Press

Smithsonian Magazine, February 14, 2023

by Elizabeth Djinis

"The fact that these individuals are speaking Latin, a language most often seen in written form, is unusual in and of itself. But the more important aspect of the exercise is how the students are interacting with the text in a living way. They’re reading Plutarch’s depiction of Cicero’s death in the very place where, in 43 B.C.E., the famous orator’s cut-off hands were placed as a warning that the Roman Republic was ending and the empire was beginning. It’s hard to imagine the bustling forum as it once was—a site of power, religion and commerce, where Latin was spoken in a functional way. [...] But as the teenagers speak the language, relishing its intonations and cadences, that image slowly clicks."

Read more at Smithsonian Magazine.

CBS News This Morning, January 6, 2018

by Brook Silva-Braga

"Roman Catholic mass held in Latin is a rare sound these days. The language was once at the heart of Western culture and for centuries most books and official letters were written in Latin. Today, it's considered a dead language – except to those who are trying to resurrect it."

Read more at CBS News This Morning.

The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 25, 2017

by Leonard Cassuto

"One of the most important parts of this work is the "Legion Project," to "connect classicists working outside of academia." It’s a website of personal narratives written by people who have done different sorts of things with their classics training. There are lawyers and Latin teachers to be found, of course, but also data scientists and even a professional quilter. They explain the role of classics in their nonfaculty lives."

Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

The Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2016

by Ann Patty

"At conventions, immersion programs and youth programs, classicists and grammar fans are speaking a language often called dead."

Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

The Society for Classical Studies, June 1, 2015

"The Society for Classical Studies is pleased to give its 2015 President’s Award to Jason Pedicone and Eric Hewett, co-founders of the Paideia Institute, for their work in significantly advancing public appreciation and awareness of classical antiquity."

Read more at The Society for Classical Studies.

The Nation, January 26, 2015

by Anthony Grafton

"Summer study, a dead language, hours traveling on buses: it doesn’t sound exciting on the face of it, especially to anyone who knows how little studying takes place in many summer programs. But these summer experiences are different. A lot of Paideians come back in love—with something bigger than they’re used to, something bigger than what we usually offer them in schools and universities, and that love makes a huge difference in everything they do."

Read more at The Nation.

Reuters, May 23, 2013

by Claudia Parsons

""Quomodo dicis latine life-jacket?" quipped one of the Latin-speaking passengers on a tour boat circumnavigating Manhattan on a rainy Sunday morning in May, just after the captain's safety announcement. "How do you say life-jacket in Latin?""

Read more at Reuters.

The Boston Globe, February 24, 2013

by Ben Zimmer

"[T]he “living Latin” movement is all about... a language that’s being used not just for scholarly and religious purposes, but as a way to bring centuries of classical learning into the here and now."

Read more at The Boston Globe.

Slate, August 21, 2011

by Ted Scheinman

"A decade ago, a high school Latin teacher described the course to me: "I learned Latin in school, but I did not know it until I met Reginaldus.""

Read more at Slate.