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Posts by Arum Park

A brightly colored manuscript page. On the left is calligraphy in Sanskrit; on the right is a woman in printed garb sitting in a carriage pulled by two white horses. She makes a gesture with her two palms press together. A black figure looks back at her.

Blog: Inclusive and Culturally Responsive Teaching in Classics

Like many educators, I have found myself in an endless loop lately of thinking and rethinking my teaching principles and practices — a loop caused by the unprecedented teaching conditions the pandemic has brought upon us. Though I consider myself a thoughtful instructor, I admit that I have never thought so extensively, carefully, and critically about the purposes and desired outcomes of my teaching as I have in the months between March 2020 and now. Each week of each semester involves calibrating and recalibrating my courses, as I hope to meet the needs of my students and help them balance their lives within the classroom and without. I have become more attuned to the extramural realities that bear on my students’ learning, and as someone who works at a Hispanic-serving Institution, a desire for inclusivity increasingly informs the way I teach. My own institution just recently offered its first workshop on Read more …

A human pushing a round boulder up a steep incline

Blog: Tracing Tragedy: Classical Reception in Modernist Literature

Some months ago, a piece by Leah Mitchell and Eli Rubies on Classics and reception studies in the 21st century reiterated the importance of studying the reception of classical antiquity. It was a reminder that reception of classical material itself predates the scholarly field devoted to it. Its provocations overlapped with the suggestions of scholars such as Read more …

A mosaic showing three people, one dark skinned and two light skinned, with long hair

Blog: What Do We Mean When We Say “Diversity”? Addressing Different Kinds of Inequity

In the past year, the Society for Classical Studies website has published a number of pieces catalyzed by the blatant racism on display at the most recent annual meeting. Professor Joy Connolly wrote a piece called “Working Toward a Just and Inclusive Future for Classics,” which then generated a response by an anonymous graduate student group, which in turn led to further comment by the SCS, Professor Connolly, and the newly formed SCS Graduate Student Committee. These various pieces pointed to ways Classics could progress and thrive for generations to come.

What became lost in this Read more …

Blog: Diversifying Classics II: The University of Michigan’s Bridge MA

Last year the Classical Studies Department at the University of Michigan announced the launch of its Bridge MA, a fully funded program designed to prepare scholars from diverse backgrounds for entry into one of Michigan’s Ph.D. programs in Classical Studies or related fields. There are few programs like it, particularly at public universities. One of its architects, Professor Sara Ahbel-Rappe, recently received a competitive award for her diversity efforts. I connected with her along with Dr. Young Richard Kim, the Onassis Foundation’s new Read more …

Roman Era Mummy Portraits from the Getty, Met, Wikimedia.

Blog: Diversifying Classics: A New Initiative at Princeton

Princeton University’s Department of Classics has launched a new pre-doctoral fellowship for promising young Classicists who would contribute to the diversity of the University. Premised on a recognition that access to Classics is not equitable, the fellowship provides both preparation for and admission to Princeton’s Ph.D. program. I reached out to Professors Michael Flower and Dan-el Padilla Peralta to learn more about the concerns and conversations that gave birth to this fellowship. Below is our exchange, lightly edited for clarity.

Park: This fellowship is, as far as I know, unique. From what I can gather, it essentially offers financial support for post-baccalaureate study along with Read more …

Tarquinius en Lucretia

Blog: Teaching Classics in the Age of #MeToo

Content Warning: The following post discusses classical narratives about sexual assault. Please note that the thoughts and opinions of SCS blog contributors are their own.

Classics graduate student Sara L. Hales (University of Iowa) and Assistant Professor of Classics Arum Park (University of Arizona) explore how we read, discuss, and teach classical rape narratives in the midst of the #metoo movement.

Arum: Sara and I started writing on this topic independently and were brought together by our mutual friend Sarah Bond, who noted the common thread in our essays and encouraged us to collaborate. We found ourselves among those in the (fortunate? unfortunate?) position of reading classical Read more …