Susan helps Hercules via time-slip fantasy

As I have mentioned in several recent postings, there is a prevailing view – among many – about autism. This is that autistic people don’t have much in the way of an imagination.

But autistic people have can have a rich imaginative life! This can be stimulated by such things as video games, and fantasy literature, and the area dealt with in this blog: classical myth. In this posting I’m going to make a few, preliminary, comments on autism and the imagination in connection with the Show and Tell event at Cardiff University at the end of last month. Thus, as well as continuing to look at autistic people’s imaginative lives, and where myth can fit, I am going to be picking up from where I left off in the last posting but one which reported on the Cardiff event.

 

That posting concerned various things that came out of other participants’ show and tell items. This one concerns mine: the book Helping Hercules by Francesca Simon. I took it along for several reasons. One was that it is a book I’d borrowed from the University of Roehampton library: the site of last year’s show and tell. Another is that that book concerns various classical mythological characters, not least Hercules, who figures in the first and final stories and whose importance is referenced in the title.

Among the other reasons is this – when I first noticed the book some years back, in the old Schools Experience Library at Roehampton, I took off the shelf and opened it because I was intrigued by the title. Then, turning to the first page, I found that that the first word was ‘Susan.’ So, I’d gone from finding a book on Hercules to finding that a key character - the hero no less – was my namesake.  

The book's cover promises ‘The Greek myths are you’ve never heard them before.’ Indeed, each chapter sticks to key features that recur in ancient versions of each chosen myth, but with the spin that the what happens in each is shaped by the experiences of Susan. This is 'time-slip fantasy.' Susan comes into possession of a magic coin which transplants her to and from ancient Greece. Each time she goes to ancient Greece, she arrives just in time to aid a particular hero – always male – to perform some task. For example, it is thanks to Susan that Hercules manages to clean the Augean Stables by diverting two rivers.

 

Here I get to a further reason why I made this my show and tell item. The book presents mythological ‘facts’ while also doing something that – I’m thinking – could have potential in relation to the activities I’m designing for autistic children. Simon's innovative take on classical myth might serve as a prompt for children to engage in imaginative ways with mythological themes and characters - and to relate these to their own experiences.

I've commented previously, here for example, on the role that books on Hercules might play in the activities I'm designing. For more on Simon's book - which I aim to add to the list I am sporadically building of children's books which might complement the activities - I recommend Allison Rosenblum's entry on Helping Hercules in the Our Mythical Childhood Database. The entry includes a summary and analysis which manages to be succinct while presenting the book’s subject matter and exploring its use of antiquity for children. It’s thanks to one of the generic aspects identified in the entry that I’ve become aware of ‘time-slip fantasy’ as a distinct genre.

I’ll end with a look ahead to what I’m planning for upcoming postings. I am going to post soon on what happened at another event I took part in over the summer: a workshop showcasing public engagement initiatives at the FIEC/CA Congress in July. Also, I’ll be writing a posting which picks up on where this current posting begins – by responding to a ‘myth’ about autism. This new posting will also return to a topic I’ve commented on in earlier blog postings, mostly from several years back, concerning who Classics is ‘for.’ These reflections will be prompted by something that came up in a reader’s report on a proposal I submitted for a book on the Choice of Hercules activities. The report came in last week and includes an assumption that not many autistic people study classics at university. So – after looking today at one ‘myth,’ autistic people’s supposed lack of an imaginary life, I’ll move to another, namely that students on classical degree programmes are unlikely to be autistic.

 

 

Creating worlds and discussing emotions: Dr Fiona Mitchell's workshop for Specialist Autism Services

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, Creation of the Universe,
National Gallery of Art 10606. Details here

This posting concerns something I've been meaning to write about since earlier in the summer: when Dr Emma Bridges sent me a link to a report on a recent workshop that I might be interested in. This was because it concerns an initiative that relates to my interests in classical myth and its appeal for autistic people.

