Working Classicists Guide to Event Accessibility
This weekend past, we were delighted to host our first panel at the Classical Association Conference in St Andrews.
The panel, featuring contributions from Jordan Lynch, Alex Imrie, and Sam Newington, as well as ourselves, was explicitly about barriers to access for working class people. From in-school access, to opportunities with ancient languages, to publishing, to events, it is more difficult for someone from a state-school or less affluent background to establish themselves in the world of Classics.
Our second paper on Saturday was delivered by George, but was very much a team effort in the writing. We had both experienced some of these barriers ourselves and had heard from many people over the last few years about how hard it can be to attend events as a working class person. After consulting with dozens of academics and enthusiasts, as well as government guidelines and accessibility charters, we decided to collect these ideas into a comprehensive guide to making in-person and hybrid events better for working class people.
The result is the Working Classicists Guide to Event Accessibility.
In it, we outline some of the barriers which our community have experienced, and why (and how) they should be addressed better.
We suggest ways to equalise access and eliminate anxieties which comes as part and parcel of being working class in an arena which is historically very much not working class.
There is a section about how working hours affects access; one about how financial support should be given with dignity and fairness in mind; one about the oft-ignored issue of childcare; one about the hellish anxieties that come with networking; and others about areas which might dissuade someone from a working class background from participating in an event, be it a large international conference or small local book group.
The panel went over really well and the feedback was very kind. We hope that you will find this guide useful - feel free to download, print and share it!
If you have any questions, comments, or would like to discuss consultation, please drop us an email.
