Classical Conferences and Meetings in 2015
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NB: Check www.bolchazy.com for conference presentations.
ACL—American Classical League
68th Annual ACL Institute
June 25–28, 2015
University of Connecticut
Storrs, CT
Representatives: Marie and Allan Bolchazy, Laurel Draper, and Donald Sprague
Presentations:
Saturday, June 27—Session 6: 1:00–2:30 pm
"New Spain or New Rome? Hispanic Work in the New World"
Rose Williams, McMurray University, Abilene, Texas—author, Julius Caesar: Master of Surprise, Caesar's Blood: A Greek Tragedy in Roman Life; coauthor, A Caesar Workbook, Caesar: A LEGAMUS Transitional Reader
Sunday, June 28—Session 11: 12:45–2:15 pm
"A Little Lucan Goes a Long Way: The Value of Introducing Lucan's De Bello Civili into the Secondary School Latin Classroom"
Ronnie Ancona, Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center, New York, New York—BC Latin Reader series editor; author, Writing Passion: A Catullus Reader, Horace: Selected Odes and Satire 1.9: 2nd Edition Revised; coauthor, Horace: A LEGAMUS Transitional Reader
Todd Adams, Hunter College, New York, New York
Lilah Terwilliger, Hunter College, New York, New York
John McAlonan, Hunter College, New York, New York
Rama Madhu, Hunter College and The New School, New York, New York
Sarah Penso, Hunter College and SAR High School, New York, New York
Daniel Robinson, Hunter College, New York, New York
NJCL—National Junior Classical League
July 27–August 1, 2015
Trinity University
San Antonio, TX
Representatives: Donald Sprague and Connor Hart
ICC—Illinois Classical Conference
October 2–4, 2015
Monmouth College
Monmouth, IL
Representative: Laurel Draper
CAAS—Classical Association of the Atlantic States
October 8–10, 2015
Hotel DuPont
Wilmington, DE
Representative: Don Sprague
ACTFL—American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages
November 20–22, 2015
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, CA
Representatives: Marie Bolchazy and Allan Bolchazy and Don Sprague
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Do you have B-C titles
on your wish list?
Preorder at conference pricing and no shipping. Place your order by June 12 and pick up your books when you arrive at ACL.
Use this link to access the ACL conference preorder form.
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Orders MUST be picked up at ACL. If you do not pick up your order at the conference, Bolchazy-Carducci will ship your order and charge your credit card for the additional shipping costs.
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This is a hoot!
300 Spartans storm the London underground!
And, another piece on the Spartan surprise!
The first Kentucky Derby was run in 1875—the winner was Aristides.
Modern statue of Julius Caesar at Rimini, Italy. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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ALL the IB Latin in One Place!
We, and especially authors Marianthe Colakis and Yasuko Taoka, have been sedulously working on a tight deadline as we prepare two new books that provide all the prescribed Latin readings with IB appropriate notes and background materials for the IB curriculum with exams beginning in 2016. If you'd like a set of samples from these books, fill out the request form.
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The eyeVocab software leverages human memory for distinctive affective images* presented in isolation to radically improve the speed, depth, and permanence of second language vocabulary acquisition. Images are drawn from classical art, both western and eastern, from photojournalism and historical photography, great book illustration, and other sources.
*Learn how images are chosen.
Far more than a set of electronic flashcards, the multimodal vocabulary program facilitates a significantly deeper learning and retention. Students will readily master the frequent Vergil and Caesar vocabulary for the AP® Latin Exam and thereby devote far more of their study time and energy to reading and discussing De Bello Gallico and the Aeneid.
eyeVocab programs correspond to the following B-C books.
Caesar: Selections from his Commentarii De Bello Gallico
(218 words)
Vergil’s Aeneid: Selected Readings from Books 1, 2, 4, and 6
(162 words)
Vergil’s Aeneid: Books I–VI
(261 words)
eyeVocab for Latin for the New Millennium Level 1
(423 words)
eyeVocab for Latin for the New Millennium Level 2 is forthcoming. Introductory rate for each of the AP® Latin programs is $14.95. The LNM 1 introductory rate is $24.95. For site licenses, contact Miles Becker at sales@eyeVocab.com.
Click on each title to learn more.
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Webinar Schedule TBD
What Equipment Do I Need for B-C Webinars?
