Review of Teaching Classics Worldwide, by Rosa María Mariño Sánchez-Elvira Spanish Society of Classical Studies in CLASSICA BOLIVIANA: Revista de la Sociedad Boliviana de Estudios ClásicosNúmero XIV.

Review — English Translation

Steven Hunt & John Bulwer (eds.), Teaching Classics Worldwide. Successes, Challenges and Developments, London / New York / Oxford / Delhi / Sydney, Bloomsbury Academic, 2025, XII+468 pp.

We are presented with a book whose title promises to give readers information about the current state of Classics teaching not only in the territories where its history developed historically and geographically—that is, parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa—but across the entire world. It also attends, where relevant, to successes achieved, advances made, and challenges that must be faced so that the teaching of the languages, literatures, and cultures of ancient Greece and Rome may emerge strengthened in times of crisis, or at least avoid disappearing altogether for political, social, economic, or various combined reasons, not always justified.

The aim of providing a broad overview of the topic has been achieved with great success and is very welcome. The editors, Steve Hunt, lecturer in the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, and John Bulwer, who, in addition to teaching at the European Schools of Bergen and Brussels, served as president of Euroclassica (the European Federation of Associations of Teachers of Classical Languages and Civilizations) from 2015 to 2019, have succeeded in bringing together a vast number of contributors—teachers, researchers, or members of classical studies societies—who describe the situation in more than sixty countries (using “country” in a broad sense) across five continents. They themselves complete the panorama for some of the remaining territories, attempting to cover as many regions as possible (there are even references to Latin on the Moon, p. 342, and in Antarctica, p. 360), as well as teaching that transcends national borders, such as international schools (pp. 450–452) and informal or online instruction (pp. 452–464).

Although the book is aimed at a varied readership (practising teachers, historians of education, researchers in different disciplines, and educational or political decision-makers), it is especially relevant for those who teach Greek and Latin at pre-university levels in many countries across all continents. These teachers often find themselves compelled to highlight the resonance and survival of classical languages and cultures in the modern world, defend their place in curricula, and answer the frequent question of what they are “for”—even though seeking utility only in direct and immediate benefits is precisely the error against which the prematurely deceased Nuccio Ordine warned us in The Usefulness of the Useless (Spanish translation, Acantilado, 2013). Teaching Classics Worldwide offers some of the answers that appear throughout the book already from its cover, which features a striking image of a Māori leader and priest, Titokowaru, conversing with Socrates. The New Zealand artist Marian Maguire anticipated by a decade the two bronze statues created during the pandemic by the Chinese sculptor Wu Weishan, depicting another impossible encounter between the same Greek philosopher and Confucius, installed since 2021 in the Ancient Agora of Athens. It is undeniable that the classical world has survived beyond its original spatial and temporal boundaries, and that dialogue with it remains fruitful even more than 17,000 km from its origins and well into the twenty-first century.

The book is organised into five parts corresponding to geographical regions (Europe and Russia; the Americas; Australasia; the Middle East and Asia; Africa), plus a sixth section covering international schools and informal or online teaching. It contains 68 chapters (each rich in references) authored by contributors from Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Canada, the United States, Hawaii, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Israel, Japan, Kurdistan (Iraq), Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Nigeria, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Steven Hunt and/or John Bulwer also authored the introduction and the chapters expanding on each regional section, as well as those on informal and online teaching (Hunt) and international and European schools (Bulwer).

Although the editors initially expected contributors to focus on aspects such as school organisation and enrolment data, curricula, methodologies, assessment systems, available resources, and teacher training and recruitment at secondary level, many chapters also offer extensive discussions of the situation at primary or university level. We also find reflections on the aims that guided classical teaching in the past (for example, in Bolivia, pp. 309–316) and those that shape its presence—or justify its absence—today, that is, the educational policies of each country, which faithfully reflect what education means for its citizens and are, in our field, the subject of lively debate.

The editors highlight the now-confirmed fact that the study and knowledge of classical languages, literatures, and cultures are far more widespread than one might initially assume. It is no surprise to find that there are many ways of approaching them, depending on whether the context is formal or informal education: in formal settings, mainly through linguistic study or literature in translation, art, or mythology; in informal settings, through film, television, theatre, music, and other forms of popular or subcultural expression that are gaining ground, such as manga and Korean K-pop with followers worldwide (p. 398), podcasts, YouTube videos, TikTok, etc. (p. 454). Nor is it surprising that the motivations for such engagement vary widely, some seemingly simple—such as the mere pleasure of learning more about birds and flowers (p. 64)—but no less valuable than those of facilitating the study of modern languages, reflecting on one’s own language and improving its use, or understanding the foundations of Western culture. Clearly, knowing Latin and Greek allows direct access to everything that requires knowledge of Latin and Greek. But it is highly advisable that readers not limit themselves to the pages devoted to their own country or immediate neighbours. The journey around the world will be enjoyable and, thanks to the work of editors and contributors, often surprising and inspiring.

