The Vita Latina association was founded in 1957 by Édouard Théodore Aubanel, after the Avignon Congress in September 1956, to promote living Latin. Today, under the patronage of late Léopold Sédar Senghor, it strives for promoting Latin culture and its teaching.

The association’s executive committee meets every year to review the association’s activities and finances.

Officers

Louis Autin (Secretary), Béatrice Bakhouche (Chairman), Bruno Bureau, Pierre-Alain Caltot, Michèle Ducos, Aline Estèves, Fabrice Galtier, Marie-Dominique Joffre, Paul-Marius Martin (Honorary Chairman), Paul Mattei, Emmanuelle Raymond-Dufouleur, Jean-François Thomas (Trésorier), Régine Utard (Vice-Chairman).

History of the journal

Vita Latina was founded in 1957 as part of a series of experiments in living Latin. It is published by the Association of the same name, which was originally based in Avignon before being taken over by the University of Montpellier 3 in 1994.

For a long time, Vita Latina was written entirely in Latin and, as well as articles on classical authors, it contained original literary creations (poems, short stories) and reflections on current events. Since its editorial policy has evolved, and today, it is an annual journal of international renown, specialising in research into Latin studies (literature, history, philology, archaeology, philosophy, religion, mythology, arts, architecture) – from the origins to the Middle Ages, and even to the Renaissance –with a particular focus on authors on the syllabuses for the Agrégations in Classics, Grammar and Philosophy.

All of the journal’s collection is available online for all its issues since 1989 on the Persée website (https://www.persee.fr/collection/vita) with a sliding scale of 36 months after publication of the paper journal. Vita Latina is also referenced by BIBP of the University of Laval (Québec) for studies in patristics, as well as by the Année Philologique, ERIHPlus and Mir@bel. Its high international profile is reflected in its distribution in all European countries, as well as in the USA and Canada.

Its editorial board is national, bringing together scholars from different regions of France – Angers, Clermont-Ferrand, Montpellier and Paris. For several years, the journal has received ongoing financial support from several research teams: EA 4424 CRISES at Montpellier 3, UR 1491 EDITTA at Sorbonne University and EA 7457 CIRPaLL at University of Angers.

With an international scientific committee, the journal publishes original contributions in the usual research languages (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish), submitted to the double-blind review procedure, as well as bibliographies for the Agrégation and critical reviews of recently published books in the Vobis Legimus section. In addition, there are occasional varia, either written in Latin or an overview of the teaching of Classics in different countries, especially European ones.

Objectives of the journal

Each year, the Vita Latina journal publishes a wide range of articles covering several areas of research in Ancient studies (literature, history, philology, archaeology, philosophy, religion, mythology, art and architecture), with a clear editorial focus on Latin studies, from its origins to the Renaissance. Among the articles on offer are those on the authors on the renewed syllabus for the Agrégation de Lettres classiques, as well as two bibliographies on the works and authors of the syllabus.

Since 2021, the journal has also featured a section entitled “About Latin in …”, providing an overview of Latin teaching and research in various countries, especially European ones.

The journal also publishes reviews of recent works in the section entitled Vobis legimus.

Young researchers are given the opportunity to present articles, under the supervision of the PhD supervisor, to set forth parts of their work.

This diversity of fields, subjects and works presented by the journal is another way of demonstrating the vitality of Latin studies and Classics.