To participate in Bolchazy-Carducci Publisher sponsored webinars you will need high-speed internet access, computer speakers/headphones, current web browser, and the link to the webinar virtual meeting space, which is provided in your webinar invitation.
Webinars Make for User-Friendly Professional Development
Participation is free. All webinars provide opportunity for participants to ask questions. Learn lots—attend as many presentations as you can. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers provides documentation for your participation. You can share this with your supervisors. Many webinar presenters provide handouts, etc.
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The Pompeiiana Newsletter created and edited by Bernard Barcio ran from 1974 through 2003. The newsletter offered a place for Latin students to publish comics, stories, games, and articles, and was a beloved resource for Latin teachers. In 2008, Barcio granted Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers the rights for all of the Pompeiiana Newsletter. B-C is proud to serve as curator for this archive and has made the issues available for teachers, students, and friends of the classics. Check out http://pompeiiana.blogspot.com/
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The eTextbook trend is progressing and Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers is adding more eTextbook providers to offer a variety of eBook platforms for users. Currently Bolchazy-Carducci textbooks are available through GooglePlay, MBSDirect Digital, and Chegg. Each eBook platform offers a variety of tools to enhance the learning process. eBooks have the same content as our traditional books in print.
For direct links to purchase Bolchazy-Carducci eTextbooks, visit the title's product page. Just above the product description there is a list of the eTextbook providers and a direct link to purchase the eTextbook.
How do I purchase a B-C eBook?
Simple! When you are browsing through www.Bolchazy.com, any time you see GooglePlay or DirectDigital link, click on the link, and you will automatically be directed to a webpage where you can purchase the eBook.
Can I purchase direct from the distributor?
Yes! If you prefer, you can link directly to our eBook providers’ websites and search by title, by author, or by Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers to locate the title you would like to purchase. The GooglePlay ebooks store offers a preview of the book, including the table of contents and select pages.
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You can read eBooks on a Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Android, or a variety of eReaders.
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All of us at Bolchazy-Carducci wish you and your students well as the school year winds down. And, for some of you, as summer vacation begins or has begun! We’re busy at B-C finalizing new books for their debut at the American Classical League Institute. May I call your attention to the interviews in this issue? Please meet Connor Hart, our latest hire, who brings his social media savvy and creativity to our team. We’re very pleased to offer two titles that meet the curricular requirements for the IB Latin program. In this issue, an interview with Yasuko Taoka, author for the IB volume on history and good living, provides insight into this special project. Again, best wishes! May your summer be restful, restorative, and relaxing. We’ll talk again in July. If you’re coming to ACL, stop by the B-C book display and say hello. And, of course, enter our drawing for some free B-C titles! Have a good idea or speaker for a webinar? Zap it to me!
Donald Sprague
Editor
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A highlight every May for Bolchazy-Carducci is the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies hosted by the Western Michigan University’s Medieval Institute. Assistant editor Laurel Draper joined senior graphic designer Adam Velez and his wife Chris for the 50th Congress held May 14–17 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The trio have become congress veterans and look forward to seeing regular visitors and associates. Chris and Adam, musicians who especially appreciate playing medieval music, enjoy connecting with all things medieval. For Laurel, both the Congress and her service as editor for our latest Hrotswitha title have spurred her interest in medieval Latin. Indeed, this summer she will be taking an online medieval Latin course.
Senior graphic designer Adam Velez and assistant editor Laurel Draper pose proudly at the B-C display at Medieval Congress.
We held a “fishbowl” drawing for a bundle of four books, including Ecclesiastical, Medieval, and Neo-Latin Sentences. The drawing proved a great success, with 55 entries, and many others politely refusing entry, wanting the prize to go to someone who would have more direct use of them. It also helped to draw interest to the books being given away.
Winner of the Medieval Congress book bundle give away, V. M. Roberts smiles for the camera as Laurel Draper shares good wishes.
Laurel and Adam were struck by the many comments they received regarding retirement. They deduce that we are at the junction of another generational turnover in professorship. The Bolchazy-Carducci team extends best wishes to those retiring and a warm welcome and pledge to be of service to those entering the profession. To both groups, we extend a heartfelt ad multos annos!
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Interview with Connor Hart,
Editorial and Social Media Assistant
DES: Give us a little overview of your time with B-C. How long have you been working for B-C? What attracted you to this job? What are your principal responsibilities?
