Women as classical scholars and BBC experts
Dr Rosie Wyles, Lecturer in Greek Language and Literature, in the Department of Classics was one of just 30 experts selected from over two thousand applicants to take part in the first Female Expert Day, held by the BBC.
The BBC Academy and Broadcast magazine initiative came about in response to claims that female experts could not be found to contribute to discussions on a range of academic topics on radio and TV programmes.
The day provided an opportunity for the shortlisted experts to meet leading industry professionals and programme commissioners and receive hands on training in presenting, engaging audiences and forging a career in the media industry.
Dr Wyles said: “The day was a truly unique experience in enabling women from areas of business, science, history, politics and a single Classicist (me!) to learn from industry experts about how to translate our expertise into media content.
“I and the other 29 experts selected for this pilot event spent the day being filmed and trained. We recorded a practice TV interview and radio programme, and met commissioning editors, programme makers, current expert presenters and industry production technicians.
“Following the day our details and recordings have been made available to the industry and a follow-up day is also planned.”
Given the large numbers of applications for the event, one element of the selection process involved applicants recording a 90 second clip about an idea or discovery from their expert field. The challenge was to put across the idea in an accessible way and convey passion for the topic. Dr Wyles used her clip to share her enthusiasm for her on-going research which focuses on Madame Dacier a 17th century French woman who translated Greek and Latin literature. The clip can be viewed on Youtube.
Dr Wyles explains “I was so excited to discover that Madame Dacier appears as a character in a 1942 issue of the comic Wonder Woman and that brilliantly a comment made by her in 1674 appears there! This is the final testimony of Dacier’s status as an iconic figure in the struggle for female empowerment across the centuries. So I just had to pick this story to share in my clip.”
The Female Expert Day gave Dr Wyles the opportunity to discuss her work with industry leads and has inspired her as she prepares for the ‘Women as Classical Scholars’ international conference, a King’s event which will be held in London on 22 and 23 March. The conference, which Dr Wyles is co-organising with Professor Hall and Lottie Parkyn in the Department of Classics, will bring together leading experts in the field from across Europe and America.
The Conference is being funded by the School of Arts & Humanities Small Research Grants scheme (more information is available for King’s staff and students on the intranet). The keynote lecture on ‘African American Women, Classical Studies, &Emancipation’ will be given by Professor Michele Ronnick from Wayne State University in Detroit. Dr Wyles commented “it is a real coup to have so many experts in this important area of scholarship coming together and the range of papers promises the emergence of significant insights into the story of female engagement with Classical Scholarship from the Renaissance to the 20th century.”
To book your place for the conference please visit the Women as Classical Scholars webpage.