29 February 2024 (‘Rare Disease Day’), at 16.00 – 17.15 (GMT)
This ‘Rare Disease Day’ we would like to invite you to the online workshop ‘Working in Archaeology, Heritage and Classics with a Long-Term Condition’.
A long-term condition (LTC) is defined as a condition that cannot, at present, be cured but is controlled by medication and/or other treatment/therapies.
LTCs have a large impact on a person’s life. Therefore, individuals require ongoing care and support.
In this workshop three speakers will present their experiences of living with LTCs and working in archaeology, heritage and Classics. Subsequently, there will be a discussion where participants will have the opportunity to share their own experiences and problems, but also ask questions to the group.
The workshop is meant to be a safe space for people living with LTCs to share their experiences, concerns, and successes, but also for people who would simply want to learn more about how to best support individuals with LTCs in the archaeology, heritage and Classics sector.
From this event we hope to create an informal support group that people with LTCs can turn to for advice or simply sharing experiences and issues related to LTCs and their working life.
Programme
16.00-16.15: Introduction by Katerina Velentza (WCC UK Disability Liaison)
16.15-16.30: Alexandra F. Morris (University of Lincoln & University of Nottingham)
16.30-16.45: Amanda Hart (Roman Baths and Pump Room)
The Women’s Classical Committee UK is pleased to announce its 2022 Annual General Meeting, ‘Activism‘, on Friday 29th April 2022. The AGM will be held via Zoom: please register for the event on Eventbrite and you will be sent details of how to join the meeting.
People of any gender expression or identity who support the WCC UK’s aims are welcome to attend this event. Further details are available here. Around the website you can also find more information on the Women’s Classical Committee UK, including our aims and activities and how to join.
Schedule
9.15am: Room opens; welcome and housekeeping.
9.30am: Business meeting
10.30am: Coffee break
11am: Keynote round table on meaningful activism.
The panel will include participants from Trans in Classics, London Classicists of Colour, the Network for Working Class Classicists, WCC US, and Asterion.
12pm: Lunch
1pm: Spotlight talks
Efi Spentzou – The Myth and Voice Initiative
Cheryl Morgan – Trans Men in Labour
Kirsty Harrod – Approaching A Theory of Rape Narratives in Greek Tragedy
1.50pm: Screen break
2pm: Break-out discussion rooms on the theme of activism. Each group will be given the same prompts to begin discussion.
3pm: Wrap-up and close
Spotlight talks – call for papers – deadline passed
We are reserving time during the day’s schedule for a series of short (five-minute) spotlight talks by delegates. Through this session, we hope to provide a chance for delegates to share projects, experiences or research connected to the WCC UK’s aims. We are particularly interested in talks that address the AGM’s theme of activism; that highlight new, feminist, intersectional and gender-informed work in Classics, ancient history, classical reception or pedagogy (inside and outside the university sector); and that feature new work by postgraduate students and early career researchers. If you would like more information or to volunteer to give one of these talks, please e-mail Liz Gloyn (liz.gloyn at rhul.ac.uk). The deadline for expressing interest was noon on Thursday 14th April.
Please feel free to pass on this CFP to anyone you think may be interested in participating or saving the date.
Child-friendly policy
The Women’s Classical Committee UK is committed to making our events as inclusive as possible, and recognises that the financial and practical challenges of childcare often impede people from participating in workshops and conferences. Anyone who needs to bring a dependent child or children with them in order to participate in one of our events is usually welcome to do so, but we ask you to inform us of this in advance so that we can take them into account in our event planning and risk assessment. The safety and well-being of any children brought to our events remain at all times the responsibility of the parent or carer. While we do our best to ensure that rest and changing facilities are available for those who may need them, this will depend on the individual venue we are using. Again, please contact us in advance to discuss your needs, and we will do our best to accommodate them.
We are pleased to share the announcement that the CUCD has released their Equality and Diversity in Classics Report. The report is the final output of the CUCD Equality and Diversity Project, 2019-20. The report can be found here. The report presents and analyses the results of two surveys that were disseminated in 2019. The Experience Survey aimed to take a snapshot of the field of classics and explored experiences of discrimination and barriers to progression among postgraduate and staff experiences. The Departmental Contexts Survey examined departmental policies and contexts, with input from Heads of Department and Equality Officers. A summary of the data used to compile the report can be found here. The report complements the WCC’s own survey and report, Women in Classics in the UK: Numbers and Issues (2016).
