Brave or Foolish
What happens when you retell classical stories from a different perspective? Are the supporting characters still foolish, or are they actually very brave?
Stories from classical antiquity are usually told from the familiar male perspective that has dominated for centuries. In these versions, Achilles is a hero, Medusa is a monster, and many women are portrayed either as objects or as perpetrators. But stories change when we look at them again and when other voices are heard.
In recent years, more and more mythological stories have been retold from a female perspective. These retellings show how strongly perspective influences our judgment of characters and events.
Jacqueline Klooster, Professor of Ancient Greek Literature, researches retellings of stories from classical antiquity. In collaboration with Assistant Professor Bram van der Velden and teachers of classical languages in secondary education, we have translated her research into this educational material, in which students discover how relevant, contemporary, and multi-voiced classical stories can be.
What do students learn?
With Brave or Foolish, students explore how narrative perspective can influence readers. They learn to recognize different perspectives and create their own modern retellings. They also discover what a researcher in classical languages actually does. In this way, students experience that classical antiquity is closely connected to their own world and that stories always have more than one side.
What does the teaching package include?
This educational material consists of five sections, each containing one or two activities. It can be used as a complete sequence from beginning to end, but the activities can also be used independently.
The activities are based on the story of the Iliad, but they can also be applied to other classical or modern stories.
Practical Information
What? Teaching package Brave or Foolish
Who is it for? Lower years of secondary education (classical track / gymnasium)
Questions? Scholierenacademie rug.nl