With few minorities choosing to teach the classics, college leaders understandably scramble to hire those earning their doctorates. At Temple, Martha Davis recently hired Dr. Jackie Murray, an African-
American woman, from the University of Washington, the first minority classicist during Davis’ 28 years at Temple. Eaverly at Florida recently hired a Hispanic woman, Dr. Victoria Pagán, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. When Duke’s Gregson Davis was trying to fill a vacancy several years ago, he met Dr. Grant Parker, a Black Issues “Emerging Scholar” in 2003 and a native of South Africa who has explored the interactions between ancient Greco-Roman societies and other cultures. Although Parker’s credentials didn’t fit the job description, Davis lobbied his provost to hire him anyway as an assistant professor. The provost agreed and the department picked up two new faculty rather than one.
The intrinsically Eurocentric focus of classical studies programs has prompted Gregson Davis to consider launching a transcultural interdisciplinary honors program at Duke with geographically diverse course offerings.
“The Greeks didn’t invent everything,” Davis says. “We should teach Egyptian myths, for instance, alongside the writings of Homer and Plato. It’s a disservice to our graduates if we give them an inaccurate account of history.”
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