Historical Biases on the Figure of Romulus

The story of Romulus is the founding myth of Rome. With its divine influences, the myth established Rome as a legitimate and powerful city that was destined to grow into an empire. Because the myth first spread orally in ancient times and was only written down much later, many specific details are vague. Historical authors with both personal and political agendas took advantage of the lack of specificity to promote their philosophies and campaigns. Each used his interpretation of Romulus’ words and actions as a blueprint for how Rome should be governed. Comparing each author’s individual accounts of Romulus enables us to see not only how, but why the myth of Romulus has changed over time, helping us appreciate the purpose of mythology and its impact on the development of civilizations over time. This presentation will trace the changes made to the Romulus myth by authors across different eras, connecting changes in their interpretation of the myth with contemporary socio-political contexts to reveal motivating agendas behind each account of the founder of Rome.

Vaishnavi (Vivi) Sankar

Vaishnavi (Vivi) Sankar is a senior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School.  Vivi loves classics, is a published author, and in addition to taking Latin classes since freshman year, she is a leader of her school's Latin Club. She studied Ancient Greece and Rome at UChicago, Tufts University, and the Paideia Institute. She has received the Illinois Seal of Biliteracy in Latin. Vivi volunteers with the Paideia Institute, and through her Marvelous Myths program, she hopes to share her interest in classics with underserved students in her community who do not have access to Latin classes through their schools. She advocates and volunteers to help improve equity in education through her programs. She also advocates for nutrition, well-being, and mental health through her involvement with her local library.

Architectural Style: Trendy and/or Time-honored?

This presentation will discuss similarities between the architecture of New York City and that of Ancient Rome, considering arches, specifically, the Washington Square Arch in NYC and the Arch of Constantine in Rome.

Imaan Ansari

Imaan Ansari is a high school Sophomore at Trinity in New York City. She has been learning Latin and Spanish for five years and enjoys reading, interpreting, and discussing literature in different languages. Imaan is also fluent in Hindi and Urdu. She is interested in the role of women and people of color in the classical world and seeks to promote access to the classics, since, for her, studying Latin and Greco-Roman culture have illuminated many connections between our past histories and our modern world. 

Early Latin Learning: Why Choice of Textbook Matters

Although learning Latin can be challenging, this challenge can be affected either positively or negatively by the choice of early Latin textbook. Jake will present his findings from a meeting he had with Mr. Nosonowitz, current classics teacher at Riverdale Country School, about the thought process and factors that affect which early Latin textbook is chosen for entry-level classes.

Jake Craner

Jake Craner is an 11th Grader at Riverdale Country School. He is a classicist who has taken Latin since 6th grade, and Ancient Greek since 10th grade. Jake deeply cares about equity in the classics. Jake has created his own Latin curriculum, Carpe Diem Classics, which he currently teaches to middle schoolers at 2 sites around the New York City area. Outside of classics, Jake loves watching his favorite basketball team, the Boston Celtics, as well as playing squash and solving crossword puzzles.

Roman Economics and Monetary Policy

As one of the most prominent empires, Rome also had an economic backbone built off trade, slaves, and grain. Sam’s research delves into analyzing how economics played a role in Rome's collapse; one way he did this was correlating inflation of Roman currency with the military, in particular, soldiers' wages. Sam also analyzed broad and specific monetary policies that contributed to economic and social failure, resulting in long term decline and skyrocketing inflation. In this presentation, you will learn about economic policies, failures, and economic theories that underpin a broad relation between economics and state failure.

Sam Chen

Sam Chen is a student at Boston Latin School in Massachusetts. He has been involved in the classics since the 8th grade as a member of the Junior Classical League and an attendee of national and state conventions. He is also the editor in chief of the Paws Romana, a classics dedicated newsletter in the BLS JCL chapter and worked on publishing an independent paper about Roman Economics featured in the National Committee for Latin and Greek. Outside of the classics, Sam is a nationally ranked debater, featured journalist, and huge basketball enthusiast.

