This Spring, more than 450 of us came together in person and online from across the classics community for the UK’s largest classics conference – our very own annual CA Conference, which was hosted at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Classics and Sidgwick Site from 21-23 April.
It was a pleasure to welcome academics, teachers, students, publishers and booksellers, branch members, competition entrants and friends from across the world to this international event and particularly to see many familiar and friendly faces from the CA’s recent past who joined us to celebrate our 120th Anniversary, including several former Presidents, Prizewinners and Officers. There was a huge range of papers and panels delivered and you can browse the full brochure here (which may help inspire you when thinking about CA 2024!).
A key part of our remit is our professional development and outreach work with teachers, students and other organisations and it was brilliant to see this echoed in a record number of pedagogy panels and papers sharing innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning. Teachers also came together for a networking reception in the Museum of Classical Archaeology, and excellent professional practice was recognised with the awarding of the CA Teaching Awards, in partnership with Bloomsbury Publishing. Congratulations to this year’s worthy winners: Peter Swallow, Mireya Gonzalez Rodriguez, David Hogg, Sian Squire, David Midgley and Zoë Boland.
On Friday, committee members from seven of our regional branches and from the Classical Association of Scotland enjoyed lunch and the chance to swap stories and ideas about how local classics groups flourish. Professor Caroline Vout, Director of the Museum of Classical Archaeology, opened the conference with an excellent keynote entitled ‘Firing the canon: Greek and Roman art illuminated’, and we were treated to an inspiring talk by former CA Prizewinner Natalie Haynes after the première of the CA’s Anniversary Film at the Fitzwilliam Museum. This Film captures who we are, what we do (and have done) and our clear mission for the future – do give it a watch and join us to fulfil our mission!
We were proud to host the Virtual Reality Oracle Team who gave a keynote presentation on Saturday morning before offering immersive experiences to all conference-goers, showing varied accessibility on headsets, tablets, laptops, and phones. The oracle of Zeus responded to over 90 visitors, and the feedback was terrific. To learn more about the project, access the teaching resources, and/or download the VRO for yourself and use it in a classroom or research setting, visit the VRO’s website.
On Saturday evening, we had the highlight of our academic programme – the Presidential Address delivered by Prof. MM McCabe, who incisively explored both ancient and modern conceptions of ethical behaviour and the intrinsic difficulty in determining what ‘Being Wrong’ actually means – before 150 of us headed across the road to Newnham College for a reception and the Conference Dinner. Here we awarded the prestigious 2023 CA Prize to Prof. Edith Hall for her indefatigable commitment to outreach and inclusivity, alongside her outstanding academic portfolio, and we also thanked the CA’s outgoing Treasurer, Philip Hooker, who has calmly steered our financial ship for more than twenty years.
On Sunday, Prof. Tim Whitmarsh, the new Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, gave the final keynote address, with a very thought-provoking take on Classics in the 2020s, and the winners of our Photography Competition were invited to the Museum of Classical Archaeology to view our special exhibition (which you can browse here) and receive their prizes from MM McCabe, whilst the final panel sessions took place.
Our thanks to all who attended the Conference and everyone whose hard work helped make the Conference happen! Special thanks to the Cambridge organising committee (especially Jess, Grant, Chris, James and Matt), student volunteers so ably led by Patrick, Domi and Cecily, photographers Zoe and Dalia, Suzanne and the MOCA team, Nigel, Tony, Kate and all facilitators as well as our hosts at the Fitzwilliam Museum and Newnham College.
We do hope you would like to come along to next year’s conference, whether to contribute to the sessions or to be an audience member and enjoy all of the other activities, keynotes, socials and interactive elements that we’re so looking forward to organising for you, with our hosts at the University of Warwick. The call for contributions is open until 31st August so do read our information here and you may like to watch this short clip which explains all of the different sessions that are on offer – from workshops to lightning talks!
The conference will take place from Friday 22-Sunday 24 March at Warwick’s central campus (Oculus and new award-winning Faculty of Arts Buildings), close to the centre of Coventry, with its excellent rail, bus, and road transport links. University accommodation will be available for booking on campus and delegates are also welcome to make their own arrangements for off campus accommodation in Coventry, Kenilworth, or Leamington Spa. More detailed information about practical issues will be distributed when the programme is finalised in September but if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at engagement@classicalassociation.org.