The report will be formally launched on the 25th of November 2020 in an event hosted by the ICS from 1-3:15 pm.
The launch event includes brief presentations by the co-authors of the report, Helen Lovatt and Victoria Leonard.
A panel of experts will present their own responses to the report, followed by discussion, and finally a Q and A session.
Presentations include:
Mathura Umachandran: Who’s Task is Equality?
Lucy Grig: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution? A Perspective from a Head of Department
Victoria Leonard: Changing Equality In Classics? A Five-Year Perspective From The Data
Helen Lovatt: What We Did and What We Need to Do: the CUCD Perspective
Katherine Harloe: Spotting Patterns; Recognising Problems
Sukanya Raisharma: TBC
If you are interested in attending the launch event, please register here.
The WCC UK is delighted to share the program of the 2020 Michaelmas Term edition of the Corpus Christi College Seminar Series at the University of Oxford co-convened by Marcus Bell and Eleonora Colli.
The title of the series is ‘Queer and The Classical: Future and Potentialities’, and the seminars will take place online every Wednesday at 5 PM from the 21st of October to the 9th of December.
21st October
Sebastian Matzner (King’s College London) – Queer Theory and Ancient Literature: Now What?
28th October:
Hannah Silverblank (Haverford College) – Queer Assemblages in Anne Carson: Reception and Abjection in ‘Red Doc>’and ‘Decreation’
4th November
Kadji Amin (Emory University) – Pederasty and the Politics of Scholarship
11th November
Emily Rutherford (University of Oxford), Mara Gold (University of Oxford), and Professor Jennifer Ingleheart (Durham University)– In Conversation: Queer Scholarship and Classical Reception
18th November
Ella Haselswerdt (UCLA) – Sappho’s Body / Towards a Deep Lez Philology
25th November
Jordan Tannahill and Jeremy O. Harris – In Conversation: Title TBC
2nd December
Kay Gabriel – Classics’ Transfeminine Object
9th December
Stephanie Burt (Harvard University) and Mark Payne (University of Chicago) – After Callimachus: Reading and Conversation
If you are interested in this seminar series and wish to take part in one or more of the events listed, you can express your interest by writing at oxfordqueerclassical[a]gmail.com.
For any other queries, and to get in touch with the convenors, please email marcus.bell[a]classics.ox.ac.uk and eleonora.colli[a]classics.ox.ac.uk.
On Friday, the 10th of July 2020, the WCC UK hosted its annual early career research event, focusing on the dissemination of research. As the event was held entirely online, the organisers have provided notes for the various sessions as well as links for further resources on the topics discussed.
Live tweets from the event can be found at #WCCECR.
There are two playlists of videos for the event that can be found on the WCC UK’s YouTube channel: presentations and spotlight talks.
things to consider in turning a (section of a) PhD chapter or a conference presentation in a journal article
length!
tone (e.g. if a very conversational oral presentation)
specificity – e.g. a very broad lit review may be needed for a thesis chapter, should be more closely tied to precise topic of article. (If the lit review is outside of your specialist area, consult colleagues from that area for help!)
number of footnotes – long discursive notes that are necessary in a thesis can often be cut from articles
it’s fine to publish articles from your PhD before submission, though do consider how these may overlap with an eventual book (cf. monograph publishing below)
articles sent back for ‘revise and resubmit’ can still get published! NB these can take two routes – can be sent back to the same reviewers or to a different set; the latter case is going to be more like an initial submission than the former
if you receive a really unfair review, engage with the editor on it; taking it to an advisor or mentor to see how to proceed/respond is also a good idea
for multilingual authors, it’s a good idea to publish in a mixture of English and other language(s)
trade publishing aims at a general audience, with books marketed widely
two main kinds of relevant trade publication: narrative non-fiction (60-90,000 words) and illustrated non-fiction (25-50,000 words; more pictures!)
