Talks for schools

We offer talks to schools about Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Egyptology. This includes topics in Greek and Latin literature, Greek and Roman history, and Greek and Latin language.

Talks are subject to our academics' availability - please note that our ability to deliver in-person presentation at schools and colleges that are further than one hour's public transport from Manchester may be limited. We are also happy to deliver talks remotely, online as these may be easier to schedule.

To arrange a talk at your school - in-person or remote - please contact Dr Andy Fear.

We are also happy for you to come to us. If you would like to arrange a campus visit, please get in touch with Sonja Bernhard. We can also arrange lecture shadowing for smaller groups (12 or fewer), during term time. Contact Sonja to find out timings of our Y1 and Y2 lectures.

Please see our outreach website for further information about the department's outreach activity.

Talk topics

All talks are designed to last 45 minutes but can be made longer or shorter. They are aimed at A-level students but could be modified for KS3 or KS4.

Ancient History and Classical Civilisation

Greek topics

Ancient and Modern Debates about Democracy (Prof Peter Liddel)
Commemorating the war dead in Ancient Greece (Prof Peter Liddel)
Political Spaces in Classical Athens (Prof Peter Liddel)
The uses of Greek Inscriptions (Prof Peter Liddel)
Other topics on the Athenian Empire by arrangement (Prof Peter Liddel)
Herodotus and Thucydides (Dr John Taylor)
Pausanias: An Ancient Guide to Greece (Dr John Taylor)
The Acts of the Apostles and the Classical World (Dr John Taylor)
The death of Alexander the Great (Dr Andy Fear)
Other topics on Alexander by arrangement (Dr Andy Fear)

Roman topics

Imperial Love, Marriage, and Succession (Dr Christian Laes)
Claudius, the Invalid Emperor (Dr Christian Laes)
Animals in Antiquity (Dr Mary Beagon)
The Imperial Image (focussed on Augustus, other emperors by arrangement) (Dr Andy Fear)
Uses of Roman Inscriptions and Coins for Roman Historians (Dr Andy Fear)
Trajan’s Column: an ancient war comic? (Dr Andy Fear)
A day at the races: chariot racing in antiquity (Dr Andy Fear)
Blood and Sand - gladiators in antiquity (Dr Andy Fear)
Agricola: a Roman superhero (Dr Andy Fear)
Apocalypse Now: Boadicea's uprising (Dr Andy Fear)
The Edge of Civilisation: Hadrian's Wall (Dr Andy Fear)
The Mystery of the Ninth Legion (Dr Andy Fear)
Other topics on the Roman army by arrangement (Dr Andy Fear)

Classical Literature

Ancient literature

Odysseus and Agamemnon (Dr Julene Abad del Vecchio)
Odysseus, a new sort of hero? (Dr Julene Abad del Vecchio)
Spectral Encounters: Homer's Underworld (Dr Julene Abad del Vecchio)
Aeneas, the hero re-invented? (Dr John Taylor)
Achilles, the archetypal hero? (Dr Manos Tsakiris)