A fifth edition of the Cambridge Latin Course (CLC), a mainstay of mainly private schools since the 1970s, is being published later this month in response to concerns from teachers, academics and students about the representation of women, minorities and the underserved in previous editions. publications. Girls studying the story-based course complained that there weren’t enough female roles and that those included were passive and underdeveloped. There was also criticism that the Roman world was wrongly portrayed as predominantly white, and objections to the way slaves and slavery were represented. The course, which has sold more than 4 million copies and was last updated more than 20 years ago, has gained cult status in the decades since it was introduced, even inspiring an appearance in Doctor Who. There is a growing consensus that it needs updating for 21st-century students and modern sensibilities, although publishers fear being accused of “cancelling” aspects of the original. The first book, set in Pompeii in the first century AD, focuses on the family of Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, his wife Metella, son Quintus, cook Grumio, and faithful hound Cerberus. In the new version, a daughter named Lucia – who is told by her father that he intends to marry her off to an older man – is introduced to allow for greater exploration of the young women’s experiences. Another new female character, Clara, is hired by Caecilius to paint a mural in his house in the new edition, while Barbillus, a successful Greco-Syrian merchant who appeared in the second book of the previous editions, has a more prominent role and is now clearly a person of color. Previously, this was not clear from line drawings. Slavery, meanwhile, is portrayed through the eyes of its victims, revealing the harsh reality of their lives in the Roman empire. An infamous episode from the original 1970s version, in which a young slave named Melissa is mistakenly inspected by the men of the household, prompting a jealous response from Metella, has been altered. “Students today are much more aware of power dynamics and misogyny, not to mention issues of consent and sexual assault,” said Caroline Bristow, director of the Cambridge Schools Classics Project, which runs the course at Cambridge University. The publishers have also removed the tropes of “faithful”, “joyful”, “hard working” and “lazy” slaves that were present in previous editions. “The goal has always been to introduce students to the complexity of the Roman world and get them to think critically about it while learning Latin,” Bristow said. “This prepares them to engage more thoroughly with the original classical sources. The feedback we’ve been told is that we haven’t done enough in this regard.” Bristow braces herself for accusations from traditionalists that she is trying to “cancel” Caecilius. “What seems to irritate our critics is that we don’t present Rome purely as a culture. The reason is that we teach children to be classicists. We don’t teach them to be Romans.” There are still changes in the way gladiator combat is depicted, according to the recent study, which found that it was not purely bloodthirsty, but reflected modern values ​​such as martial prowess. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Stephen Hunt, a Latin scholar at Cambridge University who has taught Latin for 35 years and now trains teachers, supports the changes. “Every textbook needs a refresh every now and then. The CLC is notable among school textbooks as having been around since the 1970s.’ Around 10,000 students sit their Latin GCSEs each year and most of them are in private schools despite government efforts to increase numbers in the state sector. According to recent research by the British Council, Latin is taught in less than 3% of state schools, compared to 49% of independent schools. Jasmine Elmer, a classicist whose work focuses on trying to broaden access to the ancient world, said: “We tend to have an all-white view of an empire that it clearly wasn’t. If you’re a person of color, it’s natural to wonder if people like you were there. It’s a catastrophic failure of our theme and needs to be fixed. “The new course seems to be braver on these issues. It doesn’t shy away from a complicated subject. turns it into teaching points”.