I spent quite some time the other day looking into para-academia and para-academic issues, and I think I may have stumbled upon something significant. I can't speak for all of academia, but it seems that for most of the humanities, and especially for Classics, there are basically no spaces where academics and non can interact in a productive way.
I'm talking about forums. Forums are excellent spaces for collaboration between people interested in the same subject regardless of their level of expertise. And yet, there are virtually no online forums for Classics that work as para-academic spaces of interaction, networking, discussion, collaboration, and mutual support.
There are many publications that describe themselves as 'forums', and although they are excellent places to present one's work, they have none of the interactive, collaborative feel of online forums – at best, they have a comment section.
There are also several Discord servers that are brilliant places to meet and chat with other Classicists. But these are essentially just big chat rooms, fast-paced, very informal and ephemeral. They are not ideal spaces for structured, long-form, extemporary, timestamped discussion like online forums are. With that said they still offer a great degree of connection, which is very much needed in the cold, cold world of academia and the like, and that informal atmosphere is something that should be preserved even for a more forum-like space.
As for other spaces that might work as forums, they're not that great. ResearchGate allows you to ask questions that can turn into forum-like thread discussions, but this is very unstructured, random, even clumsy. Academia Stack Exchange has something better to offer, but it's not diversified enough in terms of subjects. Reddit is... Reddit. There are subreddits, for instance, for Latin, Ancient Greek and Classics, but these also feel very random and disconnected between each other.
As for actual forums, technically there's the Society for Classical Studies forum, but it's literally deserted. There's the Latin Discussion Forum... This would actually be pretty great if it wasn't that it seems to be populated by the most conservative people you can imagine. Not completely unexpected, but certainly not a good first impression. Definitely not the best place for people to sit down and imagine together the future of Classics. There is also H-Net, which is actually pretty neat, even too neat. It has a very academic feel to it which makes it slightly daunting, but otherwise I love how interconnected it feels. Sadly, not much Classics on it. A similar situation is that of GradCafe. It does have a Classics section, but it's still a bit too serious. Also, most discussons on it are about graduate admissions, which makes sense. So, not an ideal space for informal discussion about Classics and the like.
Finally, a friend of mine pointed out that Facebook groups can also provide spaces for discussion. I've had a look into a few groups, both public and private, but I've been left unimpressed. Most people are just there to share stuff without really engaging or having others engage with it. Not to mention that not everyone is comfortable using their real name and face when taking part in online discussions, which gets in the way of participation and removes that informal atmosphere which is so much needed.
So, there you have it. Between very formal publications, very informal Discord servers, and very random forum-like spaces, there doesn't seem to be an ideal para-academic space for Classics. A space for serious takes on Classics, academia and beyond, but still very personal and informal. A space where people can just come and share their writing and ideas, and get feedback from and exchange thoughts with others – from academics to graduates to enthusiasts and what not.
I feel like a space like this needs to be created. Personally, I would feel a lot more comfortable and confident going back to any sort of academic writing knowing that such a space exists. And I have the feeling that many other people would benefit from such a space and feel empowered by it.
In the past, I have expressed the wish to help create such a space (see my self-reblog here). Now I'm thinking this is what I must do, or at least try. If anyone is interested in getting involved, please let me know. I would love to hear from you, to get any input or insight that might help shape this project. Also, if anyone knows of any online spaces for Classics which are already like the one I have outlined above, please let me know! I would love to check them out. I might still go ahead with the project, but I'd rather have a full picture before I go create something new.
I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!