ways to find a publisher: go bookshopping! talk to independent booksellers, talk to colleagues
should you have an agent? they advocate/negotiate for you, but getting one without a completed MS is tricky; you’ll need to self-represent to get a book deal before MS completion. Small publishers are more likely to accept MSS without agents.
things editors will consider when commissioning a trade book: why publish this now? who is the audience? what are the competitor publications?
you can approach editors directly; they may also commission books based on previous publications, journalism, public events, social media…keep profiles up-to-date!
book proposal should be succinct and direct, specifying audience (age, what shops they visit, what else they read…). check out what books are bestsellers in your area. tone should be similar to that of a cover blurb. and personalise your emails to the editor you’re writing to!
remember in trade publishing deadlines are REAL
Publishing trade and academic monographs Q&A (Issy Wilkinson and Michael Sharp)
Trade-specific points
IW tries to find new/less-published authors – maybe half of her authors are ECRs; specialism is more important than experience
market for ebooks is increasing for narrative non-fiction, but not for illustrated, and in general hard-copy sales are not being pushed out by ebooks
point at which contracts are issued varies – may be based on just an initial proposal, or on a complete MS
deadlines are firmer and turnarounds quicker in trade publishing than academic: a couple of years is really the maximum time between agreement and publication. other commitments can be factored in when making agreement, but timing is just less flexible
the key difference is that trade books are not new research, which is what takes most of the time for academic publications
co-authorship can lighten the workload or lead to its own issues; it’s more common to have multiple contributors to a volume with a single main editor
Academic-specific points
for the ‘thesis book’ – it’s worth embargoing your thesis if it’s deposited in an online repository as some presses will not publish it if it’s freely available (not CUP – MS regards the book as sufficiently different from the thesis that it doesn’t matter – you will need to revise it for publication anyway!)
for the ‘second book’, most people approach a publisher with an idea, perhaps with some related articles published. a good first book plus strong proposal including sample chapters can lead to a provisional contract before the MS is completed
NB contracts for first-time authors often specify that publisher is to be given first refusal on the author’s second book
publishers may issue a ‘letter of interest’ if needed for e.g. applications – this will come after some input from readers, enough for editor to know they are interested, but is not a commitment to publish as a contract is
generally a contract is only issued after a full MS is submitted (though no need to have fully sorted out e.g. conforming to house style at this stage)
authors who are not in academic jobs are just as welcome to publish as those who are; time-frames can be flexible (deadline specified in agreement can be up to 4-5 years away; to allow for longer timeframe it’s possible to wait until later in writing process before making agreement)
co-authorship is the exception, not the norm, for monographs (as opposed to edited volumes)
General
you can include work previously published e.g. as articles or book chapters – rule of thumb is something like up to 1/3 (academic) or half (trade) of the complete work.
Agreements with article/chapter publishers should mean you are able to re-use your own content in the book, though you may need to notify them
pros/cons of trade vs academic publishing: trade books have larger reach, potential greater impact; but may be less of a contribution to ECR academic CV
Research plans for job and funding applications Q&A (Naoise Mac Sweeney and James Clackson)
Key discussion points
Start looking for postdoc jobs/funding early – you never know when e.g. the perfect postdoc will come up – but final year of PhD is when to start seriously applying
If you know of people who are applying for/have got project funding in your area, by all means get in touch to ask about opportunities even if formal job ads not yet published
post-PhD projects should be connected to your PhD but new — e.g. expand outwards to a bigger topic; transfer the question to a different dataset/context; comparative analysis
When writing research plans, show drafts to as many people as possible — including non-specialists (especially for funding applications and JRFs); ask to see previous successful (or unsuccessful!) applications
You can use current trends/debates to make your research topical for an interdisciplinary committee – but remember research doesn’t always need to be topical, just to matter to your particular discipline
Ditto, if you can show an impact on adjacent fields of research, do – but a single project doesn’t need to do everything: sell it on its own strengths
When writing for people outside your own discipline, tell them what the current debate is, what your contribution to this is, why it matters
Job applications imply an applicant needs to do everything – you can’t tell from them what criteria are actually key for a particular department’s. Look at department members/activities, esp those on interview panel – e.g. for impact, look at previous REF submissions (environment statement, impact case-studies) – different departments will have different focuses on e.g. media work vs local community engagement
When choosing an institution for a funding application, the most important thing is the benefit to your own research, rather than strategy about e.g. how many previous grants they’ve won
As well as individual research, research plans can certainly include things like organising a conference/journal special issue/edited volume. Make sure these include a proper research output from you – ie a paper and/or intro/conclusion with substantial research content, not just a summary of contents
Value of (published or proposed) trade publications in applications varies – for a job it can be a plus, showing wider impact/knowledge transmission/communication with wider audience; less so for a research grant. More traditional institutions can still see trade books as less ‘serious’ than academic.
