MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND
Crossroads for classics: Memorial scholars, African universities partner to globalize Classics department

Once the foundation of humanities curriculums the world over, the field of classics is experiencing an identity crisis.

Dr. Luke Roman hopes to re-envision classics as a place where human relationships and the values that sustain them community, reciprocity, trust are primary goals of the academic enterprise. Photo: Rich Blenkinsopp

That's according to Dr. Luke Roman, head of Memorial's Department of Classics.

"Classics, like other disciplines, is regionally siloed," said Dr. Roman. "Recognizing and confronting such limitations presents an opportunity to expand our connections and potentially serve as a model for other disciplines."

Increasingly dissatisfied with an exclusive focus on Greece and Rome, modern classicists are expanding their research to the broader ancient Mediterranean, and tracing the dissemination of classical knowledge beyond the Western world.

However, despite these efforts, there is still an appreciable divide between scholars from different regions.

"Classicists from the global North meet each other at conferences and hire each other's students," Dr. Roman explained. "They collaborate on grant applications and publish each other's papers, engaging almost exclusively with scholars from other institutions of the global North."

Despite the high value placed on internationalization and equity, diversity and inclusion by major universities, researchers in the South still encounter systemic obstacles to participating in events and opportunities involved in crucial disciplinary dialogues.

Believing that discussions about the globalization of classics cannot meaningfully occur without global participation, Dr. Roman partnered with classicists from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and the University of Ghana, Legon, to confront this disparity.

Student inspired

As often happens at universities, a student-focused initiative led the way.

In the fall of 2015, Dr. Roman received an email from a student at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, who was interested in Memorial's Classics Program.

As more Ibadan students joined the department, faculty members began communicating and forging collaboration among classicists from the two countries.

"If it hadn't been for that student, we might not have become aware of each other's existence at all." Dr. Luke Roman

Soon, they discussed a shared goal of challenging hegemonic norms and promoting a multiplicity of viewpoints within their discipline.

"This was the kernel of our partnership," Dr. Roman said. "And if it hadn't been for that student, we might not have become aware of each other's existence at all."

Future focused

The group's project, titled Classics at the Crossroads, is being supported by a recent Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Development Grant.

With the federal funding, the organizers plan to develop a more inclusive and interconnected classics discipline.

Plans are already in place for faculty and student exchanges between partnered universities, residencies for scholars and artists from African countries and modern African adaptations of ancient Greek tragedies.

Student opportunities are also key to the project.

"Two students, who will be recruited to pursue a master of arts in global classics degree at Memorial, will be especially closely engaged with the project's core research," said Dr. Roman. "They will participate in discussions among team members about key directions and priorities and will present conference papers in locations such as London and Ghana."

The initiative also plans to provide mentorship and other opportunities for emerging scholars, fostering a new generation of classicists equipped with a global perspective.

"This is not just an on-paper project, but a practical one," Dr. Roman said. "My hope is that we can re-envision classics as a place where human relationships and the values that sustain them community, reciprocity, trust are not secondary, but rather primary goals of the academic enterprise."

For more information on the Classics at the Crossroads project, visit the SSHRC 2023-24 recipients page.