American
Philological Association
STATEMENT
ON RESEARCH
1. Classical Studies Today
Modern research in classical studies focuses on the
ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome, both in their
own right and within the much broader context of the
cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, Middle East and
Western Europe. Both the historical impact of these
civilizations and their continuing relevance and value in
the modern world are of central interest. While
'classical' education was once based almost exclusively
on the study of texts inherited from the ancient world,
today's research is done from many diverse points of view
and uses a vast range of texts and material remains which
continue to increase as the ancient world continues to be
rediscovered. In addition to scholarship based directly
on traditional philological, textual, and historical
methodologies, modern research considers also the
political, social and economic structures, science and
technology, religions and philosophies, and creative and
performing arts of the ancient world. The field of
classical studies is by its very nature
interdisciplinary, and was the first interdisciplinary
field in the Humanities.
This wider range of materials and approaches allows
modern classical scholars to generate new editions and
new understandings of even the most familiar authors and
events. Classicists also have ongoing interactions with
many other modern disciplines (most of which have their
own roots in Greek and Roman thought), and with broader
theoretical developments within and beyond the
humanities. Through their historical depth and
interdisciplinary breadth classical studies contribute
vitally to our understanding of today's world in areas
such as literature, government and law, ideologies,
religions and their conflicts, trade, international
relations, and multiculturalism.
2. Research Training and Practice
Research training in classical studies normally
requires a rigorous six- to seven-year doctoral program
which includes both general training in the field and the
development of a specific expertise through the
preparation of a doctoral thesis. The general training is
designed to provide competence in reading ancient Greek
and Latin texts and a broad knowledge of the Greek and
Roman world in its historical context. Training also may
encourage familiarity with a range of documents and
artifacts, competence in reading scholarly literature in
several modern languages (typically German, French and/or
Italian, in addition to English), and a broad awareness
of the field, its specializations and scholarly history,
and its relevance to the modern world. Specializations
may be in language, literature, history, archaeology,
material culture, art, philosophy, science, religion,
economic, political or social structures, or in technical
areas such as archaeological fieldwork, epigraphy (the
study of inscriptions), papyrology and paleography (the
study of ancient and medieval texts and documents), and
numismatics (the study of coins). Command of primary
source material –literary and documentary texts,
images, artifacts, archaeological sites and data –is
at the core of scholarship in all of these areas.
Students acquire research and writing skills needed for
scholarly publications, as well as skills used in
teaching and communicating with a broader non-specialist
public. (Advice on preparing work for publication is
given in the APA's online statement Publishing
the Scholarly Article in Classical
Studies.)
Research in the field proceeds through the ongoing
dialogue of publication and discussion. Peer assessment
and evaluation are vital elements in the research
process. Research proposals, funding applications, and
submissions for publication are typically assessed by two
or three anonymous referees as well as by the responsible
agency or editorial committee. Many journals include
reviews of published books, and a few are devoted wholly
to reviews. Electronic publication and the production of
electronic resources are beginning to become accepted as
valid forms of scholarly output subject to the same
general criteria of evaluation.
The depth, range and complexity of classical
scholarship mean that junior scholars in the field
usually mature slowly and senior scholars are often
committed to multi-year projects. Appointment to an
assistant professorship is based primarily on the
dissertation and teaching experience during graduate
school. Sometimes new Ph.D.'s have produced a few
conference-papers, short articles or reviews as well. In
recent years there has been a trend to publish work in
conference proceedings, companions, and collections of
various sources. Appointment to tenured rank frequently
requires, besides accomplished teaching and professional
service, the publication of a book and/or several
substantial articles along with evidence of their quality
and of further substantial research in preparation.
Whereas some areas of classical studies lend themselves
to collaborative efforts in scholarship, for many
classicists good research requires individual study,
reflection, and solitude.
3. Resources
Materials for research in classical studies are highly
varied and widely scattered geographically. Much of the
material evidence must be studied in its original
settings in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Museums in these areas and in North America conserve and
provide access to artifacts such as inscriptions,
pottery, sculpture, metalwork, coins, wall paintings,
mosaics and architectural remains. Some major research
libraries hold collections of ancient papyri and the
medieval and renaissance manuscripts through which
ancient texts were transmitted to the modern world.
Academic libraries have larger or smaller collections of
modern editions and scholarly literature. Within North
America there are specialized research institutions such
as the Center
for Hellenic Studies and the Dumbarton
Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies in
Washington D.C. In the Mediterranean area, research is
facilitated by the American
Academy in Rome, the American
School of Classical Studies in Athens, the
Canadian
Academic Institute in Athens, and many
similar institutions sponsored by other countries.
