LightNews — News, ranked by scholars

Dr. Ellen Lee

@ellenleephd.bsky.social

TODAY! Join me and @apistone.bsky.social to talk about how universal design can increase student agency and accessibility in your classes!

Women's Classical Caucus @womensclasscaucus.bsky.social · Aug 1

Part two of our back to school pedagogy offerings, Beyond the Basics: Integrating Universal Design for Learning into your Pedagogy on August 11 at 1pm ET.

Join @apistone.bsky.social and @ellenleephd.bsky.social for more advanced conversations around accessibility & UDL
www.wccclassics.org/events

Poster withvarying shades of purple in he design with the following information

WCC Pedagogy Workshop: Beyond the Basics: Integrating Universal Design for Learning into your Pedagogy
Tuesday August 11, 10am PT / 1:00 pm ET

You may be familiar with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, a set of principles designed to give all students an equal opportunity to learn and develop learner agency.

This workshop offers participants an opportunity to review the basic UDL framework with other educators, but it also aims to go beyond an introductory level and provide a space for participants to have more advanced conversations about accessibility and learner agency.

Facilitated by Dr. Ellen Cole Lee and Dr. Amy Pistone
Register now!
https://www.wccclassics.org/events

August 11, 2026 at 2:12 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Women's Classical Caucus

@womensclasscaucus.bsky.social

Happening TOMORROW! with @ellenleephd.bsky.social and @apistone.bsky.social

Beyond the Basics: Integrating Universal Design for Learning into your Pedagogy

Just the thing to get the "oh my god, the semester is almost here" season off on the right foot!

www.wccclassics.org/events/beyon...

August 10, 2026 at 5:04 PM

Dr. Ellen Lee

@ellenleephd.bsky.social

Annnnd we're back! @apistone.bsky.social and I are leading another couple of pedagogy workshops for the WCC to kick off Fall chaos, I mean, course planning season! Join us for this Teaching Idea Exchange TODAY!

Women's Classical Caucus @womensclasscaucus.bsky.social · Jul 31

ANNOUNCING Pedagogy Workshop: Teaching Idea Exchange
@apistone.bsky.social & @ellenleephd.bsky.social
1 pm ET, Aug. 7th

Join a community of pedagogy practitioners for a teaching idea exchange workshop as we refresh and prepare for the new school year!

Register now!
www.wccclassics.org/events

Orange and yellow poster with decorative flower and diamond design with the following information

WCC Pedagogy Workshop: Teaching Idea Exchange
Friday August 7, 10am PT / 1:00 pm ET
Do you have an in-class activity that always works to get students talking? A tried-and-true strategy for helping students learn vocabulary? An assignment that you actually look forward to grading? Or do you want to learn about others’ excellent pedagogical ideas?

Join a community of pedagogy practitioners for a teaching idea exchange workshop, as we prepare to refresh our teaching for the new school year!

Facilitated by Dr. Ellen Cole Lee and Dr. Amy Pistone
Register now!
https://www.wccclassics.org/events

August 7, 2026 at 1:09 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Sarah E. Bond

@sarahebond.bsky.social

If you’d like to donate & support CAMWS’ Dr. Anthony Fauci Award in STEM and Classics, you can do so here: “This $500 annual award recognizes an undergraduate student who demonstrates outstanding work in both Classics and a STEM…” 👏

Donate to Classical Association of the Middle West and South

Help support Classical Association of the Middle West and South by donating or sharing with your friends.

www.paypal.com

August 6, 2026 at 6:35 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Women's Classical Caucus

@womensclasscaucus.bsky.social

Part two of our back to school pedagogy offerings, Beyond the Basics: Integrating Universal Design for Learning into your Pedagogy on August 11 at 1pm ET.

Join @apistone.bsky.social and @ellenleephd.bsky.social for more advanced conversations around accessibility & UDL
www.wccclassics.org/events

August 1, 2026 at 12:11 AM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Women's Classical Caucus

@womensclasscaucus.bsky.social

ANNOUNCING Pedagogy Workshop: Teaching Idea Exchange
@apistone.bsky.social & @ellenleephd.bsky.social
1 pm ET, Aug. 7th

Join a community of pedagogy practitioners for a teaching idea exchange workshop as we refresh and prepare for the new school year!

Register now!
www.wccclassics.org/events

July 31, 2026 at 6:53 PM

Dr. Ellen Lee

@ellenleephd.bsky.social

I have now seen The Film (and read The Review) and I have Opinions! But my first question for #Classics folks on here: obviously, we've got to milk this for all it is worth! What #Odyssey content are you planning to engage students this Fall?

