Salvete et xairete, sodales!
Katy, visiting Connecticut’s unsung gem, The Slater Museum.
A year ago, ClassConn met for its first annual meeting since the pandemic. It was glorious to gather at Central Connecticut State University and to spend time in person with others who are engaged and passionate about the ancient world. Since then, I have been fortunate to meet with many of you on other occasions: social gatherings in West Hartford, Connecticut State Latin and Greek Day, a visit to the Slater Museum, and at the CT COLT summer book club. Our ClassConn Facebook group is also proving to be a regular acta diurna, full of information about local classical events in Connecticut. Please keep contributing!
I am so excited to announce that we will be gathering for our annual meeting this year at Yale University on October 28th. It is looking like a stellar program that will include tours of the Yale University Art Gallery after lunch. As I like to tell my students, Connecticut has the only Mithraeum in the Americas, at least to my knowledge. Please be on the lookout for registration information going live shortly.
When we gather together as classicists, I believe we are doing something countercultural. Over the last few weeks, TikTok has informed us that men are secretly obsessed with Rome. Sarah E. Bond and Stephanie Wong wrote an insightful piece for MSNBC about the Rome most often envisioned by the general public as a Hollywood inspired, patriarchal, bro-mance, fantasy world that prioritizes war and violence over law and inclusion. It rather reminds me of Ken’s reductionist interpretation of masculinity in the Barbie movie. By reading, writing, and sharing an expanded, source based, multilayered view of the ancient Mediterranean, we expand and sometimes dismantle other’s perceptions. It is courageous to counter fantasy with truth, and it is a courage we need to continue to muster.
Thanks for all you do to bring a more accurate view of the ancient world to the people in your lives,
ave atque vale!
Katy Reddick
President, Classical Association of Connecticut