Welcoming All Students and Colleagues
More on Inclusion
Welcoming All Students and Colleagues
More on Inclusion
The National Committee for Latin and Greek feels that creating an accepting and affirming language classroom and extended school environment means embracing the feelings and realities of all students, teachers, and community members. Upholding their rights, honoring their identity, and validating with equity all of the achievements in the academic community and throughout history are all important tenets of any inclusive program. Teaching openly about the broader identity community in the countries connected to the target language study, presently and historically, should be a stated goal, as well as teaching history accurately from multiple perspectives, including acknowledging the gender identities of historical and cultural figures in world cultures. This also means internalizing these goals and acting them out in our professional and personal lives
- in the classroom, the faculty lounge, and the community.
Here are some resources that offer insights. Our pages are a work in progress, being updated regularly.
We welcome news of other important resources and emerging websites that are relevant to our purposes here.
General Resources on the LGBTQIA+ Community, Past and Present can be found below.
NEW! Exploring Equity Series - Rethinking the Canon: New Voices Reassess Traditional Content is the 2023 NCLG panel for ACL Institute. This panel opened with a discourse by DEI Chair Dr. Daniel McGlathery on our efforts to present to Greek and Latin educators a wider range of views and more inclusive content. After presentations by Harriet Fertik and Stephanie McCarter, McGlathery followed (at minute 59:10) with a candid Interview with Dr. Daniel Mendelsohn, touching on his scholarship in Classics and Humanities, his forthcoming translation of Homer’s Odyssey through a unique new lens, his life experiences as a gay, Jewish student, professor and author, his advice to current and future Classicists who might want to follow in his footsteps and “inhabit themselves fully,” and his strong public media presence in New York. The panel wrapped up as the host Dr. McGlathery moderated a brief conversation among the three other panelists as they answered questions from the audience.
NEW! Language Teaching Beyond the Binary; Learning from Students of All and No Gender(s) is an ACTFL Community College SIG webinar (8/23) by Julia Spiegelman exploring various practices and attitudes that can be implemented in the world language classroom to respect and acknowledge the full spectrum of student gender identities. The ACTFL member access webinar QR code is also on this shared handout of practical examples for educators, 10 Best Practices for TNB Inclusion, Affirmation, and Justice in the World Language Classroom.
Respecting LGBTQIA+ Students and Teachers in the Language Classroom: Rachel Cunning, in a Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) website article, entitled Engendering Inclusivity in a Language Classroom (9/2018), talks about her approach to naming, gender, and pronouns in the Latin class. A simple example that she offers comes from the Latin classroom on Day One. She explains how the teacher can assure students that their gender identity will be affirmed by their choice of Latin names and pronouns. In many class activities, students will be asked to introduce themselves, meet others, and collaborate. It is important that the classroom be a safe place - in both English and Latin. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/engendering-inclusivity-in-a-language-class
Learning for Justice website also has extensive resources in various media under "TOPICS" tab: Religion, Ability, Class, Immigration, Gender and Sexual Identity, Bullying and Bias, Rights and Activism: These have MANY intersections. Check out resources on Gender and Sexual Identity.
Queer People have always existed – Teach Like It is a good overview article from Learning For Justice on the importance of teaching the reality of queer identities over time and across cultures. It also focuses on the importance of locating, exploring, and correcting the “erasure” of groups and communities from taught history.
NEW! Social justice issues, including welcoming LGBTQIA+ voices. From the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL, 2020) we can recommend a series of past and future webinars on various issues on the intersection of World Language and Social Justice. This link includes two excellent recorded presentations:
Finding LGBTQ Voices In The World Language Classroom. The slideshow is the basis of an excellent webinar by Joseph Parodi-Brown. It is especially relevant to this topic here. His advice relates to all language professionals.. The full hour recording is HERE. Also containing some relevant information on inclusion are these webinars on this same NECTFL site: Social Justice in the World Language Education: Where do I start? by Dr. Wassell (2020). In addition to the NECTFL website, we also have a link to a slideshow: Having Conversations about Race in Foreign Language Classrooms by Dr. Kingué (2020)
NEW! Guiding students through difficult topic via reflection and textual criticism. Daniel Libatique from College of the Holy Cross spoke at Res Difficiles Conference 2021 about an easy, productive and more equitable technique he used to encourage students in his class on Roman Constructions of Gender and Sexuality to reflect on course texts and other research resources and to develop their critical thinking skills: “The Commonplace Book: Student-Centered Explorations of Ancient-Modern Connections” | Liber Personalis Project handout.
