Why I Teach About Race and Ethnicity in the Classical World | Dr. Rebecca Futo Kennedy

Welcome to Race and Ethnicity in the Ancient Mediterranean! In this first episode we introduce Dr. Rebecca Futo Kennedy and she guides us through why she chooses to teach about race and ethnicity in the classical world.

She goes through what inspired her to focus on these issues and the political rhetoric of her time but also the political rhetoric in ancient history as well such as Athens. Instead of just standing by and watching modern discourses and politics being imposed on the ancient world she chose to search and see what the ancients actually thought and how they viewed these issues.

Throughout this series we will explore racism in modern classical studies, Black Athena, problems with "Western Civilization," while also debunking myths like the Dorian Invasion and so very much.

Doctor Rebecca Futo Kennedy is Associate Professor of Classics, Women's and Gender Studies, and Environmental Studies at Denison University; and the Director of the Denison Museum. Her research focuses on the political, social, and cultural history of Classical Athens, Athenian tragedy, ancient immigration, ancient theories of race and ethnicity, and the reception of those theories in modern race science.

Support Dr. Rebecca Futo Kennedy and her awesome work at all of these great sites!

Why I teach about race and ethnicity in the classical world (article.)

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[reginaldbauer]

Would be a good idea to actually incorporate this scientific data and not just various opinions.

[sjorsvanhens]

One is between a rock and a hard place with these issues. If one is honest (affirming that race and ethnicity are real), one gets cancelled by the mob and kisses one's academic carreer goodbye. If one is dishonest (affirming that race and ethnicity are social constructs with no basis in biology), then future scholars will perceive one as a conformist social climber and careerist who merely toed the party line and dominant ideology of one's time, and thus irrelevant.

[matthewmann]

In places like Greece And Rome it was the Nordic Europeans who were often seen as the lowest on the totem pole

[MyRealName]

In her accreditation’s she forgot to mention her successful undertaking of fostering 13 cats in her 800 sq.ft apartment

[nicholaskliese]

I love your videos about race and ethnicity from long gone eras. I find it fascinating how the demographics changed from one time to the next. Just looking at anatolia for instance is enough to make my head spin when thinking of all of the competing cultures and ethnicities

[zeddez]

White and Pacific-Islander? What's White mean? I'm sure she could narrow it down to place and time.

[pliniogoiania]

She's talking precisely about how people mistakenly will use modern discourse to try to make sense of the classical world, and then modernly dimwitted people come to the comments section to share the most modern thoughts they're able to handle. How does an interesting channel such as yours manage to find so many simpletons, Nick?

[ProperZen]

Me, me, my struggles, marginalized people, 911, me, the racism I have faced, me, the studies of antiquities.

[elevers]

Race and ethnicity are such an important aspect of understanding historical culture - trade / social interaction with, but also suspicion of the 'Other' is critical to so many world events. Negative integration and nationalistic beliefs are also important forces which forge cultural identity, even before the modern concepts of the state or modern definitions of race existed. You have to wonder how some future generation will look on our current social issues, and wonder how something which can be so arbitrary when seen through a distant perspective, can be something which is so polarizing in the present. Thank you for the video, and I hope that you can keep up the content which allows academics to present their views on topics relevant to today!

[oldlifter]

Dr Kennedy please please don't reinterpret history through the racist filters of modern intersectionalism I love my history and do not want findings "corrected" like some old Soviet period research it destroys any faith we have so slowly been regaining
I love the work in exploring the true importance of woman and different peoples in history and don't want to see manipulation of fact and thinking for modern agendas

[errolholmes]

Enjoying the channel . 6min video I question . Is this a clips channel ??. Is there a full interview version of your content anywhere

[lf]

This woman's work is so important. Someone must untangle the pernicious lies that have poisoned our world. If the ancients came back to the modern world and sat in most Classic classes, they wouldn't recognize themselves or their world.🙄

[Jeremyramone]

Fascinating topic, thanks for sharing

[xolisile]

Love your videos. You are very objective and emotionally detached in your analysis or race issues in antiquity.

[liamwinter]

Id love to see the art through the ages depicting all known races that were known.

[matteorossi]

Associate Professor of Classics, Women's and Gender Studies, and Environmental Studies! Didn't you forget something? The ideologization of studies in American universities is very embarrassing.

[alhesiad]

Oh no. Get ready for infinite trolls on the comments that will probably never watch the videos before commenting.

[EvanEvans]

We know, we know, Cheddar Man was a big black man, Tudor England was a diverse multicultural haven full of blackamores at every turn and Ancient Egyptians wuz kangz.

[BaltimoresBerzerker]

When I was in college I had a history teacher who specializes in Rome. He swore that Roman culture isn't European because the Roman's didn't identify as Europeans. Europe's were the "barbarians" such as the Germanic tribes. Yet the Roman's spoke an indo European language, and their genetics, even after hundreds of years of being metropolitan, were majority indo European. Then there's this black athena and Egyptians were sub saharan African among afrocentrists, as well as some European claim to ancient Egyptians cultural achievements. How were the ancient Greeks sub saharan African!? More reasonable, Egypt. The ancient Egyptians spoke an afroasiatic language, and the genetics are mostly non sub saharan African except om the border with the nubian, where mixing frequently occurred. They, as the Greeks, didn't self identify as sub saharan African, ; nor does science identity them as anything but distinct ethnic cultural groups. This channel claims to only be interested in the truth. So please debunk these afrocentric misconceptions!