Classical Association of the Atlantic States

Classical Association of the Atlantic States
Name	Classical Association of the Atlantic States
Abbreviation	CAAS
Formation	1908
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	New York City
Region served	Mid-Atlantic United States
Fields	Classics

Classical Association of the Atlantic States The Classical Association of the Atlantic States is a regional learned society devoted to the study and promotion of Latin, Greek, and the culture of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Founded in 1908, it brings together scholars, teachers, and students from institutions such as Columbia University, Princeton University, Yale University, Rutgers University, and University of Pennsylvania to support research, pedagogy, and public engagement with texts like the Aeneid, the Iliad, and the Odyssey.

History

The Association was established in 1908 amid broader growth in classical studies paralleling organizations such as the American Philological Association and the Classical Association (UK), responding to curricular debates at institutions including Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Brown University, and Johns Hopkins University. Early conferences featured papers on authors like Virgil, Ovid, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes, and drew members from cities including New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Newark. Over the twentieth century CAAS engaged with curricular reform movements influenced by figures affiliated with Oxford University, Cambridge University, University of Chicago, and reformers associated with the Progressive Era and later responded to postwar shifts shaped by veterans returning from the World War II era and the GI Bill. The Association adapted to debates on pedagogy raised by scholars connected to Rutgers University, Princeton University, Columbia University, Fordham University, St. John's University, and institutions across the Northeastern United States.

Mission and Activities

CAAS's mission aligns with missions promoted historically by bodies such as the American Council of Learned Societies and the Modern Language Association: to advance scholarship and teaching of Latin and Greek, to preserve classical heritage exemplified by monuments like the Parthenon and the Colosseum, and to support textual scholarship on works such as Homeric Hymns, Plautus, Seneca the Younger, Livy, Thucydides, and Herodotus. The Association sponsors panels on pedagogical innovations credited to scholars at University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, Stanford University, and Cornell University and fosters collaborations with museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Membership and Governance

Membership has historically included faculty from Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, New York University, Rutgers University, Fordham University, Georgetown University, Villanova University, Temple University, and Drexel University, as well as secondary school teachers from institutions like Phillips Academy, Exeter, and St. Paul's School. Governance follows models used by the American Philological Association and the Archaeological Institute of America with an elected board of officers—presidents, secretaries, treasurers—and committees overseeing programs, awards, and publications, with meetings often held in conjunction with universities such as Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton University.

Conferences and Publications

The Association organizes annual meetings hosting papers on authors ranging from Homer and Hesiod to Cicero and Augustine of Hippo, often paralleling themes addressed at the Society for Classical Studies and the American Philological Association. Proceedings and program booklets historically document contributions by scholars associated with University of Chicago, Harvard University, Yale University, Brown University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Wesleyan University, Hamilton College, Bryn Mawr College, and Wellesley College. CAAS sponsors sessions on papyrology connected to Oxyrhynchus Papyri research, epigraphy tied to the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, and reception studies involving adaptations like Dante Alighieri's engagement with classical sources.

Awards and Grants

The Association administers awards and grants similar in spirit to honors from the American Academy in Rome and the Loeb Classical Library Foundation, supporting travel to archives such as the Vatican Library, the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma, and the Bodleian Library and funding research on inscriptions, manuscripts, and material culture. Grants have enabled work on projects related to Herculaneum, Pompeii, Delphi, Knossos, and the study of authors including Catullus, Horace, Tacitus, Plato, and Aristotle.

Educational Outreach and Advocacy

CAAS engages in outreach paralleling initiatives by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Getty Foundation, and the American Council on Education, offering workshops for teachers from secondary schools such as Phillips Exeter Academy and community colleges like Kingsborough Community College. It advocates for classical languages in curricula affected by district decisions in cities such as Newark, Philadelphia, and Baltimore and collaborates with organizations like the Classical Association of the Middle West and South, the Society for Classical Studies, the Institute for Classical Studies, and regional museum education programs.

Notable Members and Leadership

Prominent figures associated with CAAS have included scholars and teachers linked to institutions such as Princeton University, Columbia University, Yale University, Rutgers University, University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Wesleyan University, Bryn Mawr College, Barnard College, City College of New York, Fordham University, Georgetown University, and New York University. These members have also participated in broader scholarly communities including the American Philological Association, the Archaeological Institute of America, the British School at Athens, the American Academy in Rome, and the Loeb Classical Library.

Category:Classical associations of North America