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Fall 2020- · Torch: U.S. ·TACKLING ELITISM IN THE CLASSICS
The classics community has been my home for seven years now. I’ve spent more than a month of my life at JCL conventions, and some of my favorite memories are from classics events and courses: learning from enthusiastic teachers, making a class translation for some of Ovid’s Heroides, and going to IHOP for breakfast before the AP Latin exam are particular highlights. Thus, I feel that I owe it to this community to be honest.
Though it wasn’t on my mind as a sixth-grader just beginning Latin, I have grown to understand that for people who have never studied Latin or Greek, this niche can exude an aura of pretension. This is not unfounded: historically, the study of classics has been used to help maintain the status of the privileged elite, and this unfortunately can still happen. I believe wholeheartedly in the value of studying the classics, so it is deeply upsetting to know that women and people of color have been excluded from the community.
Today, classical institutions have a responsibility to dispose of their negative reputation and foster inclusion, but some instead promote an elitist, bigoted agenda. In October 2019, accusations of misconduct surfaced against the administrators of the Paideia Institute, a prominent organization that advocates for classical study. Members of the Sportula, an equity-focused collective of classics scholars and junior faculty, posted a statement on Medium.com asserting that “the Paideia Institute and its affiliated programs create an environment that is hostile to people of color, women, students from working-class backgrounds, the LGBTQ community, and other marginalized groups.” The article went on to describe many instances of harassment suffered by staff members and the toxicity cultivated by administrators.
Institutional members of Paideia, such as Yale University, seriously considered divesting from the Institute based on “serious reservations” about Paideia’s approach to classics. Some actually did so. Others were more understanding of Paideia’s efforts to enact internal change while still acknowledging its issues of discrimination. Regardless, it pains me and many others to hear that prejudiced practices have negatively impacted Paideia students’ and staff members’ love for the classics.
However, there are other organizations actively making an effort to create a more welcoming environment for classicists of all backgrounds. For example, the Iris Project is an organization in the UK that aims to make the classics accessible to all. Their “Literacy Through Latin” program runs “in state primary schools, as well as… schools in deprived regions of the UK, where literacy levels are often low and many children are on free school meals.” Flint Hill Classics teacher and NJCL Committee emerita Sherry Jankowski Doerfler supports the Iris Project’s initiatives: “I like that the Iris Project’s mission is to provide access for all learners to the sense of excitement and discovery found through the study of Latin. For me, approaching Latin and the study of classics as a vehicle of fascination, enjoyment, and fun is important to the continuation of our discipline.
“If we only focus on Latin’s utility and only with those for whom Latin is readily available, we will miss countless opportunities to share all the things that make Latin fun and enjoyable with a larger audience. Decreasing limitations and structural roadblocks to learning about the ancient world is not only at the heart of the Iris Project, but I feel is also at the heart of the JCL’s mission, ‘Classics for everyone.’”
Iris is far from the only accessibility-minded classics organization; The Sportula, the collective that levied the allegations against Paideia in October, offers microgrants to low-income classicists who might be underserved by traditional scholarship initiatives. The classics and social justice group’s mission is to “bring classics out of the academy” and into a social justice sphere, and there are several Classical Caucuses that provide support and a platform for underrepresented classicists. There’s even a progressive classics journal: Eidolon is available online for free and offers a feminist perspective on classical study.
The reputation of the classics as a field dominated by elitism and gatekeeping far precedes us, the current students and scholars. Thus, confronting the problem often seems like a Herculean task. After all, how are we going to fight an entire culture of exclusion and pretension when we have homework to do?
But there are ways we can help. Think seriously about the classical organizations you’re involved in. Supporting the aforementioned groups and similar organizations through service and donations goes a long way towards forging an atmosphere of inclusion and equity. And in your everyday Latin life, examine the ways in which you’re taught. Does your textbook’s practice translations include sentences like “Femina aquam minus facile quam servus portāre poterat” (“The woman was able to carry water less easily than the slave”) and the like? Loving Latin doesn’t mean accepting the prejudices shared by the Romans and our textbook authors. Finally, know that the study of classics is for you, if you want it. You are welcome, and you belong.
Tackling Elitism in the Classics
Julianne Cuevo, Flint Hill School, VA
"Know that the study of classics is for you, if you want it. You are welcome, and you belong."