Event Description
Abigail Palmer: Faelan and the Miracle Machines
Teaching Latin and ancient history can be a challenging enterprise, but need it be a chore for both teacher and student? These subjects are often characterized as arcane or irrelevant; one look at the actual ancient world, however, can dispel these labels. The Classical world contains a wide variety of events that seem to defy natural or human limitations and continues to upend our preconceptions about the capabilities of the ancients. The key to student engagement with antiquity is in the teaching.
In this lecture I will discuss the idea of teaching history as a story, one that makes use of the astounding and real events that happened in the ancient world. The development of my Ancient Humanities course has taken years and requires constant refinement, but the fruits of this work have been well worth the hours of planning and re-evaluation. The fruits of history as a story include greater student engagement and renewed enjoyment for the teacher. Who doesn’t love to tell a great story to a willing audience? Who doesn’t love to tell that story over and over, making it better every time?
From the stories I tell and the stories that others have developed in the Montessori curriculum, I discovered ancient Alexandria. That ancient city was practically a footnote in my high school, college and graduate educations. Yet this fascinating place became the inspiration and primary setting for my first novel, Faelan and the Miracle Machines. The second half of my talk will discuss the outline of the novel, the city of Alexandria and its people, and the machines that inspired Heron’s ancient audience and continue to captivate my modern students.
N.B. - You can view a recording of this, and other past events on Paideia's Youtube Channel.
Event Info
Aug 15, 2024 at 01:00 PM - 02:00 PM EDT
Online
Guest Speaker
