An Interview with Professor Marguerite Johnson

Interview by Connie Skibinski
The University of Newcastle

Marguerite Johnson is a professor of Classics at The University of Newcastle, Australia, and a mentor through the AWAWS Academic Mentoring Program. She received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at The University of Newcastle in 1988, where she won the university medal. She then earned her PhD in 1997, completing a thesis on Catullus’ Lesbia and her early Greek models. Now, Marguerite is an established feminist scholar, whose work unearths and examines the lived experiences of ancient women, and the representation of women in ancient texts. She has published extensively on gender and sexuality in the ancient world, and is currently working on a revised edition of Routledge’s Sexuality in Greek and Roman Society and Literature. She also brings this knowledge into the classroom, as she teaches a range of undergraduate courses, including ‘Gender and Sexuality in Antiquity’ and ‘Women and Children in the Ancient World.’ I am honoured to be one of Marguerite’s PhD students, and am greatly inspired by our countless conversations about her research and the value of feminist scholarship. For this blog post, I had the pleasure of interviewing Marguerite, to find out more about her experiences as a student, and the academics who inspired her. 

Connie Skibinski interviewing Professor Marguerite Johnson

In your time as a university student, was there much of a focus on the lives of ancient women, or did you feel that this was neglected?

As an undergraduate in the mid-1980s, I can’t remember one instance where women were mentioned in any of my Ancient History or Modern History classes. In third year English, I vividly remember a class on D. H. Lawrence’s Women in Love, delivered by a casual member of staff – a woman – and she discussed women, and also set an essay question on the sisters in the novel. It was quite a memorable event and, of course, I wrote the essay. In my Honours year, all went silent again. It wasn’t until I pursued the topic for my PhD that a I began a self-taught course of my own. 

What initially inspired you to pursue Classics, and what drew you to socio-cultural history?

Like other scholars I’ve met, my own inspiration was a beloved high school teacher – a brilliant and neverendingly energetic woman by the name of Elizabeth Tyack. She could recall dates like no one else. She attended The University of Newcastle as a mature-age student and her dedication to teaching was infectious.
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My intense interest in people’s private lives and their intimate histories is a major reason for my focus on socio-cultural history. But the real motivation for learning more in these fields was because I was so curious about topics that were simply not covered in high school or university – the lives of slaves, the day-to-day activities of women, children’s play and, basically, people’s lived realities. As a student, slaves were just casually mentioned in passing and I was always left wondering about their life expectancies, what happened when they were ill or injured, and other features of their lives. As a teenager who lived with severe scoliosis and spent much of my senior high school in and out of hospital, I also wondered what happened to people with spinal conditions, life-threatening illnesses, impacted wisdom teeth, and other such conditions that can, in some parts of the world today, be treated with success. Perhaps I’m just endlessly curious or a stickybeak.

What academics most inspired you throughout your career?

Most definitely the feminist Classicists from the United States whose research changed the discipline forever in the late-1980s and 1990s. These women opened up the ancient world for me, and answered so many of the questions I had been asking myself and my teachers for years. Scholars like Marilyn Skinner (one of my PhD examiners), Amy Richlin (fearless and smart), Judith Hallett (egalitarian and prolific), and Page duBois (a justice-seeker and individual) challenged the traditions of Classics but never at the expense of outstanding intellectualism. All of these women, all of whom I have had the honour of meeting over the years, also taught me how to be a good feminist as well as a good scholar. In particular, Marilyn Skinner must be credited with making a major contribution to the scholar I am now – she was exacting, relentless and set an incredibly high standard. I also value academic kindness, and there are several scholars who show this naturally – Greg Nagy, Lea Beness, Tom Hillard, Frances Muecke, John  Davidson, and James Uden. 

Tell me about your work. How do you implement feminist theory, in your research and your teaching?

 I work in two main areas: cultural or ‘lived’ history, and here I focus on sexual histories as well as histories of magical belief and practice – both are underpinned by my first love, which is ancient literature; and histories of Classical Reception, particularly the reception of Sappho, as well as cultural importations of the Classical Tradition in early colonial Australia. Feminism informs my life organically, and so it informs most aspects of my research. My interest in women’s lives is inherently underpinned by a feminist research agenda, and I think that speaking about it, teaching it, and writing it are all acts of feminist scholarship. I am particularly struck by voicelessness – a fascination and perhaps an underlying theme of my work – which has been with me since I read Greek mythology as a child. This theme is usually in the back of my mind when I write about women.I work in two main areas: cultural or ‘lived’ history, and here I focus on sexual histories as well as histories of magical belief and practice – both are underpinned by my first love, which is ancient literature; and histories of Classical Reception, particularly the reception of Sappho, as well as cultural importations of the Classical Tradition in early colonial Australia. Feminism informs my life organically, and so it informs most aspects of my research. My interest in women’s lives is inherently underpinned by a feminist research agenda, and I think that speaking about it, teaching it, and writing it are all acts of feminist scholarship. I am particularly struck by voicelessness – a fascination and perhaps an underlying theme of my work – which has been with me since I read Greek mythology as a child. This theme is usually in the back of my mind when I write about women.

Have you faced any challenges as a woman scholar working in a traditionally male-dominated field?

As an undergraduate, Classics and Ancient History was male-dominated. I was mostly taught by men, but I was also taught by Dr Rhona Beare – an extraordinary woman, most definitely an individual, and one of the most brilliant minds I’ve encountered. While women are now well-represented in the field, there is the occasional mansplaining situation (but less so as I grow older). I think young female scholars still face problems associated with stereotyping and objectification, which is unacceptable and needs to be countered on every occasion. I also think that social and institutional snobbery is still very much alive and well – not only in Classics but across the academic arena per se. It’s tedious and offensive to be judged on the basis of what school you attended, or what university you attended. So much of this is a matter of time and place and space – all socio-economic factors. You can write a PhD in a chicken-pen in the middle of nowhere – intelligence isn’t class-bound or financially-determined – it’s so subversively egalitarian.

Why is studying ancient women relevant in today’s world?

Women’s history is vital – it reminds us of the little we once had, and how far we’ve come – well, how far some of us most fortunate women have come. It also reminds us of what still needs to be done for both women and girls in the journey towards complete equality and freedom on a global scale.

Professor Marguerite Johnson and invited guest speaker Associate Professor Elizabeth Hale (from The University of New England), speaking with some members of Marguerite’s Classical Reception Studies group at The University of Newcastle.