The workshop was led by Dr Fiona Mitchell, now at the University of Birmingham, whom I remember well from visiting her previous place of work. Here she had developed a range of teaching activities which came at classics from innovative angles, such as via a study of monsters.

The workshop was on creation stories and it was run for Specialist Autism Services in Leeds. The report mentions one area that has got me especially intrigued, namely a discussion of emotions in creation stories and how they might relate to those experienced by modern people:

"Some gods get angry when they don’t get enough sleep; the extent to which the gods of some traditions embody and represent things like anger and lust; the consequences of the emotions of the gods (e.g. Demeter’s sadness is the cause of winter; angry gods sometimes cause devastation)."

There could be much potential here - including for thinking about the potential for ancient myth to engage autistic people thinking about emotions. There is a fit, for instance with the discussion of creation myth I reported on at the recent Show and Tell at Cardiff. Plus, as I've mentioned in several blog postings, such as this one, one of the goals of the activities I am developing concerns the emotions that might be stimulated by Hercules as he experiences a strange place where he needs to make a difficult choice.

Also, in a tweet from soon after the event, Fiona mentioned how the creation narratives might lead to reflections on 'how we might create our own worlds.' On the webpage created specially for the workshop, Fiona says, further to this:

"If you were going to make a world from scratch, how would you do it? What would your ideal world look like? What would you make people out of? How would you make people differently? If you created the world, would you rule it too? Or just let it run itself?"

There might well be a fit here with another aspect of the activities, discussed here for example (scroll around two-third down) namely to draw on the love of fantasy common among autistic people.

In short, Fiona's work looks wonderful - and I'm going to write to her about it right now.
 

Showing, telling and escaping to other worlds: some reflections on a classically-themed show & tell at Cardiff

Robin Diver's Playmobil Egyptian temple
with statue from Roman Coliseum pack on top

The current edition of Your Autism (National Autistic Society, Autumn 2019) includes an interview by an online gamer, QueenE. In response to the question 'What do you do in your spare time besides gaming?' she answers: 'Books and games are my two biggest passions because you can lose yourself in whatever universe you're in. They're like escaping' (p. 26). This posting concerns something similar: the potential, as an autistic person, for losing oneself in an imaginative world - here, the world of classical mythology.

In my previous posting I said that I was about to head off to Cardiff for an event where participants would be showing and telling classical-themed things. I said there that I hoped that the event would help me develop my ideas for a show and tell component for the resources that I am preparing for autistic children. I'll share some ways in which these hopes were realised - and I'll illustrate this posting with some of the artefacts that were shared by participants.



Karen Pierce's show and tell item:
Playmobil Demeter from the recent
Greek Gods series

I shall also follow up on something I mentioned in another recent posting - the one I wrote after an event in Liverpool where I presented on my autism and classical myth activities. As I mentioned in that posting, one of the participants said that she was surprised that the activities focused on myth, that is, something imaginative rather than something 'factual.' 

This comment fits a prevailing view - that autistic people do not have much in the way of an imagination. But - and as QueenE's answer exemplifies - autistic people can have a rich imaginative life. This can be stimulated by video games, and also such areas as fantasy literature, and the area especially relevant to this blog's topic: classical mythology.
I have come away from Cardiff with plenty of ideas relevant to the project. These include the potential for the activities that I am designing to enable the users to get imaginatively involved in myth.
 

Robin Diver playing with Enuma Elish set created by former student at
Cardiff University for an independent study module. To quote Robin:
"The purple figure is Tiamat and the orange figure Marduk,
so I thought I'd make Tiamat fly at Marduk from above and give her an advantage!"

For one thing, several of the participants had brought along minifigures. This led to a discussion of just how creative children can be when they play with classical-themed minifigures. 


Playmobil Roman soldiers - as used by Kate Gilliver in her
teaching, including to prompt thinking about how ancient
warfare was conducted

Also, prompted by a presentation by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones about an extraordinary Enuma Elish Fuzzy-Felt pack created by one of his former students, we talked about the potential for Fuzzy-Felt, now out of fashion, to engage children, including in tongue-in-cheek ways. Watch this space for more on this topic whose applicability to the autism and myth activities could be extensive.
 