July 28, 2026 at 3:51 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Rhea Classical Reviews

@rheaclassical.bsky.social

Exciting things happening here!!! Our inaugural essay for Rhea Receptions is up, discussing how to engage students with ancient myth via 'book club' by Dr. Stephanie Kimmey! Receptions is a limited summer run of essays exploring the ancient world today and written for a general audience. Read on👇

Teaching with Book Club

Stephanie Kimmey. Weber State University. [email protected] The book, especially the physical format, is in its Wish List era. TBR (to be read) lists and independent bookstores are seeing …

rheaclassicalreviews.com

July 9, 2026 at 12:09 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Dan Conway

@magisterconway.bsky.social

You ever have an idea that sticks in your head and won’t leave until it’s complete? Well, that was me and my idea for a Latin reader based on the Roman values listed on the AP syllabus. So here it is: an anthology of Latin exempla, free to use and enjoy!

magisterconway.blogspot.com/2026/07/more...

July 8, 2026 at 3:18 PM

Dr. Ellen Lee

@ellenleephd.bsky.social

Hey #Classics folks! A former student asked me about this red-figure cup featuring a seated Dionysus and a dancing maenad wearing "satyr breeches." I can't think of other examples of women dressed as satyrs, so it seems super interesting! Anybody know of other examples (or scholarship I should rec)?

Attic red-figure stemless kylix cup, with interior depicting a seated Dionysus and (quoting the database description) "before him a dancing maenad, satyr (?). Maenad wears satyr breeches. Dionysos seated on klismos, himation loosely draped about legs. Garlanded with laurel, holds thyrsos in right hand. Surrounding border of stopped maeanders interspersed with dotted checker."

July 7, 2026 at 1:39 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Benjamin Andrew

@benfictional.bsky.social

Penn State faculty vote yes to unionize! ✊

www.pennstatefacultyalliance.org/news/2026/05...

We Won!!!

Thousands of Penn State Faculty Vote to Join SEIU Local 668.

www.pennstatefacultyalliance.org

May 14, 2026 at 8:52 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

CripAntiquity

@cripantiquity.bsky.social

This past weekend, CripAntiquity board members Alicia Matz (Co-Chair) and Tori Lee (Secretary) hosted a workshop at the 9th Quadrennial Feminism & Classics conference, hosted by the University of Cincinnati. (1/)

Alicia Matz (in a blue shirt with flowers with a grey cardigan over it) and Tori Lee (in a red shirt with a pattern on it) standing in front of a window, smiling.

May 12, 2026 at 9:39 PM

Dr. Ellen Lee

@ellenleephd.bsky.social

So excited to hear about this new edition of Catullus from the inimitable @magistracohen.bsky.social!

Magistra Cohen (she/her) @magistracohen.bsky.social · May 12

I am incredibly excited, delighted, and honored to announce the forthcoming publication of Selections from The Student's Catullus. Working on this project with my teacher Dan Garrison has been the best project in which I have ever been privileged to participate. 1/4

www.oupress.com/978080619739...

May 12, 2026 at 3:24 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Dr. Alicia Matz

@duxfeminafacti9.bsky.social

Who all is going to be at FemClas this week?

May 3, 2026 at 11:56 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Amy Pistone

@apistone.bsky.social

I have SO MANY thoughts about these schools and the broader movement and gave a paper about them at a conference last month. Overall, this isn't an awful article but I do have an issue with the credulous parroting of this "apolitical" line www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

This teaching method, backed by conservatives, is on the rise
Classical schools focus on Western content and American ideals. “We are going to honor the creation of our flag. We are going to honor George Washington,” one principal said.

Yesterday at 6:00 a.m. EDT

The model at the Florida school, known as classical education, emphasizes Western history and literature, and draws on teaching methods from ancient Greece and Rome. The approach has found new popularity among families who say the methods offer more rigor than schools that have relaxed their grading policies or use screens for much of their teaching. And, supporters argue, the Eurocentric content is more proven than evolving modern teachings.

While the model is apolitical, it is also being pushed by conservatives, who say it celebrates American ideals and Western thought. Classical education’s newfound popularity comes as the Trump administration seeks to promote patriotism and frames criticism of the darker chapters of U.S. history as un-American. The president is also attempting to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from schools, governments and workplaces.

Critics of the classical approach, including some education experts, say the schools can be a Trojan horse for conservative ideology and promote a myopic worldview — undermining efforts to expand curriculums to better reflect the experiences of all students in public K-12 schools, the majority of whom are not White.

Of the 895 classical schools in the United States, one-third opened or adopted the model between 2020 and 2024, according to a database published by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank. The vast majority of the schools are private and Christian, but a growing number are public charter schools, which are independently operated and taxpayer-funded.

Defending the model, Wheeler said students receive “a very wide view of the world and our country.” The classic European teaching methods that the school uses — seminars, memorization and recitation, character development — mold children into critical thinkers who can reason and communicate effectively, according to Wheeler. They study texts known

More than 2,700 children attend Pineapple Cove’s three campuses in Brevard County in central Florida. Like many classical schools in the U.S., it has ties to Hillsdale College, a small, conservative Christian school in Michigan that has partnered with the Trump administration. It’s known for promoting “patriotic education,” and in 2021 published a K-12 history curriculum that teaches that “America is an exceptionally good country,” echoing rhetoric from President Donald Trump.

Wheeler, however, said Hillsdale’s work at Pineapple Cove has been nonpartisan. The college provides curriculum and other supports to classical K-12 schools.

