THREAT TO HUMANITIES CENTER AT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY; FIEC OPEN LETTER

We need to draw your attention to a most concerning development at Johns Hopkins University.

Despite the fact that the Johns Hopkins Humanities Center has become one of the most prestigious and most successful interdisciplinary departments in all of the U.S., the university's administration has devised a plan to have it closed by July 2017.

Please follow this link to find out more about the issue and consider signing the petition against the closure of the Humanities Center.

We also invite you to read FIEC's open letter to Prof. Beverly Wendland, who is one of the initiators of the process:

"Madam,

It is with great concern that the International Federation of Associations of Classical Studies (FIEC) has learned about the plan to close the Humanities Center at John Hopkins University. Not only your University, but this center, carry an excellent reputation across the globe. We believe firmly in an academic environment where all disciplines of knowledge and research are represented, for the benefit of all parties involved.

Academic standing and the quality of research is not reflected only in impact factors and publications in the so-called ‘hard sciences’ : the Humanities also play a vital role in the education of students, both in the USA and abroad. As the case of mathematics shows, student enrollment is but one criterion that justifies keeping a teaching and research center. It is the duty of all Universities to ensure that their students have an access to critical thinking with a historical, literary and conceptual dimension. In that respect, your Humanities Center constitutes a key element which will be extremely difficult to rebuild once you have dismantled it.

We therefore beg you to reconsider the planned closing of the Humanities Center : on the contrary, the Humanities deserve your support at a time when all academics, in the USA and abroad, expect a clear signal in favour of decency and measure.

Looking forward to your reply, I remain

sincerely yours,

Franco Montanari
President of FIEC"
(Pisa, November 20th, 2016)

PETITION TO SAVE LATIN AND ITALIAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ, FINLAND

We would like to make you aware of the fact that the teaching of Latin and Italian are under threat of being discontinued at the University of Jyväskylä. Please read the following information by Dr Alexandra Grigorieva and consider signing both petitions:

 

“Dear Colleagues,

 Please help Finnish classicists to save teaching of Latin and teaching of Italian at the University of Jyväskylä. Both subjects are being abolished from the university curriculum altogether.

There IS a small chance it might be reconsidered if our protest is large and international enough. We have a reassuring precedent; a Danish University has recently reversed the decision to remove Greek from the curriculum thanks to the loud international outrage [cf. our blog]. Finnish university bureaucracy might be sensitive about such kind of public outcry as well.

Please sign for Latin

http://www.petitions24.com/jyu-latin-2016

And although it's a classicist mailing list I hope you could sign for Italian as well

http://www.petitions24.com/jyu_italian_2016

 As a foreign researcher based in Helsinki I admire Finnish university Classical traditions immensely and seeing them being ruined is not a thing I can contemplate with equanimity. Incidentally, Jyväskylä was named 'Athens of Finland' thanks to its commitment to education back in the 19th century when such things mattered.

Thank you so much for your support.”

THE ROLE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE WITHIN THE HUMANITIES

This week we would like to take up an issue which does not only pertain to current events in field of Classics, but to an ongoing global development: The growing significance of the English language for international communication.

Even if English has not reached all areas of the world yet, it surely appears to be on its way of becoming a full-fledged lingua franca. As such, it enables people from all over the globe to communicate with each other and thus brings a number of practical as well as economic advantages. For one, it allows FIEC to write but one blog entry on this topic to all its readers speaking completely different mother tongues.  Yet, there may be a downside to this development. We have to ask ourselves whether or not we should allow English to become the ONLY language of international importance.

An Austrian petition, which was launched a few days ago, addresses this very problem. More specifically, it calls into question a decision made by the FWF, Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (“Austrian Science Fund”), which is an essential institution giving financial support to Austrian scientific research. A couple of years ago, those responsible for the fund decided that applications to it were to be submitted in English only. They argued that it would thus be easier to find suitable evaluators for the individual projects in need of funding.

The supporters of the petition, on the other hand, consider this restriction a step into the wrong direction. Particularly in the field of humanities, they argue, a multilingual approach has to be taken since scholars from all over the world have been communicating in several languages for a long time and because considerable parts of the relevant literature is French, Italian, German etc. Therefore, it can be claimed, that a qualified evaluator definitely has to be acquainted with a number of languages in order to understand the context of any given application in the field of, e.g., Philosophy or Classics.

