Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Updates from the DIAR Committee
Reporting Resources
Sexual and Gender-Based Harrasment
Using the Resource for Online Anonymous Disclosures (ROAD), you can let us know of a concern, communicate with a member of the Title IX Office, and access resources without revealing your identity. Anonymously Disclose Sexual Harassment with Title IX through ROAD
Through the Office for Gender Equity you can file a Formal Disclosure with Title IX.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Reporting
Harvard uses an anonymous reporting hotline which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is run by an independent, third-party provider. There are two ways to report: toll-free by calling 877- 694-2275 or you can submit a report online.
University Ombudsman Office
The office provides informal, impartial, confidential and independent assistance to all members of the Harvard community in managing or resolving issues affecting their work or academics. Please email university_ombudsman@harvard.edu, or call 617-495-7748 to connect with the Harvard University Ombudsman Office.
University-Wide Anonymous Reporting Hotline
To encourage individuals to voice their concerns, Harvard University established the reporting hotline and website which provides the opportunity to report concerns in an anonymous manner. This hotline may be used to report a variety of ethical, integrity, safety, security, and compliance concerns and may be used by anyone including, but not limited to, students, faculty, postdocs, staff, patients, vendors, contractors and visitors, anywhere in the world. There are two ways to report: toll-free by calling 877- 694-2275 or you can submit a report online.
Upcoming Events
DIAR Resources
Database of Classics Diversity Organizations and Groups
Sarah Derbew, Assistant Professor of Classics at Stanford University and Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows, has compiled a list of organizations working on diversity in the Classics. We thank Sarah for sharing this valuable list with the Classics community at large!
See also: DIAR
Departmental Microgrant application
The Microgrant Program is open to all members of our department for the development of projects dedicated to a more inclusive Classics, (e.g. talks and class visits by external speakers, reading groups, small exhibits, artistic projects, etc.). We are especially interested in projects that involve collaboration between different groups within the department (e.g. faculty and students; undergraduate and graduate students; faculty and staff).
See also: DIAR
FAS Office for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
Harvard Office for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
Harvard Title IX Office
Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
Office of Sexual Assault Prevention & Response
DIAR Welcome Message
The Committee for Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism is a unique standing committee comprising undergraduate and graduate students, faculty (ladder and non-ladder) and staff. The DIAR Committee was established in urgent recognition of the scourge of systemic racism and other forms of discrimination in our society and in the field with the objective of advancing the department’s goals in the areas of diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism. Its charge is continuous and ongoing, and the committee seeks to fulfill its mission in the following ways:
Learning
The committee holds regular community conversations and office hours which focus on canvasing input and offering a receptive and productive environment for sharing feedback, concerns, and ideas at all levels within the department on inclusion and diversity in our community, classrooms and in our discipline. We work in conjunction with various FAS and university-wide offices to gather data related to diversity and inclusion metrics on campus and in our department and to develop best practices for pedagogy, scholarship, and community building.
Educating
Our committee organizes and coordinates events that highlight issues of racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination and how best to combat them as members of a department and academic community. We also leverage the existing work of our departmental members and university colleagues by advertising opportunities to increase the diversity and inclusion literacy of the community and spreading the word about learning opportunities at Harvard (e.g. reading groups, research and funding opportunities). We are committed to increasing awareness of information and resources available to members of our community who have experienced sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination and bias.
Advocating
At the core of our mission is the creation and fostering of opportunities that advance the status and visibility of individuals of minoritized identities and other groups historically under-represented in academia not only within the department, but also within the wider field of Classics. Our committee has instituted a Summer Scholarship program for high school and college students who want to study Greek and Latin in the Harvard Summer School. We have also established a Micro-grant Program open to all members of our department for the development of projects dedicated to a more inclusive Classics, (e.g. talks and class visits by external speakers, reading groups, small exhibits, artistic projects, etc.). We are especially interested in projects that involve collaboration between different groups within the department (e.g. faculty and students; undergraduate and graduate students; faculty and staff).
We are committed to making ourselves available and accessible to every member of our community. We are available to offer counsel and support to any departmental committee or officer seeking input on the equity and inclusion implications of specific policies and programs.
While we cannot adjudicate individual complaints of bias, the chairs can direct members to specific campus resources dedicated to investigating and resolving such incidents. We also warmly welcome ideas and suggestions from members of the department on how we can advance diversity and inclusion in our community.
