We want to reimagine our future and change how we study the past at the University of Minnesota to help create a more socially just university.

With the many disciplines represented in the University of Minnesota Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures (CNRC), we are in a distinctive position to advance the discussion about systems of injustice present in the study of antiquity. CNRC hosted a series of conversations with small groups of scholars from around the country and world to discuss the systems of power embedded in the histories of our fields, systems that have favored particular dominant perspectives (most prominently, white, cisgender, heterosexual male; Western European/imperialist; and Christian-influenced); how these systems are perpetuated today in our undergraduate and graduate curricula and our scholarship; and how we can change our systems and practices to remove barriers for under-represented individuals and world views and to engage in more just ways of educating our students and performing our research.