Classics
Advisory Service
9/1/98 -
10/31/99
Report to the Board of Directors, American
Philological Association
Michael Gagarin, Director
November 10, 1999
My fourth year as Director of the CAS has been
relatively quiet in terms of crises. During the year I
was alerted to possible problems at five institutions.
Only one of these came to me directly from the department
or program involved; the rest were brought to my
attention by general announcements on the internet or
appeals by others. In all cases the role of the CAS was
relatively small, because either the damage was a fait
accompli, or the Classicists involved had already
taken the necessary action, or (in one case) there was no
Classicist interested in responding to my email message.
In general, where the Classicists are active and
committed, they responded effectively; where they are
not, the response (if any) is ineffective. The posting of
information on the CAS Web Site seems to have helped in
some cases and made it less necessary to call on the
Director directly. In this regard I made a number of
revisions to the Web Site with the help of APA Webmaster
Mitchell-Boyask.
Various other sorts of inquiries and requests for
assistance came from seven institutions or organizations.
Some of these requested help in starting or expanding a
Classics program, other sought advice on general trends
or issues. In addition, I continued to give advice on
Program Reviews (nine requests), primarily in the form of
suggestions for possible outside reviewers. This service
is clearly a help to many APA member institutions. In the
future it would be good to expand the list of people I
recommend, since most people are happy to do one or
perhaps two external reviews in a year but not more.
During the past year I also finished drafting a set of
guidelines for undergraduate programs in Classics. If the
Board approves, these should be posted on the Web Site.
The final version should also be published in the
Newsletter.
Perhaps the matter most in need of attention at this
point is the Database of information about undergraduate
programs in Classics. This was begun by Bill Ziobro, but
with the changes in the APA administration, and the
consequent changes in types of computer programs, to my
knowledge there currently exists no useful database. Many
requests I receive include specific questions about,
e.g., numbers of majors or Latin enrollments at
comparable institutions; others ask about broad trends in
Classics. Moreover, general claims about the death of
Classics or the vitality of Classics tend to be based
largely on anecdotal evidence. There is a serious lack of
solid statistical data that could be used for both
specific requests and more general discussion. It should
be one of the main tasks of the CAS and the APA in the
coming year to reestablish and update this Database.
Michael Gagarin
Director, Classics Advisory Service
gagarin@mail.utexas.edu
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