Another thing which I want to reflect on and which again came out of the (rich!) discussion prompted by the artefacts is that classical myth plays a part in fan fiction, including in fiction written by young adults. Here, I have learned, the approach of the authors to their material is typically innovative and subversive including in the creation of counter-narratives and though transgendering.

My own show and tell item was a book, Francesca Simon's Helping Hercules, which I took along for several reasons, certain of which bear on my autism and myth project. I'll make these the topic of a subsequent posting so as not to crowd this current one further.

So: there will be more to follow from me on topics raised in this posting. Also, Karen Pierce, who organised the show and tell will be blogging on it. I'll link to her posting once it's out.



What I'll be doing in Cardiff next week and why it might inform activities for autistic children

Next week, I shall be gathering in one of the libraries at Cardiff University along with a group of other academics interested in making sense of what classics means, and could mean – for children. This will include a morning session where each of us shares an object that in some way deals with an aspect of the classical world. It might be a book retelling classical myth say, or a mini-figure, or a board game.

When we held a similar event last year, in the Roehampton University library, things took a personal turn, when some of us – myself included – brought along things from our own childhoods.

 

The reason that I man mentioning the event in this blog is as follows. I have been wondering whether a comparable activity might be worth planning – to tie in with the activities for autistic children that I am designing. In thinking this, I am reflecting on a comment that Katarzyna Marciniak made at an Our Mythical Childhood workshop in Warsaw in May of this year – while participates were busy colouring in Choice of Hercules drawings.

 

I was talking there about one goal of the activities, which is to reflect on, understand and manage emotions, including what makes us happy, what makes us apprehensive and what makes us afraid. Katarzyna’s idea was that children could bring along something that has made them feel happy. It could be a picture from a holiday perhaps, which they could then talk about. So, in relation to this, I am wondering about whether to include a show and tell element in the activities for autistic children. 

 

Next week’s event might provide useful in letting me think about how and why this might work.

 

Also, I am wondering how far it will be worth adding a specifically classically-inspired dimension to what is shown and told. What will happen during the afternoon session in Cardiff could especially help with this. After sharing during the morning what we ourselves have brought, we will then have the opportunity to look at items from the archives, pick one and show and tell that.

 

This might form a model for a session for autistic children where, first they bring along something that, say, makes them feel happy, or some other emotion. Then, after that, they can be introduced to a set of Hercules-related artefacts. They go on to pick one of these and talk about it.

 

I shall have a better idea after the Cardiff event whether this can go anywhere – but I went form thinking that I would write very briefly on this when I started the present posting to feeling a strong sense, which grew while I was writing the posting, that there is potential here.

 

There is more information about the Cardiff Show and Tell, and last year’s event, here, on the Roehampton Classics blog. From this blog posting,  you will also see link a to Karen Pierce’s own blog where she reflects on what happened at the Roehampton event.

                                           

A curriculum for all, autistic imaginations and a bit of Percy Jackson - notes from "Engagement for All in the History Classroom"

A week ago today, I was on my way to Liverpool – to take part in a one-day conference around creating a curriculum 'for all' at John Moores University. The curriculum in question was a History one although the organisers, Peter D'Sena and Lucinda Matthews-Jones, embraced Ancient History and Classics as well. They had invited me to discuss pedagogical innovations that I’m involved in as one of a set of case studies.

From the initial blurb for the event, I could see that the focus was to be on HE pedagogy but very much with a goal of exploring dialogues with learning and teaching in schools. The case study I offered was on based on my autism and myth activities. I stressed that this wasn’t going to involve me discussing initiatives around university pedagogy, but rather that it would concern the work I am involved in as part of the Our Mythical Childhood project’s investigation into the place of classics in children’s culture.

