Jessica Evans

I'm angry. Sad. Barely keeping it together. In a little over an hour I have to teach my last Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Rome class. Despite being remote, this class has been one of the best yet. Students have told me it has helped them grow and develop as human beings. 2/7

We were supposed to have a discussion about the important lessons of the class. But UVM has already notified students about the cuts, so instead we're going to be discussing the importance of the humanities. 3/7

The methods of the Classics, grounded in close textual analysis, seek to reconstruct the past as separate from the self, yet as the past becomes more distant the operations of power, invisible in our own present, are rendered visible. This moment of clarity is empowering. 4/7

It affects how students see themselves in relation to the institutions that order their lives. When issues of identity and power are addressed through discussions of the ancient world, it is easier for students to engage critically: the ancient world is not their world. 5/7

This means that students enter courses on relatively equal footing, and the distance provides clarity that might otherwise be obscured by their own privilege or lack thereof. 6/7

I have spent years cultivating my authority as a woman in the classroom. I don't want to feel vulnerable. Despite all the problems of Classics—the racism, the misogyny—Classics has the power to be transformative, and I'm devastated that the institution does not value this. 7/7