June 2024 Newsletter

​Welcome to our June 2024 newsletter! This June and the first half of July will be a busy period for AWAWS as we hold our online elections followed by our annual get-together to talk, exchange ideas and celebrate each other (including the announcement of this year’s Research Grant winner). Please remember to vote and we hope you can join us over Zoom on the 11th of July. This is also the time to bid a fond farewell and to thank the departing members of the exec committee for their excellent service. This year the list includes Lisa Bailey (Secretary), Jaymie Orchard (PG Rep) and Alex Wood (Mentoring Program). In the true spirit of AWAWS please remember to send your e-bouquets to thank, and acknowledge each other. The AGM marks an important milestone in the AWAWS calendar as we celebrate last year’s achievements, recognise its challenges, and look forward to the new one ahead of us. Please join us, all members of AWAWS are warmly invited!

Dr Anastasia Bakogianni
AWAWS President

Read on for more about:

• Annual General Meting
• Research Grant
• Mentoring Programme 
• Merchandise
• Zoom Sessions for Postgrad Members
• Equity and Diversity Talk Series
• Treasurer Update
• Best Article Prize
• Mantras or Maxims for Academic Leadership

Annual General Meeting

The 2024 AGM is soon upon us! The AGM will be held on 11th July 2024 at 6pm NZT (2pm AWST, 3.30pm ACST, 4pm AEST) over zoom. Link in your email. 

The AGM will feature a lecture by our President Anastasia Bakogianni entitled: Women, War, and the Reception of the Trojan War on Stage and Screen.

She will discuss the importance of the Trojan War as an archetype of total war and how this ancient conflict continues to resonate in the twenty and twenty-first centuries. The terrible suffering of women, children, and other non-combatants was explored in famous Greek tragedies like Euripides’ Trojan Women. In modern times these ancient women have inspired theatre practitioners and filmmakers to create powerful anti-war works where female voices take centre stage to memorably condemn the human cost of war.
 
Materials relating to the AGM will be sent out shortly so please keep an eye on your inboxes for these. The AGM will also involve elections for the AWAWS executive, so this is the final call for nominations for roles on the executive. Nominations of yourself or others are due by June 11th  to the secretary Lisa Bailey ([email protected]).
 
Please also send through any bouquets you would like to have given at the AGM. This is a chance to recognise particular achievements, kindnesses, transitions, or general fabulousness among members. Please send your bouquets to Lisa. Let’s celebrate each other!

Research Grant

It was wonderful to see so many fabulous applications come in for the research grant – our members are doing some incredible work. The committee is currently reviewing the applications received and the winner will be announced at the AGM.

Mentoring Programme

If you have been thinking about applying to be a mentee in the AWAWS Academic Mentoring Program, there is no better time than now! All you need to do is check out our amazing mentors, decide who could help you work towards your goals, and send an Expression of Interest to the Mentoring Program Coordinator, Eva Anagnostou [email protected]
 
For more information about our mentoring programme, visit: https://www.awaws.org/mentoring.html, or email Eva.

Merchandise

AWAWS merchandise is now available for purchase via https://www.awaws.org/products.html. All profits go to support AWAWS activities!

Zoom Sessions for Postgrad Members

This term we are trying something new with our postgrad zoom group. We will be running zoom sessions for three hours fortnightly on Mondays from 12:00-3:00pm NZT.

During the first hour we will be workshopping in-progress work particularly for those who are working towards publication. The goal is to provide a space for peer support for those of us working on published work but could also be a place to workshop abstracts for conferences, applications etc. The following two hours will be dedicated to silent writing/ study time with a short check in at the end of the call to see how things went. If you are looking for peer support, a second opinion on something you are hoping to publish, or simply some accountability, come on out and feel free to drop-in on whatever portion  of the call interests you.
​
For more information or the zoom details contact Jaymie Orchard at: [email protected]

Equity and Diversity Talk Series

Moving Forward: Sharing Resources and Navigating Unjust Systems.
 
Systemic injustice is not unique to ancient world studies, nor academia more broadly, however, we hope to make our community more inclusive by creating a place to share strategies, resources, and hold space for discussion about navigating the challenging realities of our discipline.
 
