Think of the Children: Reflections on Reception of the Classical World

Mon. Jun. 7, 2021

“Think of the Children! The Reception of the Ancient World in Children’s Media” was the Women’s Classical Caucus panel at the most recent Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)/Society for Classical Studies (SCS) meeting. Dr. Melissa Funke and Dr. Victoria Austen, co-organizers, conceived of this panel as a far-reaching conversation about how children have historically engaged with ancient Greece and Rome and how they continue to do so today. In choosing the papers for this panel, they had two primary concerns in mind: to think about how various media use ancient Greek and Roman material for education and play alike, and to use girlhood as a lens to reconsider reception in those media. While more traditional forms of literature, such as storybooks and poetry, were featured as an important aspect of this conversation, the presenters also addressed these issues in primary textbooks, video games, and web comics.

To learn more about the panel, read the SCS blog entry or see Dr. Austen's live-tweet thread from the event