Ditto other forms of wider communication like blogging, running workshops, etc – the system has not yet figured out how to properly value things like this. Academic publications should still be the priority. NB that people interviewing you will look at your social media if you have it.
Differences between applications for jobs and funding:
for a job, it’s about the whole person, not just the research project; but can be harder to sell interdisciplinary work in a job app than a funding proposal
Proposing to spend time on turning PhD thesis into a book is fine in a job application, not for a funding application – these expect to fund new research
BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinkers Q&A (John Gallagher)
Application: pitch for a radio show plus review of recent cultural item
Pitch for show should be based on your research but potentially broadened in scope (e.g. JG’s was about phrasebooks – his area of research – but expanded beyond early modern period)
Review: good idea to review something unrelated to your research – showing breadth/range (e.g. JG reviewed a recent novel). Subject doesn’t have to be “highbrow”!
Anyone at an AHRC-funded institution (including e.g. cultural heritage orgs as well as unis) is eligible to apply; no previous media experience required but having some definitely isn’t a disqualifier
60-person shortlist -> workshops in groups of 20 with BBC producers and AHRC people; talks, workshopping and delivering pitches and answering questions on them (e.g. unpicking jargon, backing up big claims, giving examples – reacting on your feet is what’s important), simulated radio show discussion
Just because there’s already a high-profile person who’s often in the media talking about your area doesn’t mean you can’t apply/won’t be successful – aim in first instance is to create interesting programmes rather than finding new ‘go-to’ people in particular topics
Benefits of programme – as well as the obvious media exposure, there are benefits in expanding presentation skills (helpful for teaching!), answering the ‘so what’ questions about research, and definite CV benefits
Question about support provided for dealing with potential harassment arising from media exposure, especially as e.g. a woman or person of colour. JG has experienced a lot of discussion around potentially sensitive subjects, but not so much about protection of individuals; senses that producers are increasingly aware of this as an issue but the support mechanisms are not necessarily very strong. But NB a social media presence is not required either for application or if successful.
Possible starting-points: local meet-ups, mailing lists/networking events for organisations you might want to collaborate with
When setting up a collaboration, be clear on IP ownership, and who has control over which elements of the project — best to have elements where the timeline is under your own control in case of external delays affecting your research/publications from project.
Consult uni legal teams for advice on contracts, NDAs, etc. Note that universities will often want to control IP.
Start small and build up – e.g. having an existing collaboration (with seed money, or even unfunded) can help gain larger-scale funding to scale up the project
Ditto in job applications – existing projects with room for growth and potential to attract further funding are attractive
Institutional backing can help – e.g. some funding opportunities are only available to those with (permanent) uni jobs – but there’s also a freedom to explore possibilities when not on a permanent/research contract
consider that you may wish to borrow research methods from other disciplines when involved in KE but that you’ll have to explain clearly how you’ve adapted them
there could be all kinds of ways you could participate in KE – let your imagination run wild!
The first #WCCWiki Colloquium will be held on 29 July 2020 from 10.00am to 3.15pm. #WCCWiki is a crowd-sourced initiative that aims to increase the representation of women classicists (very broadly conceived) on Wikipedia. Since we began in 2016, we have edited or created more than 450 Wikipedia pages for women classicists. For more information, please visit our Project Page.
The event is an opportunity to bring the #WCCWiki community together, and to reach out to those interested in learning more about women classicists online and why that’s important. We will share experiences and resources for editing, and develop future objectives for #WCCWiki.
The colloquium will be hosted online by the Institute of Classical Studies. This event is free and open to all but places are limited and booking is essential. Booking information can be found on the ICS website.
