Recognizing Ancient Diversity and the Scholarship of All Classicists:

NEW!  Dr. Harriet Fertik speaks on "Rethinking Classical Education with W.E.B. Du Bois' Souls of Black Folks" based on her reflections on his writing and her understanding of his views within the historical context as well as some implications for classical studies today. Her presentation was part of our NCLG 2023 Exploring Equity Panel, 'Rethinking the Canon; New Voices Reassess Traditional Content.' A video clip of her talk alone is HERE. Within the whole panel recording, her presentation begins at minute 17:30. The latter is a large file, so it may take a few moments to load on your device. 

NEW!  Black Classicists in Texas is a free public exhibition celebrating African American teachers of Latin and Greek in Central Texas; incl. 'This is My Native Land: Tracking the "Classical" Legacy Across Texan Historically Black Colleges and Universities,' a detailed and illustrated story map of information on HBCUs. 3/2023 Humanities Texas and UT Austin Classics. The website enables you to easily browse through the exhibits, learn more about each item, find high-quality images and detailed descriptions of the items, so you can also immerse yourself in the experience of the physical exhibition from your home or share it in your classroom. Introduction, resources, a Timeline of Black issues, advocacy and scholarship; NPR broadcast by Texas Standard on 5/1/23 ‘Teaching Greek and Roman texts in the Jim Crow era.’

NEW!  Hear the thoughts of Dr. Anika Prather on the Black Classical Tradition. Describing her own journey from skepticism to enthusiasm, Dr. Prather explains why it makes sense for students of color to embrace the reality of the deep connection between Black education and the classical tradition, especially in America. She explains how that study helped liberate and empower African Americans (who were torn from their own cultures and linguistic traditions) by giving them access to language study and the tools of logic and rhetoric. This podcast summarizes her presentation for our NCLG DEI panel and her keynote address at ACL Institute 2022.

NEW!  Biographical essay on 8 South Carolina figures by Dr. Michele Valerie Ronnick produced by the NCLG and the College of Charleston to accompany an NCLG panel "Facing the Erasure of Black Classicists in America; Highlighting their Role in Classics and Educational Equity." Access her essay here and share with students and colleagues about the lives and contributions of eight accomplished classicists born in South Carolina: "Black South Carolinians and Classical Education." Here is a separate source list for the essay.

SPECIAL NEW RESOURCE !!  NCLG Spotlights on Black Classicists Slideshow Magazines! 

All Spotlights and other resources are available as individual articles on NCLG website. Here is an excellent way to begin to learn or teach about some important Black Classicists in American scholarship! All Spotlights and other resources are available as individual articles on NCLG website. Here is an excellent way to begin to learn or teach about some important Black Classicists in American scholarship! Scroll through.....

 NCLG Spotlight article on Dr. Michele Valerie Ronnick's well known Black Classicists: A Mural Mosaic exhibit (posters available to self-print) on lives of 18 Black classicists.

Other Black Classicist Spotlights in the series:

NCLG Spotlight article on Helen Maria Chesnutt, Cleveland, Ohio educator and Latin textbook author.

NCLG Spotlight article on the life and work of Dr. R.S. Lovinggood with reflections from NCLG interviews with family members. Also available in pdf.

NCLG Spotlight article on John Wesley Gilbert and Dr. John W.I. Lee's research on his life and scholarship in Classics and archeology. 

NCLG Spotlight article on  William Sanders Scarborough and the Work of Michele Valerie Ronnick.(and PDF)

NCLG spotlight article on Helen and Dorothy Chesnutt exhibit at CWRU (free poster available) by Dr. Paul Hay.

   NCLG Spotlight on Peggy W. Norris' new book on William L. Bulkley;

   William L. Bulkley 1861-1933 African American Educator and Reformer. (2022) Also see his entry within our NCLG booklet,  Black South Carolinians and Classical Education, a biographic essay by Michele Valerie Ronnick, located HERE.