NEW! A Style Guide For Gender Inclusivity is a brand new resource filling the need for classroom activities, discussions, and the use of spoken Latin in general. This guide offers a new standard and paradigm for non-binary endings for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives, as well as some general advice. This is a collaborative effort, endorsed and posted by Lupercal (updated 2/2021). (lupercallegit.org) https://www.lupercallegit.org/post/a-style-guide-for-gender-inclusivity-in-the-latin-language
NEW! LGBT Meets SPQR offers a collection of short, authentic Latin texts that highlight LGBTQIA+ topics for the purpose of enhancing representation and facilitating discussion in middle and high school Latin classes (appropriate for ages 14 - 17). Further, they offer Teacher Resources with lesson plans on LGBTQIA+ related topics within the lived experience of the ancient Mediterranean world. They also have linked blog entries on SCS site classicalstudies.org and Twitter.
The State of Inclusive Language Around the World: This site discusses the current status of world language gender usage (as of 2020) in various countries and their efforts, or reluctance, to recognize and affirm various gender identities.
Lambda Classical Caucus:The Lambda Classical Caucus states that it "is a coalition of the LGBTQIA+ community of classicists, including, but not limited to, lesbians, bisexuals, gay men, and transgendered people--and their friends and supporters. It was founded in 1989 to offer a place for scholarly discussion, interdisciplinary research, and mutual support among members."
‘Our Voices: A Conference for Inclusive Classics Pedagogy,’ which was held at Columbia University (2/2020), included two relevant presentations. Recordings and conference materials from two days of presentations are available here. Real-time videos of many presenters and discussions can ALL be found here, on YouTube. Look for these two on the topic of LGBTQIA+ inclusion:
Queer Classics: On (Not) Being Included: What Sara Ahmed Taught Me About Being a Dyke, a Feminist, a Classicist; Cat Lambert, Rowan University: PowerPoint: https://drive.google.com/open?id=12aI... AND LGBT Meets SPQR: Resources and Lesson Plans for Including LGBTQIA+ voices in Latin curriculum. Kristin Masters, Rowan University; PowerPoint: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hj_U... Blog: https://www.lgbtmeetsspqr.com/
Beyond Pronouns: Gender Identity/Questions of Language in the Latin Classroom; Jamie Banks
The Society for Classical Studies offers resource links, as well as a blog with very relevant content Blog: In Dialogue. Trans Studies and Classics. A Conversation on Pronoun-Inclusive Pedagogy with Michael Goyette. This blog also has links to other articles.
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) offers a number of resources here on LBGTQ+ sensitivity, allyship, and inclusion.Scroll down to subsection Resource List for PRIDE including LGBTQ+ awareness and history. At the end they offer two resource organizations. These are not focused on language education specifically, but offer counseling and contacts for dialogues on many issues: GLSEN Website and The Trevor Project Website
Here are some additional general resources for teachers and students that offer both historical perspectives and practical steps to support the LGBTQIA+ community within your school:
Looking for personal support for yourself or others? Here is a good place to start:
https://www.lgbtcenters.org/LGBTCenters for personal advice and descriptions of various activities and meetings organized for the LGBTQ+ community, such as PFLAG, or Parents and Families of Lesbians and Gays which creates local support groups. PFLAG does not exist in all states, but the Center can offer information about other organizations that are in your area.
10 Things You Can Do to Be an Ally to People who are LGBTQ+ from PFLAG Straight for Equality Materials (2020)
10 Things You Can Do to Be an Ally to People Who are Trans* from PFLAG Straight for Equality Materials (2020)
LGBTQIA Ally Tips from UC Davis LGBTQIA Resource Center (2020-21)
Here’s What a Good LGBTQ Ally Looks Like (2019) Vox Pride
11 students explain what being queer, Black, and proud means to them a series of short interviews done by AMP blog for GLAAD A Balancing Act: Being Black, Gay, and Female a personal essay for 34th Street (2/2019)
(Brief) LGBTQIA+ History in the United States “What LGBTQ Life, Activism, and Organizing in the United States Were Like Before
Stonewall” (6/2019) Teen Vogue
“LGBTQ Icons You Need to Know and How to Find More” (2017) Teen Vogue
“50 Years After Stonewall, Why So Many LGBT people are 'still grieving' ” PBS NewsHour (6/2019)
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Emperor Hadrian and Antinous
(British Museum)
Poet Sappho of Lesbos
(Musei Capitolini)
Count Epinay's Sappho sculpture 1895
(Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC)
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