Philosophy and Morality in Plato's Gorgias

In this presentation, Avery will analyze Plato's use of dialogue, narrative, foreshadowing, etc. in Gorgias to convey Socrates' (the main voice) contentious philosophical and moral views, and connect this examination to the present day.

Avery Wicker

Avery Wicker is a rising senior at Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Avery became interested in the classics at an early age, growing up around Mardi Gras parades and street signs paying tribute to the ancient world.  She plans to major in classics and hopefully teach at the college level. She has tutored a Ukrainian student through a non-profit that brings cultural opportunities to Americans and Ukrainians in an academic setting.  This summer, Avery will study Plato's Meno and Apology through St. John's College and attend the Notre Dame Leadership Seminar. She also plans to continue volunteering through the Paideia Institute to make Latin more accessible to children of all backgrounds. In addition to these interests, Avery is a member of her varsity tennis team.

An Interview with Cindy Calder of Calder Classics

An interview with Cindy Calder, the founder of Calder Classics, an educational institute that offers customized learning experiences regarding the classics. The interview will touch upon the importance of classics education and how Ms. Calder approaches her studies and teaching in order to ensure that this opportunity is open to an increasing variety of students.

Caroline Pantzer

Caroline is in the tenth grade at Trinity School in New York City. She has taken Latin for five years and Greek for one. Learning in these classes has opened up her mind and helped her realize the lasting impact these languages have had on our world today. She presented at last year’s Classics Continuum and is a member of this year’s committee.

"In natura nomen non mihi est"

Rustom will recite a Latin poem he has composed, "In natura nomen non mihi est", and then read the English translation.

Rustom Malhotra

Rustom Malhotra is a junior at the Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, California. Rustom is an avid enthusiast of anthropology and the classics, and is a member of Venture leadership team at Harvard-Westlake. Outside of school, Rustom participates on a competitive rock climbing team and also enjoys tutoring through a local nonprofit organization. In his free time, Rustom loves to boulder outdoors, write poetry, and play the piano.

Pixelia’s Avaricum

Pixelia Publishing is a non-profit organization that creates open-access educational resources, led by instructors from Stanford Online High School. This year, Magister John Lanier and his students created a student edition of the first 28 chapters of Book 7 of Caesar’s Gallic Wars, titled Avaricum, complete with extensive context, vocabulary, and in-page explanatory notes. The finished volume will be available in June 2023.

Elizabeth Cross, Katherine Cross, & Peter Olmeda

Elizabeth, Katherine, and Peter are students in their final year of the Latin curriculum at Stanford Online High School. They have been working closely together since August to edit and finalize the Avaricum volume.

Katherine Cross is a drummer, writer, and amateur astronomer in her fourth year of Latin, who will be heading to university in the fall to study international relations.

Her twin sister, Elizabeth, is a guitarist, songwriter, and film enthusiast in her fifth year of Latin; in the fall, she has plans to major in neuroscience and psychology.

Peter Olmeda is a cellist, writer, and F1 enthusiast with an interest in science. He is a junior finishing his second year of Latin at Stanford Online High School.

In the spring, all three have also been enjoying a comprehensive study of Roman magic and religion in poetry.

St. Augustine’s Confessions, Educational Equity, and the Value of Classical Studies

The presentation explores the accessibility, inclusion, and equity of education—especially classics education—through the prism of St. Augustine’s philosophy. In his Confessions, St. Augustine not only struggles with a philosophical understanding of knowledge and faith, but also offers surprisingly modern arguments about the importance of educational opportunities. St. Augustine believed that all people should have a chance to learn, as education leads to not only the opening of one’s mind but, ultimately, to happiness. The presentation will draw parallels between St. Augustine’s ideas and modern arguments about the value of making classics accessible and inclusive in contemporary educational systems, ultimately using St. Augustine’s progressive views to highlight the importance of studying classics.

