Caroline Cheung (Princeton University)
Since the foundation of the Women’s Classical Caucus in 1972, the membership has swelled to several hundred members. Our many members today come from a variety of institutions, are at different stages of their careers, and have different concerns. This presentation discusses the Women’s Classical Caucus’ membership, including membership demographics and how members’ needs have changed over time.
The first part of this presentation talks about how WCC developed programming to support feminist scholarship in its first fifty years and how that intersected with larger trends in the field. Our profession, and higher education more broadly, is changing, and graduate students and non-tenure track PhDs are in situations that no one anticipated two decades ago. Their backgrounds and profiles have also changed as has the status of “Classics” in the academy. As many Classics Departments find themselves being reduced, combined with other departments, or eliminated completely and publishers have also felt increasing financial strain due to changes in the publishing industry and the rise of the internet, junior Classicists have found themselves in precarity with less financial support and more uncertainty about their futures. Since its inception, the WCC has advocated and created spaces for women scholars to find the support, recognition, and community that they have felt was lacking, whether because of their local situation or phase of career. The programs that came out of the initial decades include a mentorship program, equity awards, and two publications to promote feminist scholarship (Cloelia and Diotima). As feminist scholarship has permeated the larger field, the WCC has spent more of its focus in recent years on equity issues.
Over the years, the WCC has tried to promote women and feminist scholarship through its annual scholarship and advocacy awards, travel conference funding, childcare funds, and, most recently, most recently, the COVID-19 Relief Fund (with the SCS). More work remains though, as progress remains uneven, and we are able to meet the current times as we learn more about our membership and university trends.For example, studies have shown that more women are ascending the ranks of the profession, but very few are promoted to full professors and associate professors can suffer from a post-tenure slump. Moreover, the gender disparity in academic publishing is still significant. Finally, the pandemic has both widened the gap, particularly for contingent faculty and working parents, but also brought forth some new and unexpected opportunities. In the short term, the WCC has started to test out and expand its online programming to make events more accessible to members and provide more community-building events throughout the year, including a book club and member-run “pop up” events. In the longer term, the WCC plans to collaborate more with affiliated groups, and to reach more (potential) members across various subdisciplines, such as material culture and archaeology. This presentation highlights that the goals and work of the WCC are not tied to specific events, venues, or groups, and encourages the audience to discuss ways the WCC can further provide a supportive environment that promotes equity for all of its members, however they self-define.