SCS Blog
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Blog: Help Support the ACLSJoy Connolly |On May 1, the organization I run, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), filed suit to redress the damage done in April to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), with the American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association serving as co-plaintiffs. Most readers of this blog will already know the devastation DOGE wrought: roughly 65% of the NEH staff were laid off, and most grants made under the Biden administration were cancelled,… |
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Blog: On Gems, Poetry, Peridot, and ClassicsKevin Solez |Kevin Solez reflects on the parallels between working with gems and ancient poetic texts while offering a new translation of Posidippus Lithika 7. |
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Blog: The Importance of Names: The Carthaginian ‘Tophet’ at 100Nathan Pilkington |Nathan Pilkington calls for the abandonment of the term “tophet,” generally, and a renaming of the “tophet” at Carthage, specifically. Based on the epigraphic record at Carthage, a more proper name for the site is The Sanctuary of Ba'al Hamon. |
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Blog: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Roman ArmyMichael Taylor |Michael Taylor reflects on the Roman army as a multi-ethnic force, where the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion underpinned its effectiveness in the field. Recoiling against Trump’s recent erasure of the contribution of women and minorities in the nation’s service, he examines Roman traditions celebrating the contribution of non-citizen Italian officers and their contingents. |
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Blog: The Benefits and Costs of DEI Research in ClassicsArum Park |Over the past half-decade or so, I’ve written and spoken a lot about race, diversity, and Classics. As a woman of color in a historically white and male field, I have experienced my “fair” share of race- or gender-based injustice, so it feels rewarding (and overdue) to witness and participate in the discipline’s current moment of critical self-reflection. Each of my DEI-focused projects, essays, and speaking engagements has given me a kind of satisfaction that I do not… |
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Blog: Greek Myth, Martha Graham, and the Society for Classical Studies: Classicists, Archaeologists, and the Public in Philadelphia Enthralled by Martha Graham Dance Company PerformanceRonnie Ancona |On January 4, 2025, the Martha Graham Dance Company, with sponsorship by the Society for Classical Studies, which was holding its annual meeting in Philadelphia along with the Archaeological Institute of America, performed two Greek-themed dances: a duet, Errand into the Maze (1947), loosely based on the Ariadne, Theseus, and Minotaur myth; and Cave of the Heart (1946), based on the story of Medea, for a sold-out audience at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Graham’s… |
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Blog: What I Learned at Coin CampPatricia Hatcher |Patricia Hatcher reflects on her interdisciplinary studies during the American Numismatic Society’s summer graduate seminar. The ANS taught skills to succeed in academia and unsuspectingly showcased alternative careers for those studying the ancient world. |
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Introducing the SCS 2024 CensusRachel Philbrick |The Newly-formed SCS Data Committee Announces its First Annual Census |
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Blog: Medea and Ariadne Reimagined: Honoring Martha Graham’s Deep Engagement with Greek MythNina Papathanasopoulou |Nina Papathanasopoulou discusses in further detail the two Martha Graham Greek-themed dances that will be performed as part of this year’s joint SCS/AIA 2025 Annual Meeting. |
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Blog: Pushing Back: Odysseys in Folkestone, U.K.Emily Pillinger |This blog post was first written to record an event run in support of refugees and migrants that took place a year ago, as part of the UK’s 2023 Being Human Festival of the Humanities. Organized by two scholars of the ancient Mediterranean at King’s College London (Emily Pillinger and James Corke-Webster), the workshop emerged from a collaboration with the charity Art Refuge, with the participation of visual artists and musicians from the project “Penelope’s Web.” It… |
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Blog: Martha Graham meets Ancient Greece in PhiladelphiaJames Ker, Nina Papathanasopoulou |James Ker and Nina Papathansopoulou write about a unique opportunity for those attending the Philadelphia annual meeting in January 2025. |