Margaret Malamud, African Americans and the Classics: Antiquity, Abolition And Activism. London: I. B. Tauris, 2016. Classics has been complicit in White elitism and supremacy movements. Malamud takes a long historical view of the ways that knowledge of Latin and Greek and those ancient civilizations and cultures was used by African Americans as a tool for resistance, as they worked for political rights, equality, and access to educational opportunities usually withheld from Black slaves, former slaves, and free Blacks. Malamud presents a good summary of time periods, movements, and major figures useful to start one’s research in this area. The Afterword has further examples from the mid- 20th to the 21st century of persons influenced by these two classical languages and cultures.     

     NCLG offers Quotes and Reflections: Study Guides 1-5 with reflection questions for students to answer on each quoted selection. Direct links to all 5 discussion guides are listed at the top of each NCLG Study Guide: Introduction      Fighting for Classics      Refiguring Classical Resistance     Ancient and Modern Slavery     Constructing History / Afterword    Study guides are C-RM Grades13-16

NEW!  Legacy of Black Classicists in America: HERE is a folder of materials from Dr. Michele Ronnick of Wayne State University. Two beautiful posters are included! She has dedicated herself to highlighting the legacy of contributions from Black Classicists in America. Classica Africana and Classica Hispana brochures, an edition of Scarborough’s First Lessons in Greek, her photo mural at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies of 18 Black Classicists, and news of a new book, William Sanders Scarborough and the Enduring Legacy of Black Classical Scholarship, from Oxford Press and the AASC.

Classica Africana: Eos Society and Classical Association of Ghana hosts International Classics Conferences with a focus on African receptions, themes, and scholars. Recent conference on October 8-11, 2020; Eosafricana is “a society dedicated to studying the contributions of people of African descent from the African continent and throughout the diaspora… (It) prioritizes practices that treat students and faculty of color equitably, respects their intellectual and affective work, and ensures that it is visible within the academy and outside of it.” Eosafricana Society posts on Twitter @Eosafricana, and it has a resource page of collaborations, important books and speakers, ways to connect, etc., on its site.

NEW!  An American Academy in Berlin lecture by current Fellow, Dr. Nandini Pandey, focuses on Roman Diversity: Modern Lessons from an Ancient Empire (2/21) Easy to apply to classroom lessons and syllabi. Pandey offers new insights into some Roman views on diversity in a video presentation: “….Romans understood the pragmatic benefit of providing opportunity to constituent peoples regardless of race. On the other hand, Roman diversity was grounded in violent conquest, exploitation, and slavery……In this talk, Nandini Pandey explored the literary and material remnants of Roman diversity, suggesting that the spaces in which it appeared became “heterotopias,” wherein Romans learned to admire their empire’s ethnic array, manipulate it, and, ultimately, commodify it…..”

Database of Classical Scholars is an ongoing work that provides biographical and bibliographical information on hundreds of scholars from the last 250 years, including Black, Latino, and European scholars. It began under the auspices of the APA but is now managed by Rutgers University. A good place for students to explore diverse people in the field and their contributions.

Addressing the Realities of Race, Bias, and Exclusion: Presenting Accurate and Unbiased Cultural and Historical Content

NEW!  Memnon the Ethiopian King of the the Trojan saga and beyond; A New Play Revitalizes Ancient Story! Learn more from a NCLG and ACL-sponsored webinar about this mythic figure and his place in history and legend. Memnon, a new play written by Will Power and performed by the Classical Theater of Harlem under the direction of Carl Cofield premiered in September 2024 at the J. Paul Getty Villa Museum's Outdoor Greek Theater. In this webinar, we interview Will Power and Carl Cofield about their vision and also hear about some classroom applications. The webpage has a growing number of links to varied resources about the play and the hero in literature and art and teacher-created materials to help you make this story come alive for your students, or to inspire you to incorporate Memnon into other myth units and projects you might teach. New NCLG webpage under African Origins is HERE, where you can find the  WEBINAR RECORDING  and many other teaching resources for teaching about Memnon, including some handouts with Greek and Latin texts. There are also classroom ready slides and handouts. CR-M Grades6-13

NEW!  Do ancient literature and culture have real meaning for underrepresented and non-traditional groups?