I spent a bit of time introducing my interest in autism and in myth and talking about how what I am doing sits within the work being done by the Our mythical Childhood team. After this introduction, I stated that I was going to be talking about the activities that I am developing for autistic children based on the ‘Choice of Hercules’ at Roehampton. I then said that, rather than sharing a PowerPoint, or a standard kind of academic handout, instead I was going to send round one of the drawings that form part of the activities. This was so that, as I was speaking further, the participants could have a go, if they wanted, at doing the same things that the autistic children will do. With this, people seemed delighted – a kind of ‘woooo…’ went round the room. I’m including some of the resulting artwork in this posting.

There was time afterwards for just two questions – possibly because I took so much time to answer these. I’d love to know what a third person who’d raised their hand wanted to ask. If you’re reading this posting, do get in touch (s.deacy@roehampton.ac.uk) -likewise, anyone who was present who would like to comment on or ask anything.

 

The two questions were both very interesting and I’m glad that I noted them down afterwards or I might have forgotten what was raised. One participant asked whether autistic girls have responded differently to the activities than autistic boys. My answer was that I’d don’t yet know. But I am gong to ponder on this and revisit the pilot study that Effrosyni Kostara and I conducted last October.

The other question was from a participant who asked why it is that autistic children like classical myth – given that it isn’t 'factual based'. This question took me aback – and it has brought home to me something that is often thought to be the case about autism – namely that autistic people are not likely to have imaginations.

However, many autistic people have rich imaginations! And this is one reason why many autistic people might enjoy such things as fantasy literature and sci-fi and video games. Being asked the question is prompting me to revisit the previous attention I’ve given to autism and the imagination, including in the wake of the event with autism specialists that I’ve mentioned previously. The question has also emphasised for me how deep some perceptions about autism go.

One final thing, linked with this… I had a chat at the end with one of the participants whose nephew is autistic and loves classical myth - including, because it offers an imaginative space for him. The gateway to myth for this boy was Percy Jackson – this strikes me as another example of how Rick Riordan has done a lot to open up classical myth to a generation of children including autistic children.

Lots then for me to think about, including some things I've not (yet) written down - and plenty on which to follow up.

Best... panel... ever: gendering classical myth for children, including using Hercules - at FIEC 2019

L-R: Sonya Nevin, Lisa Maurice (organiser), me, Deborah Roberts (chair), Robin Diver

The photo that heads this posting shows myself, fellow speakers and chair at the panel at FIEC that I blogged about last week as I was preparing my paper. 

It was a very happy event - successful too I think - aided by a supportive and engaged audience whose comments and questions - during the session and afterwards - have been perhaps the most helpful and encouraging that I've ever experienced from an panel I've been part of.

As is my usual practice, I didn't take along a script where everything was written out - but I spoke from notes. And I've written these up now for this posting. 

Caroline Lawrence's photo of the relevant page
of the conference programme

The further photos I'm including were taken during the event, and I'll end with some of the comments that went up on social media, one of which has inspired the first part of the title for this posting.

It’s an honour to be here – at FIEC and on this panel – along with colleagues I have been collaborating with for several years now: on classics and children’s culture, and, included with this, on an emerging topic of how receptions for children of classical myth are done/received by girls.

What we’re discovering for instance is a lot of gender stereotyping… but also a lot that can engage the imaging of young girls – while using classical subjects to help socialise them.

What I’m going to talk about are the resources I am developing as part of the Our Mythical Childhood project – for autistic children.Instead of a ppt /tradtitional handout here’s a picture for you to colour in… So that you yourself get to engage with the activities that the children use…

Caroline Bristow holds up her handout

It’s a drawing created by Steve Simons – of an 18^th-century chimneypiece panel at Roehampton showing the hero’s choice between two divergent paths in life.

The activities – in progress – centre around two key things. One is: dealing with emotions, including feeling overwhelmed. The image is suitable as there is so much, e.g. fruit bowls, one with fruit that’s overflowing, and a helmet with a snake on top of it. What’s more there are two very distinct halves of the scene, one on each side, which might impact on how you colour in. The other is making choices – something autistic people find it hard to do. 

