This was a two-day event with three keynote speakers (Professor Rachel Barney from the University of Toronto, Professor Kofi Ackah from the University of Ghana, and Professor Dan Orrells from Kings College London), various panels to integrate the 41 papers, and 106 participants. It began with a panel involving high ranking officials from the University of Ghana: the Provost of the College of Humanities, Professor Joseph Awetori Yaro; the Dean of the School of Arts, Professor Wazi Apoh; and the Head of Department of Philosophy and Classics, Dr Richmond Kwesi. This showed the level of support at all levels of the university for the work being done by the Classical Association of Ghana to foster a vibrant and international Classics community.
The conference was remarkable for its collaborative vitality. Participants of all ‘ranks and levels’ engaged in an open, receptive, intellectually rigorous, and warm and supportive manner. The conference delivered a vivid sense of which classical topics are of interest currently in a range of African countries, including: Roman history, ancient Greek philosophy, Greek drama, Latin literature, Greek history, the history of Classics in Malawi, the history of Classics in Ghana, the Romans in North Africa, Africa’s Classical World and Classical Reception.
In a Question and Answer session, Pete, Gemma and Andrew then answered questions such as:
Distinctive approaches included an emphasis on relevance and comparative studies. There were a number of papers that used Classics to address Ghana’s contemporary political challenges (issues of leadership, public sector corruption, democracy and law). Comparative approaches included putting into dialogue Ghanaian philosophers (such as Wiredu and Nkrumah) with Plato, the legal framework of Ghana with Livy and Cicero, traditional African religiosity with Greek tragedy, and Brazilian speech performance which uses Classical stories to bridge indigenous culture with contemporary realities.
Ghana remains the only country in West Africa where Classics is studied in two public universities (the University of Ghana since 1948, and the University of Cape Coast since 1963). Developing connections with Ghana promises to open up new possibilities for research and teaching in our discipline: in the UK, we need to invest in more and better intercultural dialogue – appreciating new and distinctive approaches to the subject from our Ghanaian colleagues promises to fuel new research avenues and to diversify the discipline; to that end, we need to investigate mechanisms for widening access for African students and to start collaborations with colleagues beyond borders.
The Classical Association of Ghana plays a vital role in promoting and preserving the study of Classics in Ghana. Its members are passionate about the growth and promotion of classical studies, fostering academic research, organizing educational events, and supporting the teaching of Latin and Greek. They welcome further international collaborations to build on the strength of this recent conference.
Michael Okyere Asante, member of the organising committee for this conference said:
“This collaboration with the Faculty of Classics at Cambridge and their Classics Beyond Borders initiative has opened avenues for a renewed interest in the discipline of Classics across all institutional levels at the University of Ghana. We now need to consolidate the energy and interest this conference has generated and expand our networks more widely. To this end, we invite colleagues from the UK to establish relationships with students and colleagues in Africa”.
Dr. Richmond Kwesi, the Head of the Department of Philosophy and Classics added the following:
“Our department aims at pursuing research that advances the development of humanity and society through critical analysis, reflection, and understanding of our historical, existential, and intellectual experiences. We want to make our department the hub for African Classics and Classics in Africa, which should lead to the establishment of an African Centre for Classical Studies. We are interested in three broad kinds of collaborative enterprises: (i) jointly hosting series of events, workshops, conferences; (ii) fostering a relationship involving staff and student mobility; and (iii) research collaborations, and joint projects and publications”.
For further details, please contact Richmond Kwesi as HOD: rkwesi@ug.edu.gh
