FIEC 2019 General Assembly Notes

FIEC General Assembly Notes

Respectfully submitted by Alden Smith, CAMWS Delegate to FIEC

1. Reading of the Rules of the Assembly
2. Checklist of Delegates
3. Approval of the 2017 Minutes
4. Changes in Delegates
5. Admission of New Associations
   1. Center of Hellenic Studies (Montenegro)
   2. Centro di Studi papirologici dell’universtà di Salento
   3. American Classical League

(All passed and were admitted).

6. Preliminary Remarks by President Franco Montanari
   1. The constitutional changes approved in 2017 was the first significant change in the Society since its inception in 1948. The most significant features of it are
      1. That the conference will not be every five years but now every three years. 
      2. There is a widening of the criteria for membership. The new requirements are that an applicant be an association for the promotion of classics (broadly speaking), that there is a clear role for classics within that institution; that the institution evidence that it encompasses higher learning, broadly speaking.
   2. Professor Montanari indicated, in a touching moment at the end of his speech, that he is stepping down as FIEC president.
7. Report from the Secretary General
   1. Professor Shubert opened his speech with a rich discussion of the purpose of FIEC:
      1. It is the umbrella classics organization
      2. It defends the discipline of classics
      3. It advances the cause of classics
      4. It promotes dialogue among all branches of classics
   2. Dr. Shubert also thanked his colleagues in England for hosting this conference
   3. He requested forgiveness for any errors he had made during his tenure as secretary general.
   4. He thanked the board for their hard work.
8. FIEC treasurer’s report (see attached). The vote on the report was unanimous
9. Report of International Council for Philosophy and Social Sciences (CIPSh), to which FIEC is connected formally qua membership.
   1. Has much influence on UNESCO, and is well connected to other leaned societies
   2. Contributes to world humanities report
   3. CIPSH also is contributing to a global history of humankind
   4. CIPSH also contributes to UNESCO’s global program entitled, “Humanities Tradition and Identity”
10. Report on L’Année Philologique (Dee Clayman)
    1. French Office in Lille is now under the leadership of Charles Delattre
    2. Italian office is moving to Bologna
    3. A new Office will open in Athens this year.
    4. L’AP is now on Twitter.
11. Report by FIEC delegate to TLL committee
    1. Letters ‘R’ and ‘N’ are in progress
    2. Older volumes are accessible via Bayerisch (Bavarian) Akademie website.
    3. Grants for visiting scholars are difficult to get, due to German labor laws.
12. European Alliance of Social Sciences  and Humanities (EASSH)
    1. Goal is to give money away to scholars who need it
    2. FIEC is already one of their stronger allies
    3. Large funding could be obtained by FIEC from this alliance
13.  Elections
    1. President Gunhiud Vidén (Sweden)
    2. Secretary General Sabine Huebner (Switzerland)
    3. Treasurer Valérie Fromentin
    4. Two new vice presidents Jésus de la Villa and two others (see the attached report by Paul Shubert for details)
    5. Five Adjunct Members
       1. María Irigoyen
       2. Benjamin Acosta-Hughes
       3. Antrew Fontalakis
       4. Andre Larinois
       5. Catherine Steele
       6. Fausto Montani
14. Statement on Publications and Abstracts

FIEC is promoting standardization of abbreviations so that when data is compiled by L’AP it is more streamline, for all journals in classical studies.

15. Resolution toward adding Greek and Latin to UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage
    1. Proposal made by Spanish colleagues
    2. List is very long, including “French cuisine”
    3. List is entirely symbolic. 
16.  Information re. Mexico City 2022
    1. Martha Irigoyen issued invitation
    2. In Mexico classics is only offered in Mexico City
    3. All of the classicists are therefore concentrated in one place
    4. Late August/Early September possibly will be the best date
    5. The 2025 conference will be proposed at the Mexico City meeting, which is scheduled for 2022.
17. Other Business

New President Gunhiud Vidén (Sweden) spoke. She expressed her gratitude for the election result and gave thanks to the outgoing board, especially Franco Montanari and Secretary General Paul Shubert.