Aeneas in the Antipodes offers an Australian perspective on the teaching of Virgil�s poetry in the secondary school. The study examines practices in the State of New South Wales from 1900 to the early years of the twenty-first century. The changing role of Latin in the curriculum is traced through a historical account showing the factors which caused a decline in the status and popularity of the subject from the beginning of the century to the 1970s. This decline, not confined to Australia, stimulated the introduction of new teaching methods with different emphases which were, to some extent, successful in preserving Latin from extinction in schools. Against this background of change, Virgil remained the Latin author most frequently studied in the final year of school. Because this poetry was so consistently prescribed for public examinations, a detailed investigation is made of the questions set and of the examiners� comments on candidates� performance, as evidence of changes in expectations and hence, in teaching methods. The influence of trends in Virgilian scholarship is assessed by means of a review of all the officially recommended commentaries and secondary works. The growth of literary criticism from the 1960s is shown to have had a marked effect on syllabuses and examinations, and consequently on the approach taken in the classroom. The role of local professional organizations in supporting the teaching of Virgil has been documented, showing how the disappearance of official support for Latin teaching was to some extent counterbalanced by an increase in voluntary effort. The resources and methods used to introduce Virgil to comparative beginners are classified and reviewed. An assessment is also offered of approaches made to teaching Virgil in English at both junior and senior secondary levels. The final chapter reviews the changes brought about since 2000. Current teaching practices are documented through classroom observations and teacher surveys, substantiating the impression that while most students at the beginning of the twenty-first century are less prepared than their predecessors to translate Virgil independently, they are expected to attempt a far more sophisticated analysis of the literary features Note: For appendix 3-10 please see hardcopy edition.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/283142 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Matters, Emily Helene |
| Publisher | University of Sydney. Classics and Ancient History |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English, en_AU |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Matters, Emily Helene;http://www.library.usyd.edu.au/copyright.html |
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