The ‘21st Century Classicist’ competition, run by the Department of Classical and Archaeological Studies, has been won by Ancient History student Kieran Blewitt.
Undergraduates in archaeology, ancient history, and classics were asked to submit funny or poignant reflections on the Cornavirus situation, using the ancient world as a point of departure, comparison, and reference. This could be in the form of a blog or vlog, short story, photo, video, poem or meme.
Dr Christopher Burden-Strevens, Lecturer in Ancient History and organiser of the competition, said: “Once again our students have been the ones leading the way in showing us that the ancient world holds up a provocative lens to modern times. We’ve been overwhelmed by the creativity and originality of our Classical and Archaeological Studies students in sending us so many poignant, thought-provoking, and witty responses to Covid-19 and lockdown. The ‘21st Century Classicist Competition’ is the first of its kind that we’ve run and we can’t wait to do it again.”
He added: “This has been a fantastic opportunity for our students to use their individual skills—in video-editing, manipulating language, painting, photography, the list goes on—and to combine those skills with everything they have learned in Classics, Archaeology, and Ancient History over the past few years. The ancient Greek historian Polybius really was right: there is no better guide to the present than a knowledge of the past.”