Greco-roman literature and controversial topics in university teaching practice

Abstract

In the university context, the inclusion of cross-cutting themes in the syllabuses of classical literature subjects - Greek and Latin - broadens, in the classroom, the debate on controversial or sensitive topics that, when deepened, can contribute to the formation of critical readers and citizens aware of the problems of Brazilian society. We developed the analysis of our teaching practice from the perspective that Yun Lee Too (1998), in Power and Pedagogy: Rhetorical of Classical Learning, outlines in his reflection on the role of classical studies in contemporary education when he considers that "the area of ​​classics can be displaced from its position as an 'elite' subject that excludes various groups (women, minorities, older students) and reinstated as a more democratic and plural subject which may help to authorize less empowered groups." (TOO, 1998, p. 15). Under this motto, we conducted this investigation, based on experiences in the classroom, on the approach to themes that, until then, were naturalized, in order to give visibility to forms of violence, prejudices, and taboos that are still present in our society, thus giving rise to a reinterpretation of myths that prioritizes the citizenship education of new generations.