How I was Kicked Out of the Society for Classical Studies Annual Meeting

Quillette ^ | February 26, 2019 | Mary Frances Williams

[Ge0ffrey]

I only wanted to make four very brief points, but I felt compelled to state at the beginning that we could not abandon the ancient languages because then we would have nothing left of our field—of all the egregiously shocking things I had just heard, that seemed to be the one that most cried out to be challenged. I then attempted to say the following:

1) It is important to stand up for Classics as a discipline, and promote it as the political, literary, historical, philosophical, rhetorical, and artistic foundation of Western Civilization, and the basis of European history, tradition, culture, and religion. It gave us the concepts of liberty, equality, and democracy, which we should teach and promote. We should not apologize for our field;

2) It is important to go back to teaching undergraduates about the great classical authors—Cicero, the Athenian dramatists, Homer, Demosthenes, the Greek and Roman historians, Plato, and Aristotle—in English translation in introductory courses;

3) One way of promoting Classics is to offer more survey courses that cover many subject areas (epic, tragedy, comedy, rhetoric, philosophy, history, political theory, and art history), or to concentrate on one area such as in Freshmen seminars, or through western civilization classes;

4) It should help with securing funding from administrators to argue that such survey courses are highly cost-effective: a student could learn a tremendous amount even if such a survey were the only Classics course taken. On the other hand, a seminar that concentrated on the close reading of a few texts would prove beneficial for all students.

Unfortunately, I was interrupted in the middle of my first point by Sarah Bond, who forcefully insisted: “We are not Western Civilization!”

[Nifster]

Only if you’re one of theirs. Much more gruesome for us

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

There was a time before my time when “liberal studies” wasn’t the detestable thing of which we think today.

Yep.

I am reading Phyllis McGinley again and she strongly approved of "education for education's sake". A liberal arts degree was not meant to make you anything but a educated person what ever your future path would be. Once you were educated then you could learn anything.

It is sad how that has gone away. You either specialize in a career degree or your education is generally worthless. Happily you can still get a good sound liberal studies education on the internet and ordering the great books. However probably a quarter of the advantage was being able to talk to other students and bounce ideas off of each other.

That kind of interaction has gone the way of the dodo washed away on a tide of "new think".

[blueplum]

Sorry, Sarah, but we ARE western civilization. You are standing in a western civilization country and apparently have issues separating the art from the artist.

[Verginius Rufus]

As a long-time member of the SCS (formerly the American Philological Association--they should have kept the original name), I received the email from the president of the organization about the terrible insult to Professor Padilla at the conference. I did not attend the conference but figured that the email was most likely misrepresenting what actually happened, so I am glad this account was published.

I had a brief conversation with Padilla in 2017 at a conference in Princeton. I didn't realize he was such a flaming SJW and anti-white racist as his reported remarks at the SCS conference make it appear that he is.

[Honorary Serb]

I had two years of Latin in high school, and was a proud member of the Junior Classical League. The JCL is sponsored by an organization that is ‘allied” to the one that put on this conference.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Classical_League

My second-year Latin teacher was a Mexican-American. The ancient Greeks and Romans were white Europeans, but Hispanics are heirs of these classical civilizations, too!

Our JCL chapter would visit local Mexican restaurants with our teacher, and would sometimes meet at his home to sit down to a hearty Mexican meal. This was all quite natural and welcome, and had NOTHING to do with “political correctness” or attacking “white privilege”! Back in the day, there was no such thing anyway!!!!

For both white Americans and Hispanics, Greek and Roman classics and study of ancient Latin and Greek are about our heritage of European civilization. Imposing politically correct and post-modern strictures on the classics only kill them, leaving students as ignorant and brutal barbarians or savages!!!!

[YogicCowboy]

Western Civilization and Biblical Christianity are the twin pillars of personal liberty.

The Marxists and Muslims hate liberty, and are united in their hatred of these pillars.

[Honorary Serb]

Some homeschooling curricula emphasize Latin!

[wardaddy]

I majored in political science in mid 70s

I do not recall the notion to toss western civ then

Political correctness is more mid 80s

Like HIV

two viruses started about the same time

[tbw2]

They intend to tear it all down and replace it with their Communist dystopia.

[nicollo]

Thanks for the headsup on Quillette.com. Adding that site to my reading list.

[YogicCowboy]

I grew up in Palo Alto in the 1960s, a mile from Stanford. I recall actually hearing that chant. Yes, it goes back much before the 1980s. I suspect you did not live in a major leftist enclave.

[A_perfect_lady]

I think one of the reasons most public schools now ignore almost all literature from before WWI is because until then, most of it dealt with moral issues, virtue & vice, and one’s personal responsibility to be a moral, good person. After WWI, (actually, starting even before then with Charles Dickens) it’s all social issues. That’s all they want to teach now. And we all know why.

[wardaddy]

That is true

Cotton State Capital

Leftists were interlopers and freedom riders

[scrabblehack]

The problem seems worse than that if professors in Classics departments don’t want Latin and Greek taught.

I think it’s easier to just say “Gildersleeve was a racist” then not have to actually learn Latin and Greek. Now, how these people got to be professors in the first place is beyond me.

[Ge0ffrey]

The three pillars of Western Civilization: Greek philosophy, Roman law and Christianity.

[HapaxLegamenon]

Exactly!

[Chickensoup]

Hillsdale college

Grove City

St Johns

Pensacola Christian...

Colorado School of Mines

Maine Maritime

[Chickensoup]

I think he just said I am ignorant and I hate.

[Migraine]

So there’s hope. Thanks. Colorado School of Mines? A student of mine went there and became an All American QB for them. Now he has a great job w/ an engineering firm.
Didn’t know they were free from the straitjacket of PC.

[Chickensoup]

Last I heard they were...