Kate Wilson was standing in a wind-swept field with her students reading Virgil’s “The Georgics,” when a farmer told them something surprising. He explained that he could not harvest and replant any of the GMO corn from his own fields. Though he can sell the crop, any corn used for seed technically belongs to the agricultural cooperation that supplied it. 

For students reading Virgil’s first-century B.C. poem about agriculture, the precariousness of farming and reliance on powerful external forces sounded familiar. According to Wilson, in “The Georgics,” Virgil explores the uncertainties of farming as a way to express powerlessness and political dependence during a fraught period of Roman politics.

Wilson had this thematic overlap in mind when she built the curriculum for her 400-level “Topics in Latin Literature” course, assigning students multiple trips beyond the classroom into Missouri’s agricultural landscape. In 2025, her innovation was recognized by the A&S Teaching Innovation Showcase, where she won in the category “Integrating Experiential Elements that Facilitate New Skills Development.”

The central text of the course is “The Georgics,” a four-book poem written by Virgil around 30 C.E. He composed it at a pivotal moment in Roman history, after years of civil war and upheaval, as the Emperor Augustus rose to power. The poem explores fruit cultivation, grain farming, animal care, and beekeeping, using language that evokes a golden age of Roman agriculture.

According to Wilson, however, Virgil embeds a subtle critique, undercutting this idealized vision with a more grounded reality. Like their ancient counterparts, modern farmers contend with both the romanticization of their work and its inherent instability, facing uncertainties tied to weather, animal health, climate, and fluctuating crop prices.

The first experiential learning exercise Wilson implemented was asking students to grow potted herbs in their dorm rooms. Though most of the plants died, the highs and lows of caring for a living thing proved valuable. Then the students took field trips to a corn farm and a bee apiary, where they spoke with professional farmers. Finally, the students visited the “Grow” exhibition at the St. Louis Science Center, an interactive agriculture exhibit that highlighted the challenges faced by independent farmers.

Wilson was first inspired to add experiential learning to the curriculum while teaching another Latin course. One student translated a passage as “the girl was hanging fruit on the trees” instead of the correct “leaving the fruit hanging on the trees.” Wilson realized how important context is —and how little experience most American college students have with farming or even gardening. 

When it came time to teach “The Georgics,” she saw how a broader understanding of agriculture could deepen students’ engagement with Virgil. 

“It’s a difficult poem to read in Latin, and the vocabulary is very specific to farming, so it doesn't appear in other texts they might have read,” Wilson said. “I wanted to make sure  we didn't lose sight of the bigger picture — the cultural meaning and value of farming.”

Peter Satterthwaite, AB ’20, PhD ’26, took the course and valued the chance to engage in hands-on, learning beyond the classroom. Now a Classics PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania,  he said moving beyond the usual focus on vocabulary, grammar, and literary devices helped bring the poetry to life. 

“Because ‘The Georgics’ reflects fantasies about agriculture more than the experience, it was especially interesting to learn about agricultural science and cropping strategies directly from farmers in the St. Louis area, who provided invaluable firsthand perspectives on the true rewards and challenges of working with the land,” Satterthwaite said.  

Wilson plans to continue incorporating experiential learning when appropriate, seeing it as a powerful way to animate ancient texts in fresh, unexpected ways. 

“Broadening students’ experience, moving beyond translation to critical engagement requires context,” Wilson said. “Experiential practices can be an excellent way to provide that.”