VIDEOS! The Hurt of the Past, The Wounds of the Present. (Adviso: Adult topics discussed) There have been some successful programs bringing Greek and Roman literature to incarcerated youth and adults as well as military veterans. One of these has been led by Dr. Emily Allen-Hornblower of Rutgers' Classics Department. She has shared the following with NCLG, "For the last 8 years, I have been teaching college-level courses in Classics to incarcerated men (and women) in medium and maximum-security prisons. Our discussions, particularly regarding Homer and Greek tragedy, have invariably proven to be a springboard for addressing the burning social, ethical and human issues that pertain to these men's lives before, during, and after their release from prison." Ancient themes still relate and give them a new voice.

         Rediscovering Our Humanity: Reading the Classics Behind Bars. This is an 85 minute videotaped discussion with Q&A, hosted by the Philadelphia Ethical Society on the deep connections and resonance between the themes of ancient Greek drama and life in our society today. Dr. Emily Allen-Hornblower leads and includes reflections of now formerly incarcerated Nafeesah Goldsmith and Marquis McCray.

         On Contact: The power of Classics is a videotaped interview of Emily Allen-Hornblower by Pulitzer Prize-winning Jounalist Chris Hedges. This is a 30 minute interview with Dr. Allen-Hornblower of Rutgers Classics faculty and formerly incarcerated Marquis McCray. Chris Hedges discusses the power of the classics, such as Sophocles' play Philoctetes, to elucidate mass incarceration.

        Story in the Public Square:Story in the Public Square 10/31/2021 Season 10 Episode 16 Associate Professor of Classics at Rutgers University Emily Allen-Hornblower along with Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller sit down with  CEO of Real Intervention Supports Excellence (RISE), Nafeesah Goldsmith. Allen-Hornblower and Goldsmith discuss how insights gleaned from studying classic texts can be applied by students learning in environments as challenging as the American judicial system. www.pbs.org  

NEW WEBINAR! UNITEDWELEARN webinar is on-demand to view on EdWeek.com. Webinar hosts Ross Wiener, Exec, Dir. of the Aspen Institute and Dr. Francesca Lopez, Equity Pedagogy at Penn State show research and evidence-based approaches to treating race and racism in schools and how current trends in restricting this educational content is decidedly counter-productive. The more and the earlier we discuss openly these issues, the students will become less-biased and more inclusive, not the opposite as some politicians say.

NEW!  Changing Perspectives: Making a Paradigm Shift in Course Content. National Committee for Latin and Greek hosted a DEI panel discussion at ACL 2021 Institute. View the live recording to hear the important views and advice of several Classicists, plus information on many key resources. The NCLG DEI Chair Dan McGlathery opened the panel with an overview of the topic and the DEI goals of the NCLG.  The panel included detailed presentations by Rebecca Futo Kennedy, Victoria Pagan, Skye Shirley, Jacqui Bloomberg, and Serena Witzke  Full video is accessible HERE.

Archeology resources that help broaden the scope and perspectives on the Greco-Roman empires

NEW!  We share a student-suggested website on Split, Diocletian, and the architecture of his palace there that is suitable for Grades 6-up. The emperor Diocletian was notable in several ways, not the least of which was his very humble family origin in the small Dalmatian town of Salona. He rose through military service to be an emperor whose policies rocked the Roman world in many ways: good, bad and transformative. His edicts and laws brought both persecution, more equitable taxation, and a huge bureaucratic system based on 4 decentralized tetrarchic centers of power. A good summary bio with links is also here.

Archeological Institute of America Webinars: Critical Conversations on Race, Teaching, and Antiquity: Three free special online webinars from AIA on the importance of designing more inclusive and less Euro-centric course content and developing more broader teaching perspectives about the Ancient Mediterranean and archaeology, Classics, ancient history, museums, and cultural heritage. The webinars aim to provide concrete strategies for educators to incorporate new approaches and resources that promote inclusivity in courses on the ancient Mediterranean.

