The Finnish Network for the Study of the Ancient World supports colleagues at Macquarie University with the following letter that has been sent to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and the representatives of the faculty of arts.
”Dear Professor Rorden Wilkinson,
cc. Teaching and Learning Director for Faculty of Arts, Professor Albert Atkin,
and Executive Dean of Faculty of Arts, Professor Chris Dixon.
We are writing as the Chairs of the Finnish Network for the Study of Ancient World to express our collective concern at reports that Macquarie University is planning to make dramatic reductions in its provision of courses in Ancient History, Archaeology and Ancient Languages.
TheFinnish Network for Ancient Studiesis a network bringing together the scholars and higher education teachers working in the field of Ancient Studies, representing History, Classical Philology, Linguistics, Literature, Art History, Archaeology, Architecture, Roman Law, and related fields. Many of our members have close links with Australian classics, and cooperation with academics from Macquarie University has led to joint publications and other kinds of collaboration.
We are writing because we are very concerned to hear that Macquarie is thinking of discontinuing its dedicated Ancient History and Archaeology courses. This is rather shocking from our perspective as Macquarie has a world-leading reputation and distinction in these subject areas, and we have understood that the students have been well dedicated to their studies, attending the courses in considerable numbers – shown by the recent external panel scrutiny.
We are also concerned about this world-wide disregard of wide humanistic education and its role for the sustainably and renewal of democratic societies, yielding critical skills to students to analyze the world in which they live in the long-term perspective. This very short-sighted phenomenon, in which the individual universities little by little cut down crucial resources and infrastructures from those fields which do not produce immediate innovations for the economic life, is presently going on all over the world. It is most unfortunate if internationally such highly appreciated academic institutions as Macquarie University are joining this trend.
It needs to be pointed out that these cuts would also have other consequences. Latin in particular is a route into medical history, historical linguistics, as well as mediaeval and early modern history. We understand that the proposal is not to abolish the subjects but to include them within a Bachelor of History. But the divestment of the BA and MA courses in Ancient History and Archaeology, coupled with the planned closure of its Ancient Languages program, will significantly detract from the University’s reputation and distinctiveness.
We of course understand the pressure under which Australia’s university sector is operating more generally. However, our experience in Finland is that the loss in any discipline hampers the others, whittles away its intellectual vitality, and sets a precedent to further cuts, even internationally. As we have become more and more international in our research and teaching, these concerns will have a wide significance. It is important to recognize that, in the current political climate, no amount of budget cuts will ever be deemed sufficient. Instead of succumbing to ongoing demands to defund programs that do not yield immediate financial returns, universities should speak out against the erosion of academia as a space for critical thinking, creativity, and education.
For all these reasons we urge the University to pause the current process, to consult more widely across the subject areas affected, and to pull back from the current proposal.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Laura Nissin,
Co-chair of Finnish Network for the Study of Ancient World, Researcher, Trivium – Tampere Centre for Classical, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Tampere University, laura.nissin@tuni.fi Docent of Latin language and Roman literatureUniversity of Helsinki
Dr. Minna Seppänen
Co-chair of Finnish Network for the Study of Ancient World, University Lecturer, Department of Classics, University of Turku, mielse@utu.fi
https://antiikintutkimus.fi/ ”
You may download the petition in pdf format here.
