Making Memes with Teens at W. VA. JCL Conference

Thanks to Dr. Nicoletta Sella, I had the pleasure of speaking at the West Virginia Junior Classical League annual conference recently. Every time I attend a JCL event and hear teens talking about ancient Rome and parading about in togas I think, “*sob* These are my people!”

The wild and crazy world of ancient Rome and mythology never ceases to fascinate me. I shared some surprising and hopefully intriguing tidbits in a presentation I called:

From the gods of toilets and sewers to snacking on barbecued giraffe (or elephant) at gladiator games, we discussed some of the strangest and funniest things I’ve learned about living in the ancient world. To cap off my talk, I held a meme contest (winners determined by clapping).  I showed them one that I had made, called “Extreme glow up.” The make-up wearing kids in the group got it (or at least they were polite enough to pretend they did).

Sadly, I accidentally left the winning entries on the podium (along with my glasses), but I still remember my favorites ones:

The intense nature of ancient art certainly lends itself to meme-making! The whole event was a lot of fun. I’m incredibly grateful to JCL and its commitment to keeping the classical world alive and real for future generations.

For any Latin teachers that stumble across this post, invite me to speak to your students or at your conventions. We ancient history lovers need to stick together! And thanks again to Nicoletta and the West Virginia JCL!