Template:Did you know nominations/Sather Professorship of Classical Literature

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The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by SL93 (talk) 05:36, 14 June 2021 (UTC)

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Sather Professorship of Classical Literature

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Created by Modussiccandi (talk). Self-nominated at 08:34, 12 May 2021 (UTC).

  • Article creation date versus filing date okay. Article length meets the requirement. QPQ done.
  • But I don't like the hook at all. I'm all for off-beat attempts to draw reader attention, but this hook is trivial at best and diminishes the subject at worst.
  • I'm also concerned about the sourcing/neutrality of the article, in the sense that three of the four sources used are publications of Berkeley itself or its university press. Those sources can be used, but if this professorship is as important as the article makes it out to be, surely there are other outside sources that can be employed. In particular, an outside source might clarify if the professorship lectures themselves, and the books that come from them, have been influential in terms of their ideas and themes. Or rather is it that the professorship is prestigious because it is a reward for prior scholarly work. Wasted Time R (talk) 01:55, 16 May 2021 (UTC)
@Wasted Time R: I agree that the sourcing has too much UC Berkeley in it to be entirely neutral. I'll look out for more sources and ping you once that's done. Chances are a new hook will surface, too. Best, Modussiccandi (talk) 09:04, 16 May 2021 (UTC)
  • @Wasted Time R: I've added an "Impact" section sourced from newspaper articles about the lectures and books deriving from the professorship to address neutrality concerns. Here is a suggestion for a new hook; let me know what you think. Modussiccandi (talk) 13:58, 16 May 2021 