The Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures presents
The Future of the Past
Rethinking Legacies of Injustice in the Study of Antiquity
Introducing the Future of the Past Lab!
Shaping the future of antiquity, one conversation at a time.
The Future of the Past Lab is an initiative within the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures (CNRC) at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. As a group of scholars representing a wide range of disciplines, we founded the lab out of a desire to use our unique, interdisciplinary position to advance discussions about systems of injustice present in the study of antiquity. The goal of the Future of the Past is to prompt, facilitate, and platform public-facing work and conversations that think about the systems of power embedded in the histories of our fields; how those systems have favored particular dominant perspectives; how our practice as scholars and teachers perpetuates these systems today; and how we can make changes that remove barriers for under-represented individuals and world views. In doing so we hope to engage in more just ways of educating our students and performing our research.
Apply for our visiting fellowship series titled "Exploring the Assumptions of Cultural History". Applications for spring 2025 are due Friday, April 5th.
By Marc Brettler
Ancient texts are dangerous (1). The Bible, by which I mean the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, is especially dangerous when it informs political and ethical decisions. It would be irresponsible for us as teachers of the Bible and other ancient literature to teach only the sections that we find beautiful, uplifting, or morally just—but what should we do with the problematic parts? I would like to explore this matter by looking at the biblical texts that command the ethnic cleansing of the Amalekites, an issue that resonates with contemporary discourse. Read on:
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.
As part of the Lab, we've created a space for contributors to share thoughts and resources for thinking about our central questions. View our contributor guidelines for directions on submitting.
The Future of the Past Lab was born from a discussion series of the same name that took place from 2021 to 2023. You can still request recordings of these discussions are read biographies of the participating scholars.
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.
The Future of the Past
Rethinking Legacies of Injustice in the Study of Antiquity