|
Volume CXXXIII, Number 10 |
 |
Republicans wrong on Classics
To the Editors:
As one of the few members of the senior class who study Classics and the only official major, I take great umbrage at the repeated suggestions of the Bowdoin College Republicans that Classics, as the foundations of "Western Civilization" (such a high school term), are the last bastion of conservative education and all that really matters. This was a favorite subject of the dearly departed Todd Buell and has most recently been mentioned by Alex Linhart, current chairman of the organization, in last week's Orient "First-year course choices face criticism."
So I'll start with the obvious question: When was the last time you opened up the course catalogue and thought "Greek 302: The Historians. AWESOME! I am so signing up for that!!!"
That's right, NEVER. I'll spare you the details of my honors project, but my general topic is the why and how of modern Classical studies, as seen through the lens of Classical Philology at Trinity College, Cambridge, 1690-1742. You know what the main point is? Classics aren't everything, and they're not what most people want to study. Latin is hard, and Greek is harder, and I love them, but why expend the effort if what you ultimately want to do is be an investment banker or run an NGO in Central America?
What sickens me the most is the implication that Classics is entirely the study of dead white males. Granted, they are all dead, but many of the authors you've heard of are from the Middle East or Africa and aren't necessarily white, and it's not like there just weren't any women before the nineteenth century.
I find it somewhat troublesome that Priya Sridhar does not mention in her article that the "Independent Women's Forum" is a conservative think-tank and is not necessarily an unbiased reviewer. I presume the IWF would also be irate to know that I'm writing a paper for my senior seminar on menarche, but do they suppose that women in Ancient Greece did not menstruate?
Bowdoin College Republicans, I beg of you: until you all become Classics majors yourselves, lay off the emphasis on a major you don't understand, and stop pigeonholing me and my studies. I also welcome opinions, so stop by my carrel next time you're on the sixth floor of Hubbard and I'll tell you all about my honors project (and won't that be fun!).
Sincerely,
Susan Buhr, '04
For information on sending a letter to the editor, please click here.
|
FastCounter by bCentral |