“Education is the key to unlocking our full potential.” – Jimmy Reid
I remember wee ten-year-old me unable to fully grasp why my great-uncle Billy was all dressed up one Thursday morning. He and my great-aunt were, after a quick breakfast at my grandparents’, off to Glasgow to attend the funeral of Jimmy Reid. Jimmy Reid was a labour activist that successfully orchestrated direct action in 1971 against plans to close the Clyde shipyards. Heath’s government eventually submitted to the demands and over one-hundred million pounds in public funds were given to support the shipyards. The same year Reid was elected as Rector of the University of Glasgow and he took full opportunity of this position to champion social justice (I recommend his inaugural speech “Alienation” famously known as the “Rat Race speech”). I had never heard of the man before that morning nor had great-uncle Billy ever met him. I wondered then why they were going. The answer was that he spoke for them when their voices were not heard.
Great-uncle Billy worked in the shipyards which, apart from the army and factories, was the traditional employment for my family. Like my grandfather, who was a Royal Engineers Sergeant, and his father who was a Number 6 Army Commando, I wanted to join the military. However, that’s not how things unfolded for me. I was born a triplet, nine-weeks premature, which resulted in an array of health issues, most significantly a cerebral visual impairment known as Dorsal Stream Disorder. The diagnosis of this during my teens and subsequent deterioration of my field of vision thwarted my ambitions to join the army. My grandfather was, from his own experiences, somewhat relieved. I, on the other hand, was devastated. I had grown up with my two triplet sisters and an older sister too, brought up by a single parent. We were not alone in our privations as we had family members, friends, and neighbours who went through issues of social deprivation: unemployment, crime, addiction, poverty. We had a fair amount of exposure to this and each of our heads were filled with the fear of being able to do nothing. In an unspoken effort my sisters and I worked hard at school and got cash-in-hand work at newsagents and restaurants. We had to learn to look after ourselves and provide for the household. For us this was normal, assumed as expected for all teenagers, for us to do our part and pull our weight; we shared that solitude. The best part about all of this is that we learnt at a young age the value of time and money. Moreover, it instilled in us a determined work ethic to which we each owe our drive and independence.
Due to a combination of the pursuit of studies, sheer determination, and a sprinkle of luck we slipped through the cracks. We were the first generation of our family to get accepted into university. However, it was not that straightforward, my sisters had to take a gap year and work before they moved, and I was accepted on general degree status. During our undergraduate years, on top of loans and bursaries we still had to work to be able to support ourselves. We never saw ourselves as “working class” or had any concept of what that even meant. It was only during the COVID-19 pandemic that we were reunited and spoke about our university experiences away from home: about the culture shock and something to compare our version of reality to. We found ourselves different from those we went to university with; we grew up in a particular area, we had thick accents, a sardonic sense of humour, and, certainly not by choice, we found it hard – if not impossible – to partake in nine-tenths of the activities and social circles. It is not all doom and gloom. We did of course meet great people and friends for life, but there was a struggle particular to us that only a few others shared. We finally became conscious of the socio-economic inequality we had been dealing with for our entire lives.
It was great – we were at university and we had overcome our challenges in “getting in”. Yet, there were still problems with “getting on”. As mentioned, there were very few others from our background, and as I went on to study Classics, a subject not taught in secondary schools in Scotland, these problems worsened. Throughout my undergraduate, Masters’, and even now in the PhD, where I am currently the only Scottish student, I have had not one role-model of a working-class Scottish classicist. From my first year onwards I suffered psychological pains of inadequacy and self-doubt that had evolved in the cradle of alienation. It was the worst in social settings, when I spoke the way I spoke and behaved the way I behave. As mentioned, I never went to university with the idea that I was “a working-class Scottish person”, but this was something that I was defined as by others. It was strange as due to my type of background having little to no presence I felt that I existed as an abstract, translucent; a blurry yet thin idea that wasn’t understood. I felt out of place. This was only exacerbated by the depressing internal notion that I had only been given such opportunities on the grounds of positive discrimination due to my visual impairment. Academic life was bitter-sweet. I relied on it as a way to improve my situation, although uncertain as I depended on my applications being fully funded. Even though I was successful in this endeavour, I have been, although not intentionally, constantly reminded that I am an exception. These problems I discuss are in no way, shape, or form representative of the attitudes or sentiments of the School of Classics or any of the staff at the University of St Andrews. The school has afforded me the best support, goodwill, and a platform for this to be represented. What we are dealing with here is a wider phenomenon; of socio-economic inequality generally and political factors outside of academic decision making.
The reason for these details so far is not purely autobiographical, but to give an account of the kind of background that (though familiar across Scotland) has had very little representation here. I am not alone in the problems I faced and the feelings I felt, as I now know of others who share this struggle. However, for a long time this was a very delicate and personal matter, and I did privately harbour much criticism. It is only now, with the cooperation and support from staff in the School of Classics, and the security of a PhD, that I decided to start a research group on socio-economic inequality and the study of Classics.
