I was impressed. I picked up a copy of Quid Novi?, the four page brochure for schools, and liked the Editorial with its robust defence of the Classics and its news of expansion in the department. I hope that Royal Holloway won't mind my reproducing it here.
The Classics department web site has a good page of information for schools (but hey there, webmaster, it needs updating please!), and a pdf version of a 12 page booklet with big photos and lots of information on applying.Education, education, education:
Three years running a Classics Department
A former Secretary of State for the present government claimed not to be exercised by Classics. Classics, we are told, is of no use in the market place. Train the students for the modern world. What use is a degree in Classics? In the market-driven world of education, Classics booms nationally. In our Department, we have watched undergraduate numbers almost triple in three years. MA applications are higher than ever and we hope for at least twice as many students as three years ago. Research student numbers grow steadily and now stand at more than 25. The number of academic staff has risen from 10 three years ago to 13 or 14 by the end of this year. We have two new Research Assistants, soon to be three. Funding bodies have given us £800,000 in grants for numerous research projects. Why is this? Hollywood has caught Classics and Gladiator has been followed by Alexander, by Troy, Alexander will come again, and Hannibal threatens the Alps.
But a degree in Classics is not entertainment. Let me bore you with my theory. In a world which changes so fast, no-one can predict the skills and knowledge that will prove crucial to our lives. But we look for solid virtues, to the skills necessary to understand a world that has influenced ours, but was so different. Our students learn to read critically, to analyse, to view our world differently, but also to understand those who viewed the world in a different way. In my three years as Head of Department, my greatest pleasure has been helping our students develop those skills and understand better the world around them. This is not training, but education, and if education really was valued, then the virtues of Classics would be being sung from the rooftops of every education centre in the land.
Richard Alston
By the way, the web site says that there are still places for this October, with a requirement of ABB.
