Dr. Mathura Umachandran is a lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter and the co-steward of Critical Ancient World Studies, a project that aims to decolonize the study of classics and antiquity. This project’s most recent publication is the open access volume Critical Ancient World Studies: The Case for Forgetting Classics, which presents a new model for the critical study of antiquity and the colonial histories of the disciplines of classics and classical studies. They are also a co-founder of Sportula Europe, a microgrant mutual aid group for BIPOC and working class scholars working in classics and ancient world studies. Mathura is also an editor of Classics After Antiquity, a book series that explores the relationships between Greco-Roman antiquity and its interpretations and presentations throughout history. The newest publication in this series, Medieval Responses to Ovid’s Exile, was published in June of 2025.
Listen in, as Dr. Mathura Umachandran discusses past harms and potential futures for the fields of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies.
Interested in more information? Check out these publications from Mathura Umachandran.
Umachandran, Mathura, and Marchella Ward. 2024. Critical Ancient World Studies: The Case for Forgetting Classics. Taylor & Francis.
Umachandran, Mathura. 2022. “Disciplinecraft: Towards an Anti-racist Classics.” TAPA 152, no. 1: 25-31. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/apa.2022.0001.
Umachandran, Mathura. 2019. “More Than a Common Tongue: Dividing Race and Classics Across the Atlantic.” Eidolon. https://eidolon.pub/more-than-a-common-tongue-cfd7edeb6368.
Umachandran, Mathura. 2017. “Fragile, Handle With Care. On White Classicists.” Eidolon. https://eidolon.pub/fragile-handle-with-care-66848145cf29.
Looking for a transcript of this episode? Click here.
Academic Publications
Bostick, Dani. 2021. “The Classical Roots of White Supremacy.” Learning for Justice. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/spring-2021/the-classical-roots-of-white-supremacy
Eccleston, Sasha-Mae, and Dan-El Padilla Peralta. 2022. “Racing The Classics: Ethos and Praxis.” American Journal of Philology 143, no. 2: 199-218.
Rankine, Patrice D. 2019. “The Classics, Race, and Community-Engaged or Public Scholarship.” American Journal of Philology 140, no. 2: 345-359. https://doi.org/10.1353/ajp.2019.0018.
Open Access Resources
D’Angelo, Nicolette. 2023. “What Would Hippokrates Do? Classical Reception in the Age of COVID-19.” The Rootcutter.
Hill, Nadhira. 2023. “Three Strategies for Equitable and Inclusive Teaching.” Notes from the Apotheke, 2023.
Lepinski, Sarah, and Padilla Peralta. 2022. “Debunking the Myth of Whiteness.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Ward, Marchella. 2023. “ReOrienting Critical Ancient World Studies.” Podcast Interview on Radio ReOrient.
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