Joshua Meshechok

Joshua is a sophomore at Portledge School in Locust Valley, NY. His interest in classics grew out of his middle-school Latin course and flourished when he took Intensive Latin at CUNY’s Latin/Greek Institute. During the past year, he has studied Latin and classical mythology through the Harvard Continuous Education Program and the Paideia Institute. Joshua is also passionate about educational equity and has served as a tutor for underserved students in several NYC public schools. Ultimately, Joshua hopes to combine his passion for classics with his dedication to expanding educational resources by making the study of ancient Greece and Rome more accessible to students in his community. In his spare time, Joshua loves to paint, cook obscure recipes, and listen to his collection of vinyls. 

Etymo-Bits: The Bite-Sized Study of Truth

“Etymology” is derived from the Greek word “ἔτῠμος” (“étumos”), meaning “true”, and the suffix “-λογῐ́ᾱ” (“-logíā”), meaning “study of”. As their name suggests, etymologists study the truth behind our language. Why are our words the way they are? Together we will journey through this marvelous world of roots and derivatives, and explore the truth of our words.

Joseph Giambrone

Joe Giambrone is a graduating senior at Northside College Preparatory High School in Chicago, IL. He has taken Latin since kindergarten, including AP Latin last year and H Latin V this year. Joe has attended seven Illinois Junior Classical League (ILJCL) conventions, and is attending his sixth National Junior Classical League (NJCL) convention this July. He has previously served as the ILJCL State Parliamentarian, and is the current NJCL National Parliamentarian. He has also served as Parliamentarian and President of his school's Latin Club Board. As captain of his school's and state's advanced Certamen teams, Joe specializes in Latin language. His passion for etymology grew from studying Latin grammar and vocabulary. As an invited speaker, Joe has presented about etymology at the past two ILJCL conventions. This fall, he will be studying Mathematics at the California Institute of Technology.

Pluck the Day: Changing Translations

In this presentation, Lucy will explore how Latin is alive and evolving, living through modern translations, which can change based on our native language and modern culture. Translating Latin, or any language, despite how long ago it was written, isn't always precise. We can find our own meanings, even if not written in textbooks. Latin is kept alive by our ever-changing translations and interpretations, and is not quite as "dead" or "ancient" as some might think.

Lucy Bland

Lucy Bland is a sophomore at the Chapin School in New York. Her stepfather is a classics professor, and traveling with him and the rest of her family sparked her interest in the field. Her other interests include art and illustration, her school's ethics team, tech theater, and basketball (both playing and watching).

Feminine Focus: Listening to Eurydice

Something that has long plagued both our modern society as well as ancient civilizations is the lack of the female perspective in many realms including: business, medicine, government and the arts. It is interesting to imagine  how drastically some of our most famed ancient myths may have been altered if the female voice hadn't been subjugated by the male. The beloved myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is a prime example of a story in need of a feminine perspective! Throughout this presentation we will explore the alternate outcomes that may have resulted if Eurydice's point of view had been valued and considered.

Kate Cooney

Kate Cooney is a junior at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, NY. She has studied Latin and classical culture since seventh grade, and is interested in the representation of women in the classics, and how that representation has and continues to influence our culture and literature today. Kate is the co-founder of Cooney Classics, presented at last year’s conference, and is on this year’s committee. She also plays for the Kellenberg Varsity Soccer team.

 Caroline

Caroline is in the 10th grade at Trinity School in New York City. She has taken Latin for five years and Greek for one. She presented at last year’s Classics Continuum and is interested in the lasting impact these languages have had on our world today.

Theo

Theo Schulhof is a sophomore at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He has been studying Latin since eighth grade, firstly at Collegiate, and now at Deerfield. Theo sees Latin as a secret language hiding underneath English–and believes that understanding Latin gives you a better grasp of both English and the world we live in today.