As the scope of investigation in classical studies has
broadened, so have research methods and organization.
Electronic resources are increasingly important, and
their creation and development have become a major area
of scholarly activity. Classicists have led the way in
building such projects at the national and international
level. For example, the Thesaurus
Linguae Graecae was the first comprehensive
electronic database of any literature and Stoa
is one of the pioneering organizations fostering refereed
scholarly publication in the humanities. Some large-scale
projects and international collaborations are assisted by
national funding agencies and academic bodies, and the
APA has been active in sponsorship and promotion.
Electronic resources developed in recent years include
databases of texts and images, topic-based collections of
information for study and teaching, virtual re-creations
of archaeological sites, language teaching resources,
searchable dictionaries and bibliographies, and journal
and review publications. Notable examples include the
Perseus
Digital Library (a comprehensive
collection of information on the classical Greek world),
Demos
(a digital encyclopedia of Athenian democracy), VRoma
(an online resource for teaching Latin and ancient Roman
culture), Diotima
(materials for the study of women and gender in the
ancient world), the Thesaurus
Linguae Graecae (a comprehensive database of
ancient Greek texts), Ancient
Greek Tutorials (language learning aids from
the Berkeley Language Center), the Thesaurus
Linguae Latinae (an exhaustive dictionary of
the Latin language), the Barrington
Atlas (the first comprehensive atlas of the
Greek and Roman World, together with the continuing
Ancient
World Mapping Center), and the Bryn
Mawr Classical Review (the world's
second-oldest electronic academic journal). Access to
these and many others is facilitated by excellent gateway
sites such as Electronic
Resources for Classicists and Classics
and Mediterranean Archaeology. (A list of
websites for classics resources also appears in the
American
Journal of Philology, 124.4).
L'Année
philologique, a comprehensive annual
bibliography of classical studies published since 1927,
is a particularly striking example of the field's
willingness and ability to adopt new technologies for
scholarship. Since 2002, this essential research
resource has been available by subscription on a
web site that combines new volumes with older volumes put
into digital form by another APA-sponsored project, the
Database
of Classical Bibliography.
L'Année continues to appear in print, but
an increasing number of volumes are now available online;
a resource that until recently was available only in
print, in separate annual volumes, in selected research
libraries can now be searched via a single query by
anyone with Internet access and a paid subscription.
In addition to their importance for research, many of
the electronic resources mentioned above, and others like
them, are helping to transform classroom teaching and
individual study. At all levels from grade school to
university, high-quality, up-to-date, and above all
affordable study materials are now becoming easily
accessible through the internet and in CD and DVD
formats.
4. Scholarly Needs and Support
For individual scholars the research process involves
acquiring or accessing traditional research materials,
traveling to libraries, museums, sites and conferences,
accessing electronic resources, and communicating with
colleagues. These elements all have costs, although the
costs are usually not large in comparison with those in
many other academic fields. Equipment is not usually a
major factor. For many classical scholars the most
pressing need is simply for time –time to locate
and access primary and secondary materials, to reflect
upon and interpret these, and to prepare work for
publication. In their academic careers most scholars must
balance the demands of teaching (though this itself is
often a stimulus to research) with the demands of
research projects that require regular and extensive
periods of concentrated study.
Funding is available at various levels. Individuals
with low-cost projects may sometimes rely on funds and
periodic research leaves offered by their own
institutions. Larger funding is available competitively
from national agencies such as the National
Endowment for the Humanities, the American
Council of Learned Societies, the American
Philosophical Society, and the Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council of
Canada, and from private foundations, among
which the Guggenheim
Foundation and the MacArthur
Foundation give grants for distinguished
work. The general scarcity of research funding in the
humanities is a continuing concern, especially as
governments and universities increasingly measure
academic success by quantity of research output and so
increase the pressure of competition for available funds.
Additionally, compared to grants in the sciences, grants
in classics are usually more modest in scale and
duration.
5. Conclusion
Research in Classical Studies is characterized by its
variety of approaches, range and depth of materials, and
academic rigor; the relevant bibliography is often
multi-lingual and spread over an unusually long
time-span, so that even a relatively short publication
may be based on extensive research, and may make a
substantial contribution to knowledge and understanding.
Ties between research and teaching are strong, and the
boundaries of the discipline are expanding, thanks to new
materials, technologies, methodologies, connections with
other fields, and above all the initiative of its
practitioners.