Apart from that, languages are not mere practical tools, but carry the cultural identity of the peoples by which they are spoken. To strengthen the use of one universal language might means to lose a great portion of our cultural diversity, a problem that reaches far beyond academic discourse.

To read and sign the petition and help allow German applications to the FWF, please follow this link.

The issue is certainly worth some discussion. It might as well be of interest what native speakers of English think about this topic. Does the quality of academic writing in English, as a whole, worsen because of the high number of non-native speakers using it for their theses and articles? After all, it is inevitable that some aspects of any text get lost in translation.

We invite every one of you to share your thoughts on this issue. Please comment on the entry and let us know your perspective. We would be pleased to see a lively discussion.

PETITION TO MAINTAIN THE STATUS OF LATIN AND ANCIENT GREEK IN FRENCH SCHOOLS

Six major associations concerned with the educational system in France, including the Association des Professeurs de Français et Langues Anciennes and the Association des Professeurs de Lettres, have drawn up a petition regarding the field of ancient languages and cultures in French schools.

To this day, the French government regards Latin and Ancient Greek as subjects of high priority. Amongst other factors, the educational system thus contributes to the fact that more than 520,000 pupils are currently studying either Latin or Ancient Greek.

In 2016, however, the French government plans on modifying the rules for all schools in a way that would lower the status of the subjects and make them face considerably more competition. This would probably lead to a massive loss of pupils studying the languages and their historical importance.

Please consider signing the petition in order to save the current status of the ancient cultures in France. Follow the link to read and sign the full petition.

PETITION TO SAVE THE BASEL CAST COLLECTION

Today´s news, once more, contains information related to the preservation of archaeological material. We would like you to consider signing the petition against a budget cut designed by the Governing Council of Basel, Switzerland, which would lead to the closure of the Skulpturhalle Basel. This institution of international reputation displays 2.200 casts of Greek and Roman art and is thus the third largest collection of its kind. Please follow the link in order to sign the petition.

PETITION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE CHAIR OF CLASSICAL ARCHAELOLGY AT SAARLAND UNIVERSITY

The German Association of Archaeologists (Deutscher Archäologen-Verband) has launched a petition against the abolition of the chair of Classical Archaeology at Saarland University. Please have a look at the beginning of the petition, which addresses the government of the German state Saarland as well as the president of its university:

“Under severe financial pressure by Saarland's state government, Saarland University (Universität des Saarlandes, UdS) is forced to reduce its expenses by almost 20 per cent by the year 2020. In order to meet this requirement, the University Board announced its plans, inter alia, to abolish Classical and Antiquity Studies (Altertumswissenschaften) as an independent department.  While the Chairs of Classics (Philology) and Ancient History, both currently appointed and secure for the coming years, will be preserved (for the moment at least) under the auspices of the Historical Institute, the currently vacant Chairs of Classical Archaeology as well as Prehistory shall be given up completely.”

For more information and to sign the petition, please visit the following website (see below for instructions on how to sign the petition in German):

https://www.change.org/p/an-die-landesregierung-des-saarlandes-erhalt-der-professur-f%C3%BCr-klassische-arch%C3%A4ologie-an-der-universit%C3%A4t-des-saarlandes

How to sign the petition in German:

By clicking on the link you will be directed to the petition on change.org. On the right-hand side you will see the headline “Petition unterschreiben” (sign petition). Beneath this headline you are asked to enter your first name (“Vorname”), your last name (“Nachname”), your country (change “Deutschland” (Germany) to your home country)), and you postcode/zip code (“Postleitzahl”).

To complete the process click on “Unterschreiben” (sign).

Below the “Unterschreiben”-button there are two boxes you may tick if you would like to be kept up to date by the petitioner (box 1), or if you want your signature to be visible to everyone on change.org (box 2).

