Hello, and welcome to The Rostra.
This is an exciting new space for young classicists, archaeologists and ancient historians to come together, and share their passion. Building from Classics for All’s mission to bring the ancient world into state schools, we want to provide classicists with an accessible platform to explore their relationship to this dear subject. Everyone has their own personal classics journey. We want to hear yours!
Before I discuss submissions, let me introduce myself. I’m Luke, the student editor for The Rostra, and I’m from sunny Blackpool. My classics adventure began on childhood holidays to Roman baths and ruins in Wales and Lancashire, but I didn’t have an opportunity to study classics properly until I went to Blackpool Sixth Form. My A-level experience launched me into a degree in Ancient and Modern History at Oxford, and now I’m taking on a master's in Medieval History! During my time at university, I developed a passion for ancient religions and read seminal texts by Polybius, Tacitus, and St Augustine. In my role as editor, I’ll be editing and publishing your submissions, as well as writing some of my own (including my series exploring different types of ancient evidence!)
What kind of things are we looking for? Firstly, we want to hear your personal stories. How did you get into classics? Who, what, and where inspired you? If you’re a sixth former, what excites you about this subject? If you’re a graduate, how has classics shaped you and been useful in your life post-study? We’re especially interested to hear personal stories from underrepresented voices. Let’s face it, classics has a reputation as a subject for elite, white, cis, straight men, but this could not be further from reality. We’d love to hear how classics has spoken to the experience of women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ folk, or members of the disabled or neurodivergent communities. Our name is our mission statement: Classics for All.
At the same time as personal stories, we’d love to publish your exciting writing on the ancient world. Want to share some research into a classical topic or text? Have you got opinions about a classics-related book you’ve read? Are you itching to discuss interesting ideas from a recent class or tutorial? We will be hosting classics-related writing from GCSE students through to university graduates, with the hope of creating a space for vibrant and insightful writing on everything ancient. This space should be perfect to dip your toes into the classical world if you’ve been away, or to find exciting ideas for your university personal statements!
With all this said, you may wonder why we bother writing about classics: after 2,000 years, surely everything has been said? I think the answer is twofold. Firstly, classics is never settled. Like any kind of history, it serves the needs and values of the present. In 2022, we must critically engage with a subject that has such close ties to imperialism and elitism, and question whether an exclusive focus on Rome and Greece is healthy - how can we extend our interests to Egypt, Carthage, Persia, India, China and the wider ancient world? Further, it’s this wide range of perspectives that provides the second imperative for discussing classics: opportunities for empathy. By striving to understand those who lived 2,000 years ago, we can develop the patience and insight needed to understand one another and recognise commonalities, no matter how abundant the differences. This mentality is central to our mission here.
We can’t wait for you to share your ideas, and join our community. Welcome to The Rostra, a place for Classics for All.
Read Luke's first blog post on reconsidering epigraphical evidence here. If you would like to write for our student blog, please email [email protected].