Classics and Colonialism
2008 Ford Scholars Project Description
| Project Director: | Rachel Friedman |
| Department: | Classics |
| Dates: | May 26 – July 7, 2008 (6 weeks) |
| Location: | Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY |
| Number of Students: | 1 |
Description of the Project:
I was trained as a philologist, with a specialty in Greek literature. Increasingly, though, I have become more and more interested, not only in the reading of ancient texts but in the question of how they have been read, used and abused; how they have been implicated in discourses of both power and resistance. My most recent publications are considerations of two postcolonial authors and their appropriation of Greek texts[1]. I have successfully taught a course on Derek Walcott and Homer twice and would like, now, to move beyond a literary analysis centered on the question of the reception of ancient texts towards a more historically and theoretically based look at the broader questions surrounding the intersection of classics and colonialism. [1] “Derek Walcott's Odysseys.” International Journal of the Classical Tradition 14, no. 3-4 (forthcoming February 2008), “Deserts and Gardens: Herodotus and The English Patient.” Arion 15, no. 3 (forthcoming February 2008).
Because of the central role that classical learning played in the self-definition of the British elite, not only was a classical education imposed on many colonized peoples, but classical learning itself also became implicated in the projects of British imperialism. In my new course I hope to examine the ways in which these projects were both furthered and undermined by a cultural poetics that centered on the classics. I intend to look first at how classical material was used to express colonial authority, considering, for example, the way that the Roman Empire was used as an idealized model, or the role that classical education played in advancement through the Indian Civil Service, and then plan to turn towards the ways that classics were later appropriated by imperial subjects in moves towards decolonization and the articulation of a postcolonial poetics. Some authors that we might consider in this regard include Wole Soyinka, Seamus Heaney, and Derek Walcott.
I have read extensively in postcolonial theory and have done some research into the history of the reception of particular texts such as the Odyssey. I view this class as an opportunity to become more knowledgeable about the cultural and historical forces informing processes of reception and literary appropriation, so that my discussions of literary texts can become more fully contextualized. I’m extremely excited about teaching this new course, but as it is quite different from anything else I’ve taught, I would greatly benefit from the assistance of a Ford Scholar in preparing it. The Ford Scholar will assist me in the preparation of a new class I am scheduled to teach next fall called “Classics and Colonialism.” It will be a 300 level seminar, open to any student who has done some work in classics, no knowledge of Greek or Latin required.
Anticipated Summer Activities:
The past few years have seen more and more work by classicists interested in exploring the relationship between their discipline and the history of colonialism and its legacies. For example, in 2005 a collection of essays called Classics and Colonialism was published, and 2007 saw the collection of a second collection of essays called Classics in Post-Colonial Worlds. Accordingly, I think that the best place to start our research would be with a quick overview of the work that has already been done in this field. I can imagine asking my Ford Scholar to begin, then, by reading selected essays and articles and then creating an annotated bibliography of what s/he has read (week 1).
The next step after that would be to narrow our focus so as to begin delineating the seminar’s fields of inquiry more precisely. I am imagining now that the course will be divided into two main parts: the first will focus on the project of British colonialism, the second will focus on acts of resistance. While I am imagining that Part I will focus on more historical questions, for example, the history of Latin education in the Caribbean, the focus of Part II will be on reworkings of classical texts done by the formerly colonized, for example Wole Soyinka’s Bacchae. After my Ford Scholar and I have gone over the initial set of readings, then, and gotten an overview of the field, I would like to begin selecting together a series of case-studies for each part of the class that we can then begin researching in greater detail together. For the first part of the class this will necessitate historical research and the collecting of primary sources (weeks 2-3). For the second part of the class this will require that we read together some works of classically inspired postcolonial poetry and drama so as to determine which examples might be best suited for the class, and then perhaps, also look at some critical discussions of the works we have selected (weeks 4-5). Lastly, we would actually design the syllabus, thinking together about which readings to assign, how to structure the class meetings, and about the sorts of assignments (papers, reports etc.) that might be most useful and interesting (week 6).
Preferred Student Qualifications/Skills:
Preference will be given to a student who has done some work in Classics, British History, and Postcolonial Literary Studies. Demonstrated writing ability and familiarity with the library and basic research methods would also be extremely useful.
Anticipated Follow-up Teaching/Professional Activity for the Student:
I imagine that the student’s follow-up activity would be to lead a class on the portion of the syllabus that is of most interest to her/him.