We’re excited to welcome local writer Curtis Dozier to discuss his book The White Pedestal: How White Nationalists Use Ancient Greece and Rome to Justify Hate.

Curtis is an internationally recognized expert on how extremists and hate groups invoke Greco-Roman antiquity to promote their politics. He’s been documenting examples of this for the past decade on his award-winning website Pharos: Doing Justice to the Classics, and earlier this year published The White Pedestal based on his research.

Members of the GWI team have been engaging with Curtis’ work.

Micah: Many of us are all too aware of the systemic racism within our society. We know that white nationalism is an unfortunate layer in the bedrock of the United States and beyond, but this book gives us a context for how white nationalists have been able to seize a broadly sanctioned narrative to successfully suit their agenda of white supremacy.

Mitzy: To me, this book felt like a necessary read, but also a hard one. He shares how history becomes a weapon when a selective, polished version of ancient times is used to make racial hierarchy seem like tradition or something worth aspiring to. These stories have quietly shaped our shared sense of what counts as civilization, and it leaves me wondering how we might recognize their influence, and what is the work we must do as a whole. 

Susan: The timely and illuminating event I attended where Curtis talked about his book helped me to see the deep roots of today’s unjust and escalating identity-based exclusions. He also shared examples of ancient resistance. I gained a clearer understanding and renewed energy to do my part to work toward a world of belonging rooted in equity.

About Curtis Dozier 

Curtis Dozier received his Ph.D. in Classics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2008 and has taught at Vassar College since then.