Equity

We affirm that Classics should be for everyone, not for a privileged few or only for members of one race or place of origin or faith tradition.  We want all students to feel welcome, safe, accepted, and included in our department.  We recognize that some students face serious challenges to their education because of their race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, first language, religious and spiritual tradition, age, ability, and socioeconomic status.  Our department is committed to an equitable, inclusive education for every student interested in Classics, especially students whom our discipline has traditionally marginalized and excluded.  In this commitment, we agree with the public statement of our national professional organization, the Society for Classical Studies.  Our students experience our teaching as responsive to their interests, backgrounds, and concerns.

Our commitment to equity is action-oriented in its focus on correcting misperceptions of the field and injustices perpetuated by the field, historically and today.  As one of our alumns describes, Classics at Wake Forest “is about learning from history: the good, the bad, & the ugly, and fostering actionable change to combat the adverse effects our field has had.”