This working group seeks to explore the ways in which Rutgers might develop global and inclusive approaches across disciplines to teaching, studying, and researching the ancient world. We will consider the ways in which ancient studies at Rutgers can respond to current trends, challenges, and opportunities in the academy and wider world. But we will be especially concerned with considering how the future of ancient studies might look and, in particular, what its purpose will be in the diverse community of Rutgers. To that end, we would like to spend a year reflecting critically on our own praxis in teaching, in training the next generation of teachers and scholars, and in producing scholarship ourselves. We also see this working group as an opportunity to strive to redraw disciplinary boundaries (both geographical and chronological) that have traditionally hindered scholars of the ancient world from interacting with one another.
We plan to bring together interested faculty and graduate students from departments, including (in alphabetical order) AMESALL, Asian Languages and Cultures, Classics, English, German, Russian, and East European Languages and Literatures, Jewish Studies, History, and Religion, across all three campuses. We intend to identify ways in which study of the ancient world across disciplinary and geographical divides will contribute to the University’s ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Organizers
Debra Ballentine, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Religion
Sarah Connolly, Associate Professor of Classics
Victoria Hodges, Graduate Student
Jeffrey Ulrich, Assistant Professor
