What have the Ancients ever done for us? A PGR Online Conference
The conference organisers outside the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute
“I think it was ‘Blessed are the cheesemakers…'”
In April of 2021, a group of postgraduate researchers from the Trinity Classics Department (Lisa Doyle, Ralph Moore, Kathryn Murphy, Eleanor Neil and George Prekas) came together to organise a conference with an unusual format. We wanted to investigate interdisciplinary answers to the enormous question, “Why do we study the distant past?” Our aim was to explore the relevance and accessibility of our own fields, not only to other researchers, but also to society more broadly. We called the conference, What Have the Ancients Ever Done for Us? We asked this question because we shared a frustration with a lot of the language that is used in relation to disciplines like Classics. The emphasis is often on fringe benefits, 'transferable skills’, or outdated and exclusionary ideas about the ‘Western canon’ and not any sort of inherent value in the discipline itself. To this end, we wanted to create a public-facing event that would explore and showcase genuine perspectives on antiquity and explore its value within our contemporary contexts. So, in addition to academics, we were also keen to reach out to those whose areas of expertise lie outside the Classical Mediterranean and those working outside of academia, such as in outreach, the museum sector and commercial archaeology.
“Always look on the bright side of life”
The COVID-19 pandemic meant that this event would have to be fully online. This had its advantages, in that there were no logistical complications of travel and hosting, and our participants could participate from the comfort of their homes. However, there were also challenges: we had to learn quickly the ins and outs of various digital platforms to create an accessible, secure, and engaging experience for everyone. Having thrown around a few possibilities for the format, we were inspired by the success of a colleague’s approach to online conference hosting (with Trinity HistoryCon 3.0). Rather than attempt to host paper after paper and panel after panel live on Zoom, we decided we would instead present the speaker's papers in pre-recorded form, uploading them to YouTube. The videos went live two weeks before a day-long session of live Zoom panels for Q&A and discussions between speakers and with our audience. These panel discussions were also recorded and uploaded to YouTube, preserving our work and remaining easily accessible to anyone interested.
The end-result offered inspiration in the diversity of the topics covered, ranging from the role Classics can play in combating white supremacy, using classical mythology as a way to teach children about consent, the use of ancient pedagogy in understanding our own teaching structures and values (along with many more!). We were able to host presentations and speakers from across the world, as far apart as the USA, Cyprus, and even Hong Kong. Our live keynote address was given by TCD Classics’ own Brian McGing (Regius Professor of Greek, Emeritus), who spoke on the enduring, contemporary and historical draw of Polybius, in political and popular contexts.
“Apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system and public health, what have the [Ancients] ever done for us?”
Throughout the wide range of topics presented and discussed, we saw a number of recurring themes. These included the need to diversify the ways we create accessibility and engagement with ancient material, as well as the ways in which strict academic boundaries between disciplines are limiting our research but are also alienating for the non-specialist. How we approach these issues is a constantly evolving dialogue, one in which a diverse range of contexts and materials allows for many different conclusions.
Organizers' Twitter Accounts:
Eleanor Neil (@EleanorQ_Neil)
George Prekas (@GeorgiosPrekas)
Kathyn Murphy (@HistoryByKat)
Lisa Doyle (@lisalogia_doyle)