DIAR Committee Working Groups 2021–22
Pedagogy Working Group
Project Leads:
Ivy Livingston (Senior Preceptor in Ancient Greek and Classical Latin)
Irene Peirano Garrison (Director of Graduate Studies)
Members:
Eric Driscoll
Ben Elwy
Miriam Kamil
Luby Kiriakidi
Aoki Lee Simmons
Vivi Lu
Alyson Lynch
Davide Napoli
Stephen Shennan
Alex Vega
Teresa Wu
Ivor Zimmerman
Infrastructure Working Group
Project Leads:
David Elmer (Department Chair)
Teresa Wu (Department Administrator)
Members:
Alyson Lynch
Justin Miller
Emily Mitchell
Rachel Philbrick
Ivor Zimmerman
Programming Working Group
Project Leads:
Jared Hudson (Director of Undergraduate Studies, Fall 2021; on leave Spring 2022)
Naomi Weiss (Director of Undergraduate Studies, Spring 2022; on leave Fall 2021)
Julia Judge Mulhall (Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies)
Members:
Sam Lincoln
Alyson Lynch
Harry Morgan
Greg Nagy
Avanti Nambiar
Suzanne Paszkowski
DIAR Bookshelf: What We Are Reading Right Now
Hood Feminism
This book addresses mainstream feminism’s failing, specifically in relation to race, access, segregation, and general livelihood in America. Issues of pay inequality and diversity in higher education are popular platforms for mainstream feminism, but often these issues are solely concerned with how these problems impact white women. In a series of essays, Kendall discusses issues of feminism that relate to food insecurity, gun violence, affordable and safe housing, and how mainstream feminism often fails to see that race, economic class, ableism, and sexual orientation intersect with feminism. This book has been helpful for making me assess how my own approach to feminism has failed and needs to change. — Sarah Eisen (G4).
Classicisms in the Black Atlantic
This volume offers a variety of studies on the literary and political uses of classical antiquity in modern constructions of race and identity in the Black Atlantic. I was particularly drawn towards Patrice Rankine’s chapter entitled “Classics for All? : Liberal Education and the Matter of Black Lives,” in which he focuses on the study of the African voice in the Classical world, the reception of Classics by contemporary Black authors, and the current barriers for students entering the field of Classics. Rankine’s work has provoked me to think about the many paradoxes that exist within the study of Classics and consider the ways in which we may expand the voices within our field. — Katherine Vallot-Basker (A.B. '21)
Minor Feelings
Cathy Park Hong blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose the truth of racialized consicousness, using her own story to offer a deeper examination of racial consciousness in America today. This book traces her relationship to the English language, to poetry and artmaking, and to family and female friendship in search to both uncover and speak the truth. — Anonymous
Teaching to Transgress
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Teaching to Transgress is a seminal work in critical pedagogy, written by the Black American professor and activist, bell hooks. hooks writes, among other things, about the importance of replacing the banking system of education (memorize all of those verb paradigms lol) with liberatory pedagogy. This kind of pedagogy aims to help students and teachers understand and resist the regimes of oppression that we exist within. In the context of the Harvard Classics department, this might relate to, for example, the pressures undergraduate students feel to make a certain amount of money upon graduation or have an appropriately ambitious plan for their lives. If you’re a graduate student, this might relate to pressures you’ve felt not to push the discipline too far for fear of not landing a tenure-track job, or other pressures to conform to elite values. And perhaps it might even include the pressures that faculty face to maintain the legitimacy of their professional choices in the face of mounting contradictions in the field… Though hooks doesn’t offer one-sized fits all solutions, her book is a call to action and reflection on what we can do in our communities to make them more inclusive and free. Individual reflection is an important part of this; another important part is taking action to support your values, even if they don’t necessarily advance your own career, wealth, or personal prestige. One specific way to do this is to take part in collective action—signing petitions, taking part in protests, or joining your union if you happen to have one (If you’re a graduate student worker, you might be interested to democratically participate in the
DIAR Bookshelf: Good Articles To Read
Fragile, Handle With Care: On White Classicists and More Than a Common Tongue: Dividing Race and Classics Across the Atlantic, both by Mathura Umachandran
"As a white, Anglo-American classicist, I have found both of these articles very useful. The first article has motivated me to examine my own engagement with issues of race, and to identify actions that I personally can take to help combat racism and white fragility in Classics. The second illustrates how anti-racist work must be informed by, and tailored to, the specific social and political context in which we are operating, which is a crucial point to bear in mind when trying to effect change within our field." – Emily Mitchell (G4)
The Politics of the Classical Tradition by Simon Goldhill
"I think it does an excellent job of situating current debates in Classics in the broader context of the history of the discipline. It made me reflect anew on how Classics has been (and still is) responsible for various kinds of oppression (political, cultural, religious, etc.), but it also signals a note of optimism: “Classics opens the door to an other place, a place often idealised, which creates a space for the imagination of a better world.” – Harry Morgan (Lecturer)
'Classics for Everyone' Must Be More Than A Slogan by Dani Bostick and Can’t We Work Together? Reframing Inclusivity in Classics by Ian Lockey
"I appreciate that these articles address important issues of how Classics has failed to be inclusive and has reinforced white supremacist narratives, how these problems can be confronted, and what can be done differently to make the field more inclusive (both in the reasons we give for why classics is worth studying and in our day-to-day teaching). The articles help me to see specifically what sort of messaging and portrayals in this field have been harmful and exclusive, and what practically can be done to make the field more welcoming." –Alexander Vega (G5)