Help by drafting an individual letter:

If you would like to do more in order to save the Chair of Classical Archaeology and if you would like to express your personal concerns, the Colleagues at Saarland University ask you to write an individual letter to the governor of Saarland State and to the president of the university. It would be best to send a formal letter to the official addresses mentioned below; feel free to send an email as well:

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Ministerpräsidentin des Saarlandes
Staatskanzlei
Am Ludwigsplatz 14
D-66117 Saarbrücken
a.kramp-karrenbauer@staatskanzlei.saarland.de

Prof. Dr. Volker Linneweber
Präsident der Universität des Saarlandes
Campus A2 3
D-66123 Saarbrücken
praesident@uni-saarland.de

PETITION AGAINST BUDGET CUTS IN DENMARK

Dear Colleagues

          May I encourage you to sign this petition against devastating cuts in the humanities in Denmark?

          With all best wishes    Stephen Harrison, Oxford

<http://www.change.org/p/minister-sofie-carsten-nielsen-denmark-minister-sofie-carsten-nielsen-preserve-the-humanities-at-copenhagen-university>

More information in English:

<http://universitypost.dk/article/international-media-planned-university-cutbacks-massacre>

SWEDISH RESEARCH INSTITUTES – FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

This is to provide some background information about the plans for closing the Swedish research institutes in Athens, Istanbul and Rome.

A few weeks ago, the Swedish people elected its new government. The new minister of Higher Education and Research is called Helene Hellmark Knutsson.

On Wednesday, 22.10.2014 the budget proposal for the next year was published. In the section on research it was briefly announced that the department would save 10 million Swedish kronor in 2016 and another 12 in 2017, consisting in the withdrawal of support for the three Swedish Institutes. The chairperson of the board of the Institutes was informed by telephone the day before the budget proposal was launched. This development, however, does not take take place without resistance from wide parts of the Swedish and the international society. It has been criticized that there was neither an adequate discussion, nor a proper analysis of the consequences.

Immediately, a petition was started; after only 24 hours the number of signatures was already over 3.000. The present number of 12.800 is constituted by subscribers from many different countries. All the major Swedish newspapers, including those not usually reporting on humanities and culture, showed interest in the subject. Carl Bildt, the former minister of foreign affairs in the government which just resigned, has signed the list and written an article in one of the largest Swedish newspapers. The minister in question was interviewed in a program where Ida Östenberg, who is an Ancient Historian and one of the most important supporters of the protest, was also interviewed. Consequently, the minister was put under pressure to consider re-evaluating the decision.

It is now possible or even likely that the government is going to withdraw the suggestion: The minister claims that “this was just a proposal, not a decision”.

The petition is still available online:

http://www.namninsamling.com/site/get.asp?Medelhavsinstitut#.VElipDs-IkA.facebook

SWEDISH INSTITUTES AT ATHENS, ROME, AND ISTANBUL THREATENED WITH CLOSURE

Today´s news concerns the plan of the Swedish government to stop funding the Mediterranean Institutes at Athens, Rome and Istanbul from 2017 onwards. This budget cut would force all three research Institutes to close down. As you will see, a number of classicists has called attention to the issue and you are asked to sign a petition if you think the institutes´ scientific as well as educational work is worth saving.

See below for further information! Also notice the instructions on how to sign the petition in Swedish.

Dear colleagues,

Yesterday [23.10.14] the Swedish Government announced that they will end all state funding for the Swedish Institutes at Athens, Rome and Istanbul from 2017. Our research Institutes have no private funding and will therefore have to close down and terminate their work within two years.

The decision has been made without any prior consultation or investigation of the consequences: the Institutes will not be able to fulfill their responsibilities of taking care of archaeological material or sites in the Mediterranean and providing education with the fields of Classical Archaeology, Classics, Art History, Architecture and Social sciences, nor to conduct and publish research, give conferences, host cultural activities, take part in heritage management or run our research libraries in the Mediterranean countries.

The decision would be a huge tragedy for Classical research and education in Sweden and we ask you to consider signing the petition against it:

http://www.namninsamling.com/site/get.asp?Medelhavsinstitut#.VElipDs-IkA.facebook

Please enter through "Skriv på listan" (Sign the list)

Add your "förnamn" (name), "efternamn" (surname), emailadress (for verification only), "postort" (city), and "ämne/titel" (title/subject). Press "spara" (save) and sign through the verification email.

Thank you for your support,

Jenni Hjohlman