In this episode of “Beyond the Lecture,” we take a behind-the-scenes look at a debate currently roiling classical scholarship and pedagogy. It’s a debate about how the field should be approached now and in the future, about privilege and access and the very aura of classics. To get into this story, we talk with spring 2021 American Academy fellow Nandini Pandey, who teaches classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research is bringing to light a more detailed picture of the heterogenous makeup of the ancient Roman world. And as an Indian American, she represents the changes that are occurring in classical scholarship itself.

Host: R. Jay Magill
Producer: Tony Andrews
Production Assistance: Denise Gamon
Music: Machinery by Kai Engel
Image: Triumph of Dionysus in India (detail), Algeria (ca. 300 CE). Photo by Sophie Hay