These three webinars were: Kennedy, Hill, Blouin, Cooley and Takacs speaking on "Decolonizing Syllabi in the Archaeology and History of the Mediterranean Region."  

Beeler, Hucks, Kim, Mac Sweeney, and Mazurek speaking on "Teaching Race and Material Culture in the Ancient Mediterranean.” 

And "Becoming Better Accomplices And Instructors: Justice, Activism, And Reflexivity In Teaching Museums And Cultural Heritage," presented by Sanchita Balachandran, Machal Gradoz, Morag M. Kersel, Elizabeth Marlowe, and Alexander Nagel.

Two Ancient History Encyclopedia articles, shared publicly through Creative Commons,  are a good starting place to show students how much trade and contact there was between the Greco-Roman region and North African coastal traders and the Sub-Saharan regions of Africa where other advanced cultures existed.

   "Roman Expeditions in Sub-Saharan Africa." Ancient History Encyclopedia, Mark, Joshua J. 07 Feb 2020. Web. 14 Dec 2020.

   "The Roman Empire in West Africa." Ancient History Encyclopedia, King, Arienne. 07 Mar 2018. Web. 13 Dec 2020.

NEW!   A Latin Classroom Unit on Nubia during the Augustan Expansion Campaigns: Here are lesson materials for a Latin class unit focusing on the Nubian Queen Kandake Amanirenas and her actions against Augustan imperial expansion (25-21BCE). This unit is based on Emma Vanderpool’s Latin novella Kandake Amanirenas Regina Nubiae. A presentation video, shared by Kate Seat of The Collegiate School of Memphis, TN: Teaching with Kandake Amanirenas Regina Nubiae outlines successful approaches to this important story of a bold and intelligent African queen and how a teacher can use this story to broaden students’ perspectives about ancient Africa, Nubia, and women in leadership. A large folder of Kandake Amanirenas Shareables is also available.

NEW!   Author Javal Coleman has shared with us his piece on Ancient Slavery (9.23.21) in a new blog, Pasts Imperfect, created by Sarah E. Bond, Colin McCaffrey and himself.  Following his similar article in the SCS blog, he offers a comprehensive list of valuable books and articles about the origins of ancient slavery and its persistence in various forms throughout history. This would be a great resource for teachers desiring to correct the images of slavery often portrayed in textbooks and the often biased information in historical surveys. https://pastsimperfect.substack.com/p/pasts-imperfect-92321

NEW!   Here is one reading list for adults and children provided by the Interpretive Staff of the McCloud Plantation Historic Site to visitors from the ACL Institute 2022 held in Charleston, SC. It covers a range of sources on the local history of enslavement and personal, educational and political discrimination in America. Please examine sources and recommend appropriately to your audience.

Here are three opinion pieces on the importance of analyzing word choice and redesigning course content to address ancient slavery and oppression. These teachers offer sound advice to instructors, present clear and pertinent examples, and urge curricular change:

    Robinson, E. (2017). “‘The Slaves Were Happy’: High School Latin and the Horrors of Classical Studies.” Eidolon. 

    Bostick, D. (2018). “Teaching Slavery in the High School Latin Classroom.” Medium. 

    Dugan, Kelly P. (2019) "The “Happy Slave” Narrative and Classics Pedagogy: A Verbal and Visual Analysis of Beginning Greek and Latin Textbooks," New England Classical Journal: Vol. 46 : Iss. 1 , 62-87. Available at:  P. Gabrielle Foreman, et al. 

“Writing about Slavery/Teaching About Slavery: This Might Help” community-sourced document from Culpepper NAACP that offers very important advice on terms to use and those to avoid. (cited Creative Commons Share-Alike permissions).