Teaching Classics Worldwide contains many observations that invite teachers—whether innovative or traditional—to reflect on numerous issues: which content is most appropriate for introducing Classics in primary school and continuing in secondary school and/or upper secondary and even university; what kind of collaboration should exist between these levels so that as many young people as possible retain positive memories of their Latin or Greek studies and wish to continue them (it seems clear that universities should not view school teaching solely as preparation for future classical philologists); which methodologies or practices may lead to better results and increased enrolment; Latin and Greek pronunciation; the desirability and extent of speaking Latin and Greek in class; training in grammar–translation or reading–comprehension; whether and how to use dictionaries, in print or online; how much emphasis to place on cultural versus linguistic content; what books, materials, and resources are available to teachers in each country; traditional or innovative certification exams and how they influence what is taught; extracurricular activities; and the possibilities opened by technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, or generative artificial intelligence, which young people use even at home, as well as the effects of social media with its constant stream of opinions.

While reading the book, teachers will likely feel more strongly part of a broad, lively, and highly resilient global community—especially regarding Greek, which, according to many contributors, risks being reduced within a few decades to the university sphere, even in Greece and Cyprus. Latin study, by contrast, is widespread (only in China is Greek more popular), to the point that the editors dare to call it a “world language” rather than the much-invoked “dead language” of the media (p. 1). Chapter by chapter, readers will see that many teachers, universities, and associations in various countries are implementing innovative initiatives (modernising curricula and teaching materials, offering flexible schedules, expanding into new curricular areas, organising extracurricular activities in museums and archaeological sites) to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances and, as the editors say, improve and return, metamorphosed, in new forms (p. 4).

The volume reveals recurring themes across many educational systems (we cannot cite them all, so we provide only a few examples and refer readers to the very useful thematic and name index at the end of the book). One widespread difficulty is attracting and retaining students, due to the persistent and widespread idea that classical subjects are less useful for earning a living than STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), which enjoy the favour of educational policies in most countries and render Greek in particular a subject of very low or nonexistent demand, not worth investing in (p. 467). Some social prejudices also persist, working against support for classical languages in schools: that they are outdated and useless (even in Greece and Italy); elitist (in the UK, Portugal, Georgia, or Austria, for example); that they teach and perpetuate values associated with the Catholic Church (in some countries they can be studied only or almost exclusively in Catholic schools [p. 465]); that politically they are right-wing because right-wing governments favour them more than left-wing ones (in Greece and Spain, for instance); or that they were used as ideological support for Western imperialism, colonial oppression, and white supremacy (in former Soviet countries, Kurdistan, Syria, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, etc.).

Regarding the teaching profession, there is a growing difficulty in finding specialist teachers, especially of Greek, to teach at pre-university levels in many countries or territories—either because it is difficult to train and keep them up to date (sometimes possible only by studying abroad, as in admirable Iceland), because teachers cannot obtain acceptable working conditions (in North Macedonia, for example, only 10% of classical philologists work in education), or simply because of a lack of generational renewal, a trend even in countries where there has traditionally been no shortage of teachers (France, Spain, Romania, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Portugal, Canada…). At university level, many countries report a worrying decline in student numbers (the Czech Republic, Venezuela, and South Africa, among others), which also reduces the potential pool of future school teachers. Thus, while contributors from some countries are very optimistic about the future (Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, China, Australia) or perceive growing interest (Lithuania, Ivory Coast, Nigeria), others describe a complicated situation, with very low or nonexistent demand for Greek and sometimes Latin (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Portugal, New Zealand, Slovenia, Hawaii, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Peru…). Even in Italy, the country where Latin is most widely studied in schools, there is concern about the progressive reduction of Latin and Greek class hours (p. 118). The challenge for classicists is therefore twofold, and the book invites us to both maintain and advance.

What valid possibilities exist for learning Latin and Greek for those who cannot—or do not wish to, for personal reasons—access formal instruction in schools and universities? Turning to informal learning (very popular in Japan or the United States, for example, and which need not abandon interpersonal relationships between teachers and learners) or online learning. Both types allow the use of innovative methods, as they are not tied to traditional exam formats, and have become a solid option for those who do not need certificates or degrees in Classics: universities for older learners, clubs, summer schools, charitable organisations such as Classics for All (based in the UK), Elliniki Agogi (based in Greece), apps like Duolingo, or websites like Latinitium, to name only a few. Steve Hunt is right: the internet has democratised Classics (p. 454). For this reason, we must continue experimenting and evaluating the possibilities offered by rapidly developing technologies, ensure the quality of the resources created with them, and assess their outcomes.

Rosa María Mariño Sánchez-Elvira Spanish Society of Classical Studies