Dear colleagues!

This is to inform you that the Classics Department at Lund university is under threat to be closed down, or at the very least to be dramatically reduced. The faculty has recommended that all courses in Ancient Greek and Latin be suspended as from fall 2007. The reason for this is purely financial. In fact, with the economic model forced upon us, no Swedish classics department is likely to survive.

We, i.e. the staff in Lund, are of course concerned on a personal level. Some of us are likely to lose our jobs.

But more than so we cannot understand how a university of this size and diversity could exist without a strong classics department. How could teaching and research in Romance languages, rhetoric, law or philosophy continue without any expertise in Greek or Latin? And how will this affect the international prestige of Lund?

In this urgent and fairly desperate situation we would like to invite you to send a word of protest to the following:

Prof. dr. Gøran Bexell, rector magnificus, goran.bexell@rektor.lu.se

Prof. dr. Jan Svensson, dean for theology and humanities, jan.svensson@nordlund.lu.se

Dr. Eva Wiberg, dean, eva.wiberg@rom.lu.se

We would be most grateful for any expression of solidarity. For any questions you may have, do not hesitate to contact us.

And we wish you a Merry Christmas!

Chairs of Greek and Latin

Arne Jonsson, arne.jonsson@klass.lu.se
Anders Piltz, anders.piltz@klass.lu.se

Staffan Wahlgren, staffan.wahlgren@klass.lu.se