NEW!! Correcting the 'White Marble Image' of Greco-Roman Art and Architecture:

NEW!   Antiquity: In Living Color. Here is a slideshow shared by Katie Robinson and a document with her Speaker Notes containing copious references and links (2024). This slide lesson collects examples of polychromy in Greece and Rome that have been unknown, ignored, or deliberately distorted. It is based on recent work of scientists and artists in conjunction with several world museums in an effort to recreate accurate depictions of original color. It poses the basic questions of why it is important to know the reality of ancient art and culture, how scientists can discover the true colors of sculptures and architectural features, and in what ways we can reveal these colors without harming the ancient works. This is appropriate for grades 7 up.

NEW!   Museum blog from England on research revealing original colors of steles, monuments and inscriptions in Roman Britain. Why Roman stones were more colourful than you realised…by Andrew Parkin, Keeper of Archaeology, Great North Museum: Hancock. See more on the exhibit Roman Britain in Colour  and Hadrian’s Wall gallery.

NEW!   Mark B. Abbe's “Polychromy of Roman Marble Sculpture” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/prms/hd_prms.htm) (2007)  This work goes deep into many technical aspects of color and the history of its detection and acknowledgement. Further Reading suggested in the work: Pliny the Elder, Natural History, XXXV–VI; Vitruvius, De Architectura, VII; Brinkmann, Vinzenz, and Raimund Wünsche, eds. Color of the Gods: Painted Sculpture in Classical Antiquity. Munich: Stiftung Archeologie, 2007; Grossman, Janet Burnett. Looking at Greek and Roman Sculpture in Stone. Los Angeles: Getty Museum, 2003.

Discussing the principles of polychromy in Greco-Roman sculpture and architecture in general, here is a slideshow to download, created by Colin Omilanowski suitable for introducing students to The Conservation, Restoration and Presentation of Paint at the Ara Pacis, Rome; Clear, basic information on color sources plus researched polychromy reconstructions by archeologists and museums. His Polychromy Handout, includes an outline, excellent bibliography, and 4 links to world museum research site articles with amazing color reconstructions suitable for the classroom.

Museums offer excellent resources on color in Greco-Roman Sculpture and Architecture, such as: Tracking Colour, Gods In Color, APPEAR, Polychromy Research Project. Here are some interactive websites that show original coloration of often misconstrued “white marble” statuary and architectural decoration.

Gods in Color: Liebieghaus Skulpturen Sammlung in Frankfurt am Main, DE, offers a “Digitorial” interactive website exploring the history and techniques of examining polychromy on ancient statues. Roll-over color reveals and 8 webpages of related topical information on color and design. Polychromy Research Project: Repository of research, reconstructions, and links related to polychromy studies of ancient statues by Stiftung and the Liebieghaus Museum dispel the “white marble image of antiquity,” promoted since the Renaissance in Europe. It explains several scientific methods of examination and reconstruction, with many interactive views and reveals based on artistic evaluation of numerous works of art. This is an excellent overview to present to students, as well as to instructors and historians.

The APPEAR Project (Ancient Panel Paintings: Examination, Analysis, and Research) J. Paul Getty Museum’s examination of Romano-Egyptian mummy portraits: mummy portrait. Interactive mummy portrait revealing its layers through multispectral imagery. Check out their other links on related resources.

Tracking Colour - Polychromy of the Ancient World: Extensive bibliography and Preliminary Reports 1-5 are free to download. Over 150 pictures of objects with polychromy posted by the Ny Carlsberg Gylptotek.

NEW!   Museum blog from England on research revealing original colors of steles, monuments and inscriptions in Roman Britain. Why Roman stones were more colourful than you realised…by Andrew Parkin, Keeper of Archaeology, Great North Museum: Hancock. See more on the exhibit Roman Britain in Colour  and Hadrian’s Wall gallery.

 NEW!   Verri, G., Granger-Taylor, H., Jenkins, I., Sweek, T., Weglowska, K., & Wootton, W. (2023). The Goddess’  New Clothes: The carving and polychromy of the Parthenon Sculptures. Antiquity, 97(395), 1173-1192.  King’s College London offers access to the article pdf. For notes on colors and conclusions, see p. 5-9.