I approached Dr Henry Stead and expressed my desire to do this. He was more than happy to facilitate. Before I knew it we were rolling out emails and posters to gain traction. Due to the impressive work of Mirko and Lilah Grace Canevaro (and all others involved) with the Network for Working Class Classicists and their recently published UK Class in Classics Report we thought it fitting to found the research group under the auspices of the NWCC as the St Andrews branch.
The Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee at St Andrews invited me along to one of their meetings to talk about the branch and the issue of socio-economic inequality. They were very keen to provide information, support, and to include “class” as a characteristic to examine. I have now attended a few of these meetings and I am very happy with the help given and progress made. From this, the branch was able to hold a few open forums last semester. These were attended by a mix of students and staff, and we discussed the issue and what we can realistically do (more below).
This is the most productive result I could have asked for, as turning such criticism into a proactive form has been positive and very affirming. What we can do is learn from experiences and challenges to make the environment here more aware and understanding of the issues of socio-economic inequality. We have the goal of making Classics a more accommodating field. We also plan to broaden the opportunity for an education in Classics to those who have historically been overlooked. In my opinion, education is one of the best avenues out of social deprivation. It has given me the best possible help and I wish for that opportunity to be shared to others from similar backgrounds.
The UK Class in Classics Report 2024 acts as a springboard for action. It suggests that there is a serious class disparity in the field and especially in Scotland, where class intersects most with other axes of inequality (ethnicity, gender, disability). The report reveals that those going through financial, social, and cultural hardship (most often with compound inequalities) are an exceptional minority in a field where the extreme majority has been unaware of this reality. The report is the first of its kind to examine class intersected with other characteristics in education and provides enough data to substantiate the intensity of socio-economic inequality in the study of Classics, and to validate the experiences of those who have faced it.
As mentioned, the NWCC St Andrews is a student-staff initiative and operates with support from the EDIC as a platform of representation for those interested in socio-economic inequality in Classics. This is done through two methods, dialogue and data. The branch held a few open-forums last semester. At these meetings, we have enabled individuals to talk about personal experiences with socio-economic inequality and we have discussed what changes we can make in the School. Our main achievement to date is having made class a characteristic included in EDI, which we hope other schools and universities will follow.
For future events we will have the usual open-forum format. We also have some notable guest-speakers lined up next semester. Dr Lilah Grace Canevaro, one of the founders of the NWCC, will be coming along to visit the branch. This will be a great opportunity to pose any questions about the scope and goals of the NWCC beyond St Andrews. Furthermore, Pamela Dobson will be attending another meeting to speak about her professional role as the university’s People and Diversity Executive Officer and her own experience as a former Classics student. Concerning these meetings, it does not matter who you are or where you are from, as socio-economic inequality affects people in different ways. We wish for as many people to be involved as possible, so that this problem can be further recognised and acted upon like any other inequality; it is an education for all.
As it stands, SIMD data is all that is available. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation ranks 6,976 localities across Scotland in deciles. Decile 1 contains the areas with the most deprivation (the lowest 10% on the ranking) and decile 10 contains the areas with the least deprivation (the highest 10% on the ranking). For reference, I come from a SIMD 2 locality. This data is useful as a rough indicator for the backgrounds of domestic students at St Andrews. However, due to the small proportion of domestic students in the School of Classics, we have been given permission through the EDIC to carry out our own survey that will cover all students. The UK Class in Classics Report 2024 provides a suitable framework. Our survey will follow a similar question style and will hopefully provide enough data for our own internal study of class demographics and experiences of socio-economic discrimination in Classics.
I am also organising panels for the CA/CAS Conference 2025. I have three panels in mind. The first will discuss the NWCC and alongside our survey cover the issue of socio-economic inequality in Scotland. The second panel will discuss the situation for international students in Scotland who also come from working-class backgrounds. The third panel will hopefully be constituted of primary/secondary/independent teachers of Classics as their input would provide a significant perspective often left out of tertiary level discussion. For a general abstract, these panels on Class & Classics can cover their own perspectives, and the themes of “What is a classicist?”, “Classics and pedagogy” and “Classical Reception”.
Finally, and importantly, we aim to have an outreach function. This is arguably the most positive side of what we can do. We have the immediate task of making Classics known as a viable field of study. To accomplish this we plan to have postgraduate researchers visit secondary schools across Scotland. For over twenty years now Classics has not been included in the syllabus at secondary schools in Scotland. As a result many teenagers aren’t even aware of the subject. Despite the fact Classics is not taught, there are valuable transferable skills from other subjects: English’s textual analysis, Modern Studies’ political insight, Sociology’s theoretical approaches, Art’s appreciation for material culture, and many others. To bring Classics to secondary schools in this way could allow for those who traditionally have not had a platform of representation, a way in and better legs to stand on. We hope that from our research and through our outreach we can create a more inclusive student body and extend the opportunity of studying Classics to those who could greatly benefit from it. As Jimmy Reid said, education is the key to unlocking one’s full potential; we should do our part even if it means that one person (who might otherwise have not) applies for university.
Reise Watson, PhD Candidate in Ancient History, University of St Andrews.