The Society for Classical Studies (SCS), formerly known as the American Philological Association (APA) is a non-profit North American scholarly organization devoted to all aspects of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and Roman civilization founded in 1869. It is the preeminent association in the field and publishes a journal, '' Transactions of the American Philological Association'' (TAPA). The APA is currently based at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

History

The APA was inaugurated by

William D. Whitney William Dwight Whitney (February 9, 1827June 7, 1894) was an American linguist, philologist, and lexicographer known for his work on Sanskrit grammar and Vedic philology as well as his influential view of language as a social institution. He was ...

, of

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, at

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

, in 1869 as an outgrowth of the Classical Section of the

Oriental Society The American Oriental Society was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned societies in America, and is the oldest devoted to a particular field of scholarship. The Society encourages basic ...

. Of the 151 inaugural members, just 8 were women, including Alice Robinson Boise Wood, the first woman to study (informally) at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and to graduate with a B.A. from the

Old University of Chicago The Old University of Chicago was the legal name given in 1890 to the University of Chicago's first incorporation. The school, founded in 1856 by Baptist church leaders, was originally called the "University of Chicago" (or, interchangeably, "Ch ...

. Originally its members studied a great variety of texts and languages, but as disciplines such as

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingu ...

and modern languages have created their own societies, the APA came to be concerned with classical antiquity and fields closely related to the study of antiquity, while the definition of "philology" broadened to include many approaches to understanding the ancient world.

Convention

The Society holds its annual convention in January, meeting jointly with the

Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America's oldest society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and AIA has established re ...

. About 400 scholarly papers are delivered at the Society's meeting, which is also the site for interviewing for college and university positions and for the meetings of the many committees and affiliated groups. It is also the occasion for the presentation of Society awards for teaching at both pre-collegiate and collegiate level, for projects that bring classics to a wider public (outreach), and of the Goodwin Award of Merit, which recognizes a recently published book. At every meeting, an Outreach Division conducts two events that are open to the general public. One is a special panel that is of interest to non-specialists. Topics have included the movie ''Troy'', Classics and Contemporary Fiction and the HBO series ''

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

'' and Classics and Comics. The second is the staged reading of a classical or classically themed play, by the Committee on Ancient and Modern Performance. The productions have been: '' The Invention of Love'' (

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

, directed by Mary-Kay Gamel, produced by

Judith Hallett Judith P. Hallett is Professor Emerita of Classics, having formerly been the Graduate Director at the Department of Classics, University of Maryland. Her research focuses on women, the family, and sexuality in ancient Greece and Rome, particularly ...

), ''The Heavensgate Deposition'' (based on '' Apocolocyntosis'' by

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was ...

, adapted by Douglass Parker, directed by Amy R. Cohen, produced by Thomas Jenkins), ''The Golden Age'' (by Thomas Heywood, directed by C. W. Marshall), ''Iran Man'' (based on ''Persa'' by

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

, directed by Mary-Kay Gamel), '' Thespis'' (by W. S. Gilbert and

A. S. Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

, with new music by Alan Riley Jones, directed by John Starks, produced by John Given), '' The Birds'' (by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his fo ...

, directed by Thomas Talboy), ''

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

'' (by

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

, directed by Laura Lippman and Mike Lippman), '' Thersites'' (perhaps by

Nicholas Udall Nicholas Udall (or Uvedale Udal, Woodall, or other variations) (1504 – 23 December 1556) was an English playwright, cleric, schoolmaster, the author of '' Ralph Roister Doister'', generally regarded as the first comedy written in the English ...

, directed by C. W. Marshall), '' Thesmophoriazusae'' (by

, directed by Bella Vivante), ''The Jurymen'' (by Katherine Janson, directed by Amy R. Cohen) and '' Alcestis'' (by

, translated by Mary-Kay Gamel, directed by Gamel and Mark Damen).

Activities

Through its divisions of Research, Education, Publications, Professional Matters, and Program, the Society conducts a variety of activities to support and disseminate knowledge of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. For example, it operates a Placement Service, gathers statistical information about the demographics of classicists, hears complaints of violations of professional ethics, provides advice and funding for major research projects (such as the

Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World The ''Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World'' is a large-format English language atlas of ancient Europe, Asia, and North Africa, edited by Richard J. A. Talbert. The time period depicted is roughly from archaic Greek civilization (pre- ...

), and publishes monographs, textbooks and software. The Outreach Division produces a newsletter, ''Amphora,'' for non-specialists, and the electronic newsletter ''The Dionysiac,'' which gives information about performances of classical plays and other events related to ancient performance.

Scholars

Many notable scholars have served as executives of the APA and SCS, including Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve, William Watson Goodwin, Herbert Weir Smyth, Paul Shorey,

Lily Ross Taylor Lily Ross Taylor (born August 12, 1886, in Auburn, Alabama - died November 18, 1969, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania) was an American academic and author, who in 1917 became the first female Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. Biography Born in ...

, Berthold Ullman,

Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton, FBA (; 17 February 1900 – 17 September 1993) was a Canadian classical scholar and leading Latin prosopographer of the twentieth century. He is especially noted for his definitive three-volume work, '' Magistr ...

, Gerald Else,

Helen F. North Helen F. North (1922-2012) was an American classical scholar and an expert on Greek and Roman literature. Early life and education North was the daughter of James H. and Catherine (nee Debbold) North. A native of Utica, she was educated at C ...

Bernard Knox Bernard MacGregor Walker Knox (November 24, 1914 – July 22, 2010Wolfgang Saxon ''The New York Times'', August 16, 2010.) was an English classicist, author, and critic who became an American citizen. He was the first director of the Cent ...

, Charles Segal, Emily Vermeule, and Shelley Haley.

Change of Name

In 2013 the American Philological Association elected to change its name to the Society for Classical Studies.

Notes

External links

* *
Finding aid to the Society for Classical Studies records at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{authority control Historical societies of the United States 1869 establishments in New York (state) Linguistic societies College of the Holy Cross University of Pennsylvania Academic organizations based in the United States Classical associations and societies Organizations established in 1869