, and of the green space around it.\u00a0I\u2019m extremely fond, and proud, of the Ure Museum.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe whole University and campus is wonderful. From the incredibly helpful staff in the Library, to the cuteness of Foxhill House and Blandford Lodge [the latter being my favourite spot to teach], the autumn colours of the trees on Whiteknights campus, and of course the Harris Garden, which I never visited often enough.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe Department is full of wonderful staff, students and alumni who make up our Classics community. We also had a huge blow-up Father Christmas as a fixture in the Department for a while, after the owner of a Chinese restaurant gifted him to us during a staff Christmas dinner!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Barbara said goodbye to the Classics Department with a one-day conference held in her honour. She said: \u201cThe conference included papers from students and colleagues. My colleagues also performed Pink Floyd\u2019s \u2018Wish You Were Here\u2019, my students put on a performance of part of Euripides\u2019 Trojan Women<\/em>, and I was given a ritual presentation of a real live wreath made out of bay leaves.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Were you taught by Prof. Goff or studied in the Classics Department? We\u2019d love to hear your memories \u2013 please get in touch at alumni@reading.ac.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Classics Department at the University of Reading has been a resident of the Edith Morley building (previously HumSS) for decades. Today we look back at how the Department has changed over the years as we mark the retirement of recent Co-Head of Department, Professor Barbara Goff. Barbara has worked in the Classics Department since […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":11668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[185,195,63],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nClassics: Past And Future - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We look back at how the Classics Department has changed over the years, as we mark Professor Barbara Goff's retirement.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2023\/10\/05\/classics-past-and-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Classics: Past And Future - Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We look back at how the Classics Department has changed over the years, as we mark Professor Barbara Goff's retirement.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2023\/10\/05\/classics-past-and-future\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-05T13:13:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-05T15:05:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2023\/10\/shutterstock_image-2023-10-05T125634.430.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"juliasmalley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"juliasmalley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2023\/10\/05\/classics-past-and-future\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2023\/10\/05\/classics-past-and-future\/\",\"name\":\"Classics: Past And Future - 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