Fifteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

We teach in a small, public liberal arts-focused university in the south eastern United States where interdisciplinary collaboration is explicitly valued. For 12 years, we have curated our university’s biennial “Festival of Dionysus” anchored in the Southern Appalachian mountains. The festival has been slightly different in each iteration but two events are always central. First, a campus-wide feast conceptualized and cooked by students in an ancient foodways class using recipes adapted from ancient Greek texts, and foods that would have been available in the ancient Mediterranean world. Second, the festival features a performance of an ancient Greek play – from an abridged Oresteia (2012) to Antigone (2020) – newly translated by Classics majors and performed by Drama undergraduates. With every festival we gather more data about students’ learning experiences. Those directly involved in the festival (20 to 40), as translators or creators of the food write reflection papers on their experiences, while we also often survey those who attend the festival (150 to 300). From qualitative analysis of the data collected, we can demonstrate certain clear benefits for student learning from this exercise. In particular, the hands-on element of both the translation and the feast planning and preparation is important in instilling a sense of pride in students’ unique contributions to them. The experience of attending the festival and eating a communal meal has also proved transformational for many. This paper showcases student and attendee experiences of the festival and adaptations for 2020 in light of worldwide health concerns.