Caroline Lawrence's colouring in (and colouring round!)

And: what I am considering is another set of activities, for girls, especially as girls, at least on reaching puberty, often have distinct experiences. These don’t have to be hardships – quite the opposite – but they can be experienced as such because of things like peer pressure and the expectations that society has around what a girl is or should be.

So, I am making an intervention into the myth of Hercules – to enable autistic teenage girls think about their relationship with for example expectations around fitting in versus being different and thinking about taking ownership of their difference as opposed to masking –that is pretending to fit in…

Caroline Bristow's colouring in

Hercules is a suitable, even ideal figure for autistic people for the following reasons. I’m not seeking to diagnose Hercules as autistic – but there are traits evident in experiences of Hercules that can speak to an autistic experience. For one thing, he functions well in his own space, the wilds, with success. He does this mostly alone, or with others but on his own terms. He has key skills – exceptional strength and cunning, as well as the ability to stick to a task – which he uses to deal with a particular scenario.

Then, no soon has he completed the task that he has to start all over again, and learn the rules afresh for the next task he encounters. While he functions well in his chosen space, when he gets among lots of people, things can go wrong – and he can carry out acts of violence which might be experienced as emotional overload.

Me and Robin by Caroline Lawrence

On two occasions, when I’ve outlined ‘why Hercules?’ in a way consistent with the way I have here, autistic people have commented: ‘that sounds like being autistic.’

I’m planning to use Hercules in activities for autistic girls then – and despite the less appealing aspects of this myth – unless we use the myth to show girls that the world isn’t always a nice place – including because of what heroes might do to them…

Now to some discussion of how the activities could help deal with the challenges and positives of being an autistic girl. Life can be hard – for any girl but with particular challenges for autistic girls. For example, relationships become more complex and complicated. School – after smaller primary school - will be bigger and seem chaotic – and yet children are expected to develop independent e.g. manage their diary.

Autistic girls might likely feel anxious around people – feeling like they are observing rather than participating. And they might feel lonely, even among people - and find it hard to relate to others especially those of their peer group.

Added to this, social things can be overpowering – for example due to sensitivity to things like smell and touch. They may well develop strong personal interests – which others might share too – but more intensely or obsessively. They might pretend to fit in – when they actually feel isolated.

The activities engage with what is overpowering – with what it is like to come into a new, strange place which doesn’t make sense and to try to make sense of it, and find a way to interact with strangers there.

(Or… Hercules is the stranger: intruding into an autistic person’s space...)

The activities can also speak to the positives of being autistic, including: noticing details others might miss; being able to see, hear, and feel intensively; having good attention to detail; being direct and straightforward.

A final point – this episode isn’t all that well-known – so any user can be at a similar staring point – autistic people aren’t’ excluded.

A selection of tweets - as promised:

Caroline Bristow‏ @MsCBristow Jul 7

Not only a handout from Susan Deacy, she supplies pencils and pens for colouring in!!! #Fieca2019

Caroline Bristow‏ @MsCBristow Jul 7

Lisa Maurice calls out what frankly we're all thinking in the panel on gendering myth in the 21st Century; there's not one man in the room.  

Lisa maurice‏ @mauril68 Jul 7

Thoroughly enjoyable discussion and questions at our gendering classical mythology for children panel. Thanks all who attended! #fiecca2019

Caroline Lawrence‏ @CarolineLawrenc Jul 7

Two of the great speakers at today’s session on Gendering Classical Mythology in the 21st Century! #Ariadne #Minotaur #Pandora #Hercules #Troy #Autism #FIECCA2019 @Fieca2019

Liked

Caroline Bristow‏ @MsCBristow Jul 7

Replying to @CarolineLawrenc

Best. Panel. Ever.

 \mmmmkkkkkkkkkbbh

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