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Blog: Culture-Heroism in Vergil’s Eclogue 5 and Cormac McCarthy’s Blood MeridianXander Tyska |Xander Tyska explores allusions to Vergil in Cormac McCarthy’s work as a reflection upon the moral ambiguity of “culture-heroes” and the very act of discovery. The late Cormac McCarthy’s 1985 Blood Meridian: Or, The Evening Redness in the West is one of the most powerful and horrifying works of American literature. The novel describes the violent progress of an unnamed protagonist known as “the kid” as he engages in the slaughter of the indigenous people of the… |
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Blog: Contingent Faculty Series: A Conversation with Dr. Reema HabibReema Habib, Joshua Nudell |Our eighth interview in the Contingent Faculty Series is a virtual conversation between Dr. Joshua Nudell and Dr. Reema Habib. The interviews in this series are designed to highlight the work and experiences of faculty whose positions are contingent, including adjuncts, visiting assistant professors, tenure-ineligible lecturers, and others on time-limited contracts. Joshua Nudell: To start off, share with us how you got interested in the ancient world, and… |
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SCS Diablog: Forever in Bloom: Kehinde Wiley’s Archaeology of SilenceRichard Armstrong, Casey Dué |After successful runs in Venice, Paris, and San Francisco, Kehinde Wiley’s Archaeology of Silence has been reinstalled in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, where Classics professors Casey Dué Hackney and Richard Armstrong explored its ensemble of paintings and bronze sculptures. It is a project of scale first and foremost, broken into chapel-like galleries where the brightly-lit pieces dramatically break through darkened spaces, every one featuring the figure of a Black… |
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Blog: Civic Engagement in the Classroom, part 2Joanna Kenty |In Part 1, I talked about two major ways of incorporating civic engagement into your courses: covering content that helps students to understand democratic institutions, systems, and ideals; and giving students opportunities to help others. These are potentially transformative learning opportunities for students that will really stick with them after your class is over, but they’re also an opportunity for you to do something rewarding and meaningful. Here in Part 2, I… |
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Blog: Civic Engagement in the Classroom, part 1Joanna Kenty |After 8 years of teaching Latin, Greek, Roman civilization, and other topics in the classical world, I’ve moved on to work as a curriculum designer and faculty development facilitator for a small nonprofit, The Citizens Campaign. I’m on a team of former practitioners of government and politics who are trying to let more people in on the secret of how to get practical, effective policy solutions adopted at the local level. In this new world, where Ben Franklin seems… |
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Blog: Women in Roman Higher Education: Marginal(ized) Learners, Teachers, and IntellectualsSinja Küppers |This month, we spotlight the graduate research of Dr. Sinja Küppers, who recently defended her dissertation on marginal learners in Roman higher education. |
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Blog: Ancient Worlds, Modern Communities: Exploring Violence, Gender, and Race through New Works in Film, Art, and TheaterNina Papathanasopoulou |The Ancient Worlds, Modern Communities initiative (AnWoMoCo), launched by the SCS in 2019 as the Classics Everywhere initiative, supports projects that seek to engage broader publics — individuals, groups, and communities — in critical discussion of and creative expression related to the ancient Mediterranean, the global reception of Greek and Roman culture, and the history of teaching and scholarship in the field of classical studies. As part of this initiative, the… |
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Blog: How often do you think about the Roman Empire?Jordan Mitchell |As a classicist who focuses on Roman literature, it should come as no surprise that I think about the Romans a lot, every day, in fact. And now I know that I am not alone. A recent trend on TikTok where women ask men how often they think about the Roman Empire has gone viral. The vast majority of men respond that they think about the Roman Empire a great deal, with many saying several times a week. This seemingly pervasive response comes as a surprise to the women… |
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Blog: Bad Boys and Worse Verse: Hades and Persephone in Translation, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses to Young/New Adult FictionPiper Hays |Content forecast: sexual assault There’s a saying on my side of the internet that goes: “Don’t kill the part of you that’s cringe. Kill the part that cringes.” I’m a fervent supporter of liking what you like, as long as it does no harm. So, for a long time, I’ve really tried my best to understand one of the newest literary trends to hit the fiction market. Yes, you read that title right. Gone are the days of cartoonishly evil portrayals with their flaming hair and… |