Every classical school is different, but they are bound by a focus on cultivating virtues and teaching the liberal arts of grammar, logic and rhetoric — or effective communication. Children study American and Western European literature written between the 8th and mid-20th centuries, mostly by White men, including Homer, William Shakespeare and John Steinbeck. Pineapple Cove students also read the memoir of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and school staff say they think there is sufficient exposure to different perspectives.

April 21, 2026 at 2:48 PM

Dr. Ellen Lee

@ellenleephd.bsky.social

Hey #AncientSky, I need to replenish our departmental supply of ancient world-themed stickers before graduation festivities later this month, but, in this new age of tariffs & AI slop, I need help! Where can I buy cool classics stickers designed by a human & without exorbitant hidden fees?

April 6, 2026 at 12:29 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Caroline Bishop

@doctorepiscopa.bsky.social

Thread: This semester at Texas Tech, our new chancellor has required a portal to be created through which a form must be submitted for every course. www.texastribune.org/2025/12/01/t...

Texas Tech System restricts race and gender teaching

Tech, now the second Texas public university system to add similar teaching restrictions, had earlier directed faculty to follow state and federal guidance recognizing only two sexes.

www.texastribune.org

January 14, 2026 at 10:31 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Dr. Chance Bonar

@chancebonar.bsky.social

ICYMI: Katharine Huemoeller's _The Child Follows the Womb_ comes out today!

This book is a game-changer for our understanding of enslaved women's reproductive labor in the Roman world

yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...

The Child Follows the Womb

A new and incisive exploration of female slavery and reproduction in ancient Rome One of ancient Rome’s most significant legacies is a legal framework for...

yalebooks.yale.edu

January 13, 2026 at 11:27 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Kim Lyons

@kimly.bsky.social

hell yes Steve Mellon & co. I could not sign this fast enough. LFG!!

I'm pledging to support post-Block journalism in Pittsburgh. Whether that's new ownership at the PG, or a Pittsburgh Union Progress revival, or something else, I'm here for it. actionnetwork.org/forms/pledgi...

Pledging to support Pittsburgh journalism beyond the Blocks

I think workers should be treated with dignity and respect. I know Pittsburgh deserves quality journalism. That's why I'm joining members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh and signing this pledge t...

actionnetwork.org

January 8, 2026 at 2:26 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Joseph Howley

@illdottore.bsky.social

Logging back on briefly to encourage you to go read this issue of Pasts Imperfect, where I have an essay about the push to automate literacy in the contemporary academy and the relegation and subjection of literacy in Ancient Rome pasts-imperfect.ghost.io/pasts-imperf...

Pasts Imperfect (1.8.26)

This week, we are back from holiday break with a deep dive into the ethics, big business, and myth-peddling of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education. Then, bees in ancient jawbones within t...

pasts-imperfect.ghost.io

January 8, 2026 at 1:42 PM

Dr. Ellen Lee

@ellenleephd.bsky.social

👀

AAUP Texas A&M-College Station Chapter @tamu-aaup.bsky.social · Jan 6

From an email to one of our faculty members....

Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!

January 6, 2026 at 11:15 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Rhea Classical Reviews

@rheaclassical.bsky.social

New year, new Rhea!
Rhea Classical Reviews is excited to share that we have officially been designated as a 501c3 organization! Obtaining this tax-free, non-profit status opens the door for us to expand, as well as apply for grants and secure funding to support our internal and external operations.

January 1, 2026 at 8:48 AM

Dr. Ellen Lee

@ellenleephd.bsky.social

I'm seeing some good critiques of this (and, as a scholar of ancient emotion, I have plenty to offer myself!), but I have to say: the claim that human emotional experiences are based in diverse cultural norms does NOT imply that people who experience emotions differently than we do are less human.

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · Dec 26

A common assumption is that throughout history, people have experienced the same basic range of emotions. A radical field of history now challenges this assumption, Gal Beckerman reports. theatln.tc/KD2QRX9Y

🎨: Nicolás Ortega

December 29, 2025 at 5:58 PM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

Chris Geidner

@chrisgeidner.bsky.social

BREAKING: Federal judge in Pittsburgh blocks DOJ's invasive trans care subpoena.

The latest loss for DOJ, regarding the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's patients, also brings news that DOJ has started scaling back its requests following its many losses.

New, at Law Dork:

Breaking: Federal judge in Pittsburgh blocks DOJ's invasive trans care subpoena

The latest loss for DOJ, regarding the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's patients, also brings news that DOJ has started scaling back its requests following its many losses.

www.lawdork.com

December 25, 2025 at 5:30 AM

Reposted by Dr. Ellen Lee

aclclassics.bsky.social

@aclclassics.bsky.social

Join us in Williamsburg, VA for the 79th ACL Institute! Hosted by W&M Classics, with in-person + virtual sessions. Date for proposals: Pre-Institute workshops due Dec 15, 2025; Institute sessions due Jan 11, 2026. Details + links: https://www.aclclassics.org/ACL-Institute/ACL-Institute-2026

December 4, 2025 at 3:16 PM

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