Creating Space for Teaching an Inclusive Canon:

NEW!  Expand your curriculum: Bring Latin writings to your level 2-3 students composed by non-canonical authors born in North America in the 17th century. You may know of Phillis Wheatley, but we offer four examples you may not be aware of. Access our summaries and links to copies of original works of Francis Williams, a Black scholar of Jamaica and education advocate; two Wampanoag Harvard College students, Caleb Cheeshateaumauk and Eleazar Judus; and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz who lived near Mexico City and published in Spanish, Latin, and Nahuatl, earning her the title The Tenth Muse. Appreciation to Dr. Michele Valerie Ronnick and to Skye Shirley for sharing their work on Williams and Sor Juana, respectively.

NEW!  Dr. Stephanie McCarter, reflecting on her new translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses, speaks on the need for more accurate translations and greater sensitivity toward gender and sexual violence portrayed within epic works such as the Metamorphoses. She offers advice for Latin instructors and many practical examples for how to handle such readings in the classroom. She is the second speaker in our 2023 NCLG Exploring Equity Panel, "Rethinking the Canon: New Voices Reassess Traditional Content." Start at minute 35:00 of the video. This is a large file, so it may take a few moments to load on your device.

NEW!  Roman Literature, Gender and Reception: Domina Illustris,  a cutting-edge collection of essays, honors the feminist Classical scholar Dr. Judith Hallett and offers provocative studies of ancient history, literature, gender identifications and roles, and subsequent interpretations of the republican and imperial Roman past. The prose and poetry of Cicero and Petronius, Lucretius, Virgil, and Ovid receive fresh interpretations; pagan and Christian texts are re-examined from feminist and imaginative perspectives; genres of epic, didactic, and tragedy are re-examined; and subsequent uses and re-uses of the ancient heritage are probed with new attention: Shakespeare, Nineteenth Century American theater, and contemporary productions involving prisoners and veterans.

Broadening the canon with texts from Women Writing Latin. This course explores excellent additional but ignored texts that were written by women across 2,500 years of Latin's incredible history. Students need to see works such as these from constituencies usually unrepresented in the Classics curriculum at every level.  The Women Writing Latin program is compiling a long list of such texts, available online. Readings are drawn from ancient Roman funerary inscriptions, graffiti, early Christian poetry, Medieval letters between royalty, Renaissance feminist arguments, dissertations by the first women to obtain doctorate degrees in science, 19th century textbook passages, and email correspondence by women writing in Latin today.  Emphasis is on drawing connections between texts and current efforts to make these silenced voices more accessible to scholars and students alike.

As an example, a new resource text worth considering, Rome and Beyond: A Latin Curriculum, “presents to students different perspectives on the rich diversity of culture during the Roman Empire. Two story lines follow a young woman, Aelia, and an imprisoned Christian woman, the martyr Perpetua, both living in 3rd century Carthage, in North Africa. In addition, the curriculum features numerous adapted excerpts from a range of Roman authors and links to related cultural information. Created by Dr.Haskell of Southwestern University, Dr. Sypniewski of Millsaps College, Dr. Samson of the Lovett School, Dr. Hamil Gilbert of Birmingham-Southern University. (Open access, Creative Commons attrib. ShareAlike licensing, listed with authors’ permission. All units available 4/21.)

NEW!  Add a strong female voice accessible to your high school  or beginning college Latin curriculum! Tom Hendrickson has published a new Student Edition for The Passion of Perpetua in an innovative collaboration with his own students. You can purchase it or use the FREE online copy. NCLG Spotlight article HERE in pdf.

NEW!  Designing for Equity (Why I am (maybe) never teaching Cicero again). Here is a video presentation by Elizabeth Manwell of Kalamazoo College, MI, given at Res Difficiles Conference 2021. You can scroll down on the conference website where she shares her video and  handout about how we can (re)design college classes and course content to better serve the actual needs and goals of many of our students.

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