We recognize that within our community there are those with personal lived experience of being marginalized and silenced, as well as those who teach about ancient communities who faced marginalization, erasure, and were the target of systemic injustice and violence. It is our goal to centre perspectives within our discipline in informal zoom discussions to foster conversation and community-based resource sharing. We hope these conversations will motivate us all to implement what we have learned from these discussions to make our departments safer more accessible places to work and learn, to write more robust and inclusive scholarship, and to teach in ways that embrace the diversity of our students and the communities about whom we teach.
 
The next talk in this series will be by Nikolai Endres, Professor of World Literature and Film at Western Kentucky University, USA on Friday 14th of June, 5pm AEST – 7pm NZDT. He will discuss ‘Incorporating EDI into the classroom’.
 
To register and receive the zoom link please contact Eva ([email protected])

Treasurer Update

AWAWS finances remain healthy, with funds available for local chapter events, workshops and other AWAWS activities in 2024. For those in need, we still have Microgrant funds available! Any members suffering financial adversity are encouraged to apply, simply send us a short email stating your need.
 
If you’re interested in running a local chapter event please let us know! Applications for funding can be found on our website.
 
We thank you for your contributions and engagement with furthering the needs of women and those underrepresent in research and tertiary employment. Your regular contributions make a difference! Friendly reminder to ensure submission of a membership form when completing renewals. 
 
Treasurer Update: ​see email.

Best Article Prize 

This prize may be of interest to some AWAWS members:
 
Old World: Journal of Ancient Africa and Eurasia is pleased to announce the inaugural best article competition for young scholars. The topic for 2024 is "Women in the Pre-Modern World". All authors aged 35 or below (born on 20 September of 1988 or later) are eligible to participate in the competition.
 
The winner will be announced before 15 December, 2024. The prize is $1000. All papers submitted by qualifying authors before 20 September 2024 will be considered by the Editorial Committee.
 
The topic of the article should be aligned with the theme of the competition. It can cover any of the disciplines covered by the journal, including History, Linguistics, Literature, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Art History, and Archaeology. Submissions should conform to the standard requirements of the journal.
 
Old World is a Platinum Open Access (no author fees) online journal dedicated to the study of pre-modern Africa and Eurasia before 1500 CE. The journal has been established by the Research Centre for History and Culture, operated jointly by Beijing Normal University (Zhuhai) and BNU-HKBU United International College. With generous financial support from Beijing Normal University and in partnership with Brill, it aims to create a forward-looking platform for the discussion of pre-modern cultures from a non-eurocentric perspective.

Mantras or Maxims for Academic Leadership

Finally, I (Lisa) want to end my last newsletter as AWAWS Secretary with this list of wonderful mantras or maxims for academic leadership, passed on by Helen Lovatt, University of Nottingham, one of the earlier speakers in the Equity and Diversity talk series. I hope that they can be a source of inspiration and/or comfort for whoever needs either right now.
 
Being realistic
You can’t do everything. Just do your best, or what you can.
Each time a new job appears: Are you the right person for this job, or could someone else do it better/more easily or even benefit from it (gain experience, build reputation)?
Recognise what you can and can’t change, what you do and don’t have control over.
You are enough. You have enough. You do enough.
 
Being kind to yourself
You can’t look after others if you don’t look after yourself.
Working long hours: Does this have to be done now? Will I do it faster tomorrow?
Never too busy to stop for a chat.
 
Developing effective systems
Equity not equality
Avoid change for its own sake: all change brings both good and bad.
Authenticity over measurability.
No such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. [No such thing as bad luck, only bad systems.]
Invest time to save time later. Prevention is better than cure.
Prompt. Action. Celebration. [Make things as easy as possible.]
 
Dealing with problems
If you wake in the night: lying still with your eyes shut is pretty much as good as sleeping.
What can I learn from this and how can I make sure it doesn’t happen again?
Limit the damage. [If something has gone wrong, it’s worth at least doing what you can.]
 
Dealing with burn-out symptoms
Write down your six top priorities and roll a dice.
To start a thing: What do I need to do this? When am I going to do this? Why am I doing this?
 
Resources I often recommend to others: Tinyhabits: https://tinyhabits.com/
Pomodoro technique: https://francescocirillo.com/products/the-pomodoro-technique
Negative thinking patterns: https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/unhelpful-thinking-styles/
Blogpost on managing Academic workloads: https://wcc-uk.blogs.sas.ac.uk/2017/01/04/managing-academic-workloads/