Call for Papers: Ancient and Modern Civic Activism
Classics and Social Justice Affiliated Group Panel SCS/AIA 2022
Organizers: Amit Shilo (UC, Santa Barbara), Lindsey Mazurek (Indiana University, Bloomington)
Recent discussions in Classical Studies, including the Our Voices and Res Difficiles conferences, AIA’s diversity webinars, the Everyday Orientalism discussion series, and our own Classics and Civic Activism Workshop at the 2019 SCS Annual Meeting, have argued for a more activist approach to issues of equity in the discipline. But activism is not solely a modern concern. We can find examples of community-based interventions in antiquity as well, such as, arguably, Spartacus’ revolt, Greek and Roman land reform movements, or Lysistrata’s strike.
In this affiliated group panel the Classics and Social Justice group endeavors to build on activist work through talks that link contemporary activism with movements and ideas in the Greek and Roman worlds. We are interested in continuing to bring scholarship into dialogue with activist practice and critiques, and seek a wide range of papers that deal with questions of activism in antiquity and in the present day, broadly defined.
Paper topics might include, but are not limited to:
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proposing new ways of looking at ancient movements for land and wealth redistribution or revolts of enslaved people in the light of recent movements calling for reparations, criminal justice reform, education reform, and leveling income inequality
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examining how modern debates concerning democracy affect thinking about organizing and agitating in the classical world
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conversely, analyzing what classical models, theories, and historical events add as paradigms or warnings for activism today
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Decentering Classics through activism
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Offering self-reflexive critiques of activism in the Classics
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critiquing the applicability of modern paradigms of activism to the ancient world
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presenting specific public-facing outreach projects that use Classics
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presenting specific educational policy advocacy efforts that use Classics
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presenting activism connected to museums and archaeology
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examining the role of teacher and student activism in the Classics classroom
Abstracts are welcome from all SCS/AIA members and will be anonymously selected.
Please send abstracts for 20-minute talks (up to 350 words) to Nancy Rabinowitz (nrabinow@hamilton.edu) by February 15, 2021.