London Classicists of Colour

We are an new society, led by a committee of UCL Classicists, hoping to create a safe space, community, and support network for students of colour across the whole of the Univeristy  We are also committed to continuing the education of all classicists in matters surrounding decolonisation and race.

  • What is London Classicists of Colour?

We are a society led by a committee of UCL Classicists, hoping to create a safe space, community, and support network for students of colour across the whole of UoL. We are also committed to continuing the education of all classicists in matters surrounding decolonisation and race.

  • What are the aims of the society?

Our goals are to provide a safe space for students of colour to come and discuss and learn about the experience of studying texts which are inherently bound up with race and colonialism. We also want to contribute to the education of all classicists in the decolonisation of Classics, and the links it has to race. We hope to host regular panels, events, and talks which are accessible to a wide range of people across London and which provides a platform to anyone with a research interest in this area.

We also aim to support the departmental and the university decolonisation movement, and to be in constant dialogue with them about these issues, and to be working in tandem with organisations across other institutions. This will include addressing concerns with the curriculum and the way the subject is taught.

  • Why does the decolonisation of Classics matter?

Decolonisation matters quite simply because it is a matter of justice. It is about reclaiming and valuing the lost voices of POC’s throughout history and within scholarship and academia; it is about recognising the fact that as a discipline, Classics has had a troubled past inextricably tangled with white supremacy, fascism and colonialism; it is about the displacement and re-centering of Classics away from Greece and Rome, and thus it is about changing the way we study the degree so that it invites and empowers diversity, rather than excluding it. There are those who (mistakenly) believe that decolonisation is about the eradication of the white male voice: but this is a wholly misguided view. Decolonisation is about levelling the playing field, so to speak; it is about including a huge range of voices from across the globe, alongside the ones we already have, which only serves to enrich our discipline and make it even more worthy of study.

Many scholars have already written about the benefits of decolonisation within Classics, and we point you to some further reading:

•   More than a Common Tongue
•   Reclaiming the Ancient World
•   Academics: it’s time to get behind decolonising the curriculum (Guardian) 

•   Nobody takes responsibility for tackling racism in my university. Why? (Guardian)

•    Review of P. Vasunia, The Classics and Colonial India (Varunadatta Edirisinghe)
•    White People Explain Classics to Us
•    A Bigger, Sexier Ancient World
•    Whose Dead White Man? Homer’s Return to Egypt

  • How do I become a member of the society?

TBC

  • Do you need to be a person of colour (POC) to become a member and attend events?

No, you do not! Anyone is welcome to join LCoC and attend events, regardless of whether they are a POC or not. However, we do have a strict no-tolerance policy to ensure that all POC find a safe space within this society, which may be found here.

  • What sort of events do you host?

LCoC hosts a multitude of events:
•    Academic Discussion Groups: Our academic discussion groups  and reading groups are created for students across the UK to come together and share their perspectives on prevalent issues and topics within the study of classical antiquity. Often, these talks will have a decolonizing focus and encourage students to consider how Western thought shapes our understanding of the topic.
•    Social Events: The realm of social events covers general get-togethers and pastoral wellness events with our Welfare Officer. These events are exclusively for UoL students. Additionally, we will have a monthly “POC Safe Space” event that is only for POC UoL students.
•    Talks: Our talks will feature guest speakers within the field of classical antiquity shedding light on topics of their interest. These talks will be ticketed, and tickets may be acquired from Eventbrite. Anyone is welcome to attend talks, whether you are a UoL student or not.
 
Socials, pastoral events and discussion events will occur through Zoom. In order to receive these links, do be sure to sign up for our mailing list, which can be done here! To view our current events, click here.

  • How else can I get involved?

•    You could apply to join our committee at our next AGM (date tbc): see our events page to get to know us and the different roles that we undertake.
•    We are considering accepting student representatives from UoL Classics departments, who would work closely with the committee to help publicise our society and events throughout London. Get in contact if you’d be interested!
•    You can write a piece for our website blog; we accept anything to do with Classics and its intersection with Race, and decolonisation! Send it in to our email address and we will review it and get back to you.
•    You can also subscribe to our newsletter and follow our social media if you want to keep up to date with what we are doing.

  • Goals

We firmly believe that throughout London institutions there is space for a society which focuses on the intersectionality between Classics and Race. The very makeup of Classics is foregrounded in Western imperialism and White Eurocentric power is foregrounded and historically glorified. We believe that now is the necessary time to create a space that acknowledges these problematic foundations and facilitates the discussion of approaches to rectify, or ‘decolonise’ Classics.
We have 3 main goals:
•    Strong commitment to decolonisation of the curriculum
•    Education of students in the relationship between Classics and Race
•    Creation of a safe space for students of colour.
 
Through talks with scholars; reading groups and discussion groups surrounding strategies for decolonisation; socials, such as movie and quiz nights; and pastoral, in the form of relaxed, welcoming discussion groups surrounding our personal experiences of studying Classics, we hope to achieve these goals.

  • Our No-tolerance policy

LCOC is committed to providing a safe space for people of colour to share their experiences and opinions on diversity and decolonisation in Classics. Our society therefore promotes a zero tolerance policy on any form of bullying, marginalisation or victimisation of our members during our events.
 
Links:
•    Link to team: https://ldnclassicistsofcolour.weebly.com/our-team.html
•    Link the blog: https://ldnclassicistsofcolour.weebly.com/blog
•    Link resources: https://ldnclassicistsofcolour.weebly.com/resources.html