CWH: I started as an intern back in June 2014 and at that time, my responsibilities included proofreading marketing materials such as ads and catalogs, reviewing interactive eBooks, and handling some of the company's social media accounts, such as the blog. Since accepting a full-time position in May 2015 I have also started to handle more of the social media while taking on light proofreading tasks for new books.
DES: What previous work and volunteer experiences have enriched your service at B-C?
CWH: I spent the eight years prior to my internship studying classics, specifically Latin and Greek, at Northampton High School and at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMASS). This period provided me with the foundation favorable for joining a company committed to serving the classics community. While an undergrad at UMASS I tutored students seeking assistance in their Latin classes and spent a summer abroad teaching English in Ecuador and both have offered an enriched academic experience, providing me with an educator’s perspective.
DES: What are your favorite off-the-job activities?
CWH: I have become a regular at some of the area’s bars and cafes, performing—playing the guitar—at open mics. It is also common to find me on a basketball court at any given time.
DES: What do you enjoy most about your work at B-C?
CWH: My coworkers. As with any circumstance, it can be hard to adjust to a new location, especially when everyone is a stranger. Such was not the case at B-C though, and I have really enjoyed working with my colleagues. They have helped make my transition to the office and to Illinois smoother than I could have hoped for, helping me with all work-related issues and offering assistance whenever possible to problems not pertaining to the office.
DES: Is there a special anecdote about your time so far at B-C that you’d like to share?
CWH: Back in March I managed a little competition, Martia Dementia. For a while I was receiving anywhere between five and 25 emails daily, many from teachers and professors but just as many from students. Many of the students would write their emails, or at least sign off, in Latin. In their emails the students would address me as “Mr. Hart.” The former I found amusing while the latter took some adjusting to get used to.
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Interview with Yasuko Taoka
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Yasuko Takao, author
Lectiones Memorabiles, Volume II: Selections from Horace, Lucretius, Seneca, Suetonius, and Tacitus
DES: Bolchazy-Carducci chose to divide the IB Latin curriculum for exams in 2016, 2017, and 2018 into two volumes. Why did the volume that includes history and philosophy appeal to you? YT: I was particularly interested to work on the philosophical texts. I think philosophy can seem very academic and irrelevant at first, but I find that Roman philosophy has so much to say to us about how to live a good life. To that end I was pleased to see that the IB curriculum used the title "good living." The prospect of high school students learning about Roman advice on the good life through this book is really exciting to me.DES: Authoring the background and contextual essays along with the notes for the volume was a significant undertaking. What in your experience did you find especially prepared you for doing so?YT: I'd just finished team teaching a course, "Philosophy and the Art of Living," which covered various beliefs on the importance of mindfulness for living a good life—ancient writers like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius and more contemporary ones like Thoreau and Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance). My coteacher, Dr. Doug Anderson of the philosophy department, and I strove to reiterate the larger importance of each thinker for the big picture of living a meaningful life; that practice prepared me to do the same when introducing Lucretius, Horace, and Seneca.The history selections complemented each other quite nicely: Tacitus and Suetonius offer their own accounts of the same characters and events. Moreover, the difference in genre between annalistic history and biography lent itself well to prodding readers to compare and contrast the two accounts.DES: Besides the time crunch, what was the most challenging aspect of this task? YT: The breadth of the selections was challenging. While I'd taught Lucretius and Seneca quite recently, it had been longer since I'd taught the historians, and my research lies primarily in philosophy. By the same token, as a nonspecialist in history, I think I might have had a good appreciation for the students’ experience of reading history.DES: What part of the project did you most enjoy?YT: Truth be told, I was actually dreading the Horace selections: I hadn't found him to be particularly engaging in the past, and I wasn't confident that this reading would be any different. But I was so pleasantly surprised! It may be that I'm probably almost a decade older than when I had last seriously read Horace, but this time around I found him so much more relatable and insightful. Reading Horace that closely, with attention to every word, expression, and the flow of an ode, gave me a new sense of appreciation for his craft. His observations about the human condition now strike me as less hackneyed, and more poignant. So in retrospect I'm very grateful for this opportunity to revisit Horace, and to find new things in him.DES: Which of the authors for this text— Horace, Lucretius, Seneca, Suetonius, and Tacitus —is your favorite? Why?YT: This is a pretty hard question for me: It has to be one of the "good living" authors, but I’m torn between the three. Horace, as I just mentioned, resonates with me emotionally in a new and interesting way; Lucretius's vivid imagery, and his sheer verve in expressing physics through poetry, is breathtaking. Since I wrote my dissertation on Seneca, in some ways I feel the