I strive to emphasize the diversity inherent in the cultures of the Greek and Roman world.  Something as simple as discussing how the Romans saw themselves as formed from the union of different peoples and cultures from the very beginning can then be shown to affect their entire history and makes them different from autochthonous states like Athens.  When teaching mythology, I make a point of lecturing on heroes outside the basic canon, such as the Ethiopian warrior Memnon, portrayed as a warrior equal to Achilles, and the female warrior Camilla, whose aristeia in the Aeneid shows her defeating men who question her abilities. I clearly explaining how these stories give us a richer understanding of mythology and the Greek and Roman worlds that created it.  At the same time, I make sure to critically analyze the classical world and its reception.

As an educator, much of my direct experience with inclusion and diversity relates to students with disabilities.  I am very happy to teach in a time when institutions understand the importance of accommodating students who would have been excluded from higher education in the past, not because they lacked the intellectual capacity, but because colleges and universities were unwilling or unprepared to provide them with the support they needed to succeed.  On a basic level, accommodating students with disabilities can seem deceptively simple: it is easy enough to provide exams to a third party who then administers them in a distraction-free space or with a longer time limit.  In the types of classes that I tend to teach, especially language courses, it can be necessary to work more thoughtfully and closely with students who have anxiety disorders or learning disabilities.  Regardless, working with students with disabilities on issues that stem from their disabilities is essentially no different than providing individualized attention to any student; all students have different strengths and weaknesses, and it is our job as educators to support their learning process.  For some students, this will mean directing them to a writing center or being willing to read drafts of their essays; for others, it will mean agreeing to call on them at the beginning of class so that they can be sure they have something prepared to say or allowing them to turn in written comments or homework in lieu of in-class participation.

I am particularly interested in supporting students from non-traditional backgrounds, especially those who are the first in their families to attend university.  I am from a mixed-race, working-class family and until my generation most of my relatives worked in blue-collar or pink-collar occupations.  My situation is in many ways close to ideal, in that my parents have always been supportive of my ambitions and I was identified as a gifted student early in elementary school.  And yet, there have still been numerous subtle and not-so-subtle differences between my life experience and expectations and those of my middle to upper-middle class classmates and colleagues.  I would be happy to mentor students having similar experiences.  I am committed to working toward a college experience that is accessible and welcoming to all students.

Early in the game, the Senate put Brutus and Cassius under house arrest following Caesar’s murder but forgot to follow through by holding a proper trial.  I used their mistake as a chance to discuss court procedures, then provided the students with a taste of the chaotic and unpredictable late Republic:  I announced on the class website that the senate’s decision to hand out land to veterans caused a rowdy celebration to break out in the city, and that Brutus and Cassius had taken advantage of the chaos to escape and were now gathering forces and supplies to march on Rome.  This threw the Senate into disorder, as the planned agenda had to be scrapped to deal with this new threat.

Meanwhile, the student playing Gaius Mattius saw an opportunity to further his assigned goal of avoiding civil war by causing a serious disruption to the status quo.  Mattius believed that Antony was the most likely to cause another civil war, and wanted to remove him from power. Inspired by the letters that brought down the Catilinarian conspiracy, Mattius stood before the Senate and read a letter that he claimed he found on the body of Mark Antony’s slave.  The letter purported to be from Brutus and Cassius, thanking Mark Antony for his assistance in their escape!

Lucius Antonius, who was interested in safeguarding the power and reputation of his brother, alleged that the letter was a fake.  The Senators who stood to gain from Antony’s downfall, however, were inclined to believe the letter.  Students proposed a number of immediate steps, including house arrest while an investigation was made, exile and/or confiscation of property, and even execution!  I took this opportunity to remind the class of the right of a Roman citizen to a trial, and we also briefly discussed the feasibility of the various proposals, as well as some historical examples, including the debate about the Catilinarian conspirators and the exile of Cicero.

“It allowed us to think as a Roman would inside the structure of the Roman society, so it eliminated a lot of biased opinions that we may have had by simply studying the historical facts and events within the senate.”

“It was nearly impossible to get anything done without the help of others, even if your idea was reasonable.  Making political friends was incredibly important.”

“Those who were able to convene the senate and set the agenda had immense power in being able to decide what gets voted on.”

“Once you have power it becomes exponentially easier to build that power, so it’s best not to let your rivals acquire any at all.”

“RttP taught us about the importance of alliances and ‘amicitia’ in Rome.  Rome was founded on these intricate webs of friendship, patronage, and alliances.”

“This game connected me to the processes the senators had to follow…a successful senator would have had to be an excellent communicator, and able to convince others to follow their decisions.”

“With governance and personal gain intertwined, it must have been very hard to predict and maintain loyalty among senators.”

“Roman politics has always been a topic that was hard for me to wrap my head around.  Having a visual representation of Roman politics in the form of a role playing game helped me to understand the various issues that would be discussed in a senate as well as those in the senate and what their positions were.”

“I was playing a normal senator with no real clout in the senate, or big name to throw around.  Instead I was somewhat powerless in a way, and I had no real effect with my words.  I learned why every Roman was so focused on ancestry and status.  If you didn’t have status, no one listened to you.  I learned that in the Roman senate you can’t do anything alone.  You must get allies or you will stall in the waters of politics and drown.”

“I have taken classics classes in the past where I have kind of learned Roman history, but always had trouble keeping it straight.  Being in the game at that time really put things into perspective for me, and even things that weren’t in the game I can now think ‘this happened before/after these events’ and have better insight into how it fits into their history.”