#WCCWiki Colloquium Schedule Emma Bridges: moderator Adam Parker: moderator Valerie James: technical assistance on Zoom
10-10.15: Introduction, Victoria Leonard: what is #WCCWiki, why is it important, how you can get involved (15 minutes) 10.15-10.25: Emma Bridges, technical introduction to the event (10 minutes) 10.25-10.30: Talk 1, Richard Nevell: data and statistics (5 minutes) 10.30-10.45: Discussion (15 minutes) 10.45-10.50: BREAK (5 minutes) 10.50-11.05: Talk 2, Kelly Foster: Race and Wikipedia (15 minutes) 11.05-11.25: Discussion (20 mins) 11.25-11.40: Break (15 minutes) 11.40-12.15 Discussion: technical Wikipedia editing how-to and skills share – bring your queries! Ie., how do I make an infobox? How do I get images online? 12.15-1.15: LUNCH 1.15-1.25: Talk 3, Adam Parker: Notability (10 minutes) 1.25-1.35: Talk 4, Kate Cook: Achieving good article status (10 minutes) 1.45-2.05: Discussion (20 mins) 2.05-2.10: Break (5 minutes) 2.10.2.25: Talk 5, Miller Power: LGBTQ+ (15 minutes) 2.25-2.45: Discussion (20 minutes) 2.45-2.50: Break (5 minutes) 2.50-3.10: Final discussion: round-up and future directions (20 mins)
Organised by Richard Nevell, Emma Bridges, Katie Shields, Anna Judson, Victoria Leonard, Kate Cook, and Adam Parker
The Women’s Classical Committee UK is pleased to announce the full programme for its online ECR event on Friday 10 July. Designed for early-career and postgraduate researchers in Classics, Archaeology, Ancient History, and other fields relating to the study of the ancient Mediterranean world and its reception, the aim of this online workshop is to provide information and opportunities for discussion on both traditional and non-traditional forms of reaching out with research.
The majority of presentations will be pre-recorded, and will be available to watch on the WCC UK’s YouTube channel from a week in advance of the live event; they can also be watched on the day during the breaks between live sessions. Two other presentations will be given live, immediately before their respective Q&A sessions, all of which will take place over Zoom. Live events will not be recorded but a written summary of the information and resources shared will be published after the event.
We also plan to offer 5-minute prerecorded “spotlight” talks, in order to provide a chance for delegates to share projects, experiences or research connected to the WCC UK’s aims. We would especially like to hear from delegates who have been involved in innovative or unusual activities related to outreach, widening participation, knowledge exchange or public engagement. If you would like more information or to volunteer to give one of these talks, please email Rhiannon Easterbrook (rhiannon.easterbrook@sas.ac.uk). The deadline for expressing interest is 5pm on Monday 22 June, and videos should be submitted by 5pm on Tuesday 30 June.
People of any gender expression or identity who support the WCC’s aims are welcome to attend this event; registration is free for both WCC members and non-members (if the event reaches capacity, WCC members will be given priority). The link for registration is here.
Registration closes at 12 noon on Thursday 9 July.
Schedule:
Pre-recorded presentations Publishing journal articles – Carol Atack Publishing academic monographs – Michael Sharp Research plans for job/funding applications – James Clackson BBC New Generation Thinkers’ programme – John Gallagher Knowledge exchange projects – Emma Cole Research plans for job/funding applications – Naoise MacSweeney
Live sessions, Friday 10 July (all times are UK = GMT+1) 10.00-10.15 – welcome remarks 10.15-10.45 – Q&A on journal articles – Carol Atack 10.45.11-15 – break 11.15-11.30 – live presentation on trade publishing – Issy Wilkinson 11.30-12.15 – Q&A on publishing (academic and trade) – Michael Sharp & Issy Wilkinson 12.15-1.30 – break 1.30-2.15 – Q&A on research plans in job/funding applications – James Clackson & Naoise MacSweeney 2.15-2.30 – break 2.30-3.15 – breakout groups to discuss participants’ research plans 3.15-4.15 – break 4.15-4.45 – Q&A on the New Generation Thinkers programme – John Gallagher 4.45-5.15 – Q&A on knowledge exchange projects – Emma Cole 5.15-5.30 – Closing remarks
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