closest to his work; and yet I still find the relationship that he builds with the reader in his Epistulae Morales to be the most beguiling and most difficult to pin down—of course, this keeps the letters interesting for me.DES: At the recent CAMWS meeting, we found several college instructors looking at the IB books as a possible text to follow students' foundation courses in grammar and syntax. Would you speak to that?YT: Regardless of what introductory text one uses, I think it's really important to have interesting and relevant readings as among the first "real" Latin students encounter. The selections from Volume I will appeal viscerally to many readers, since we've all experienced some version of the emotions described by Catullus and the elegists. In Volume II, I think the "good living" selections address dilemmas we face in our daily lives, and I invite us to take their advice seriously. And I think we always find Tacitus entertaining—he's so catty in a way that we don't expect from historians.DES: What led you to becoming a classicist?YT: I originally started off as an English major, actually. My major advisor highly recommended that I take an ancient language. At one point I was reading English poetry—Milton, I think—and was seeing the influence of the ancient texts everywhere. So it made good sense to me to study the original ancient literature, as opposed to the ones that were influenced by it. But I still enjoy English literature tremendously, and my work in classical reception has allowed me to revisit it.DES: You currently serve as president for the Illinois Classical Conference. Why do you think it's important for college professors to be involved in groups like the ICC comprised of mostly high school teachers and some college professors?YT: I just think we stand to learn so much from each other. Regardless of where we teach, we all teach very similar material: Latin, myth, Roman culture. I don’t mean to ignore the very real practical and logistical differences between secondary and post-secondary institutions, but at some schools the classicist is the only one around for miles and miles, and having a community of peers who speak your language, so to speak, can be invaluable. At Southern Illinois University I'm fortunate to have three colleagues just in Classics, and many more in related fields, but I still benefit from meeting with other Latin teachers, particularly those teaching the same level of Latin as I do. The annual meeting of the Illinois Classical Conference always has this exciting hubbub that comes of people seeing each other face to face for the first time in months, or maybe even a year: Conversations develop very organically, and oftentimes it's from these conversations that new teaching techniques develop. For me, I find that high school teachers are much more aware of the new pedagogical methods and approaches than I am, so having an opportunity to learn the latest from them is really important to me.Yasuko Taoka is an associate professor of Classics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Taoka received her BA from Grinnell College, and her MA and PhD from the Ohio State University. Her research interests include epistolography, Roman philosophy, and classical reception in the contemporary world. She has published on Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Fronto, and the reception of the Odyssey.
This eNewsletter and the products described have been developed independently from and are not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate (IB).
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As the school year winds down and final exams approach, I thought that I would share a tech tool that I am enjoying using for review activities. It is called Kahoot. Kahoot is a game-based classroom response system that is free, works on any web-ready device, and is really easy to use. For teachers in a 1:1 school, Kahoot is a great tool to try out. After signing up for the free account, the teacher uses the online interface to create a multiple choice quiz. I really like that Kahoot allows the teacher to duplicate a question or an entire quiz. This feature saves a good amount of the teacher’s time when designing a quiz that has multiple questions of the same type or a new version of an existing quiz.
I’ve made quizzes to test my students’ knowledge of genitive forms, principal parts, and case uses. Once the quiz is made, the teacher clicks to start the quiz and projects her computer screen for the class to see. Then, the teacher instructs the students to take out their devices, open up the web browser, and navigate to the website Kahoot.it. At this point, the teacher’s screen will show a quiz pin that the students enter into their devices. The students are prompted to enter a name; I always have my students use their Roman names. Once every student has entered the quiz, the teacher clicks to show the first question. The students see the question on the main screen but have to answer on their own devices. Kahoot awards points based on accuracy and speed. After each question, the students can see their standing in the game. When ready, the teacher moves the quiz to the next question. My students love playing and are happy to review if they know that a Kahoot is coming. I like that Kahoot has features that make it easy for teachers to efficiently create quizzes. To get started, visit www.getkahoot.com.
Lynne West
Bellarmine College Prep
San Jose, CA
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Resources & Teaching Tips
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√ In preparing a recent webinar on how the Latin for the New Millennium series provides a foundation for the AP® Latin curriculum, I constructed two documents that teachers using LNM or thinking about adopting LNM might find of interest.
- This document shows where each of the figures of speech required by the AP® Latin curriculum appears in LNM 3.
- This document shows where a grammar or syntax concept or term required for the AP® Latin curriculum is taught and then reviewed in Latin for the New Millennium, Levels 1, 2, or 3.
√ Stories of graduates who have overcome great obstacles always warm the heart. For a little inspiration, check this one out.
√ ISIS has imperiled ancient sites and artifacts in Syria and Iraq. Share these clips with your students.
The Roman theatre at Palmyra. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / Jerzy Strzelecki.
√ The June issue of The Atlantic offers an interesting perspective on war through the ages from the lens of fighting with the Scythians.
The Scythians left behind a legacy of intricately carved gold jewelry. The elk and griffin piece depicted here was found in a Scythian burial mound in Issyk, Kazakhstan.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons /Derzsi Elekes Andor: Metapolisz DVD line.
√ Classes using Latin for the New Millennium, Level 2 with its post-antique Latin readings will find the following Smithsonian piece on Columbus and the map he probably used of great interest
√ Picked up from Virginia Tech classics professor Andrew Becker’s posting on facebook. Meet Jonathan Goddard who uses rap to make Latin hip.
√ Harvard is, indeed, a special place with its annual commencement address in Latin. My high school Greek teacher, Dean Nicastro, delivered the address for the class of 1969. Here's the address for the Class of 2015. English subtitles make it very student-friendly! |
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 The Death of Caesar
by Barry Strauss
This book is an amazingly detailed account of the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 BCE and the events that preceded and followed his death. Barry Strauss fully describes the main conspirators (including Brutus, Cassius, Decimus, and Trebonius) as well as other important figures of the period such as Octavian, Mark Antony, Cleopatra, Fulvia, Sempronia, and Cicero. Strauss begins the account seven months before Caesar's death. Strauss portrays Caesar as cunning and dangerous, and the conspirators as fearing that he would make himself a king. The assassination was well organized, and the conspirators were careful to limit the number of people who were informed and the amount of time devoted to planning. Strauss, an expert on ancient military history, drew on extensive sources. His research appears to be excellent. Throughout the text, more often than not, he qualifies much of the information he presents. For example, regarding a public meeting the day after the assassination, Strauss indicates that the audience was likely to have included Caesar's veterans and ordinary Romans, but Strauss also indicates that the actual makeup of the audience is not confirmed. And when describing Antony's speech at the funeral, Strauss indicates that while Cicero, Appian, and Plutarch all wrote that Antony gave an emotional speech, their accounts of what he actually said differ.
After Caesar's death, the conspirators received amnesty from the Senate, but in 43 BCE, that was rescinded. Most of them were dead three years after the assassination, some, like Brutus, by their own hand. Cicero, always a supporter of the Republic, showed great courage in the aftermath of the assassination but in the end was executed because he crossed Antony. We all know, it was Octavian—an astute nineteen-year-old man—who became the next leader of Rome as Augustus Caesar.
Throughout the book, Strauss presents many facts unfamiliar to those who have not studied the Roman Republic. For example:
- Caesar regularly used emetics to keep his weight down after indulging in gastronomy.
- Roman statues often depicted generals and politicians in the nude.
- Antony's eulogy at Caesar's funeral was accompanied by a flute while the audience chanted.
Forty-seven pages of notes, an appendix on the sources of the notes, and a complete index assist readers. Strauss offers a fresh perspective on the death of Caesar and makes the case that his assassination changed the course of history. If Caesar had lived and won some additional success in military campaigns, very likely he would have become a king. Rome did eventually become an autocracy, but that did not happen until 285 CE under Diocletian. Augustus Caesar, on the other hand, showed respect for the Senate and had a certain fear of the nobility (after all, what had happened to Julius Caesar could happen again). Strauss is to be commended for writing history as it should be written, vividly bringing to life the world of Rome in 44 BCE.
Marie Carducci Bolchazy, EdD
President, Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
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eLitterae Subscribers Special 40% Discount
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Need some books to give as end-of-year congratulations and thank-yous? Is your supply of prize books running low? Do you miraculously have some money left in the classics budget? Stock up on these titles. They’re just what you need!
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Discount is not available to distributors or
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This offer expires 07/15/15.
(Please note that there will be no adjustments on previous purchases. Offer is non-transferable and subject to change without notice.)
Enter coupon code eLit0615 on the payment page. The special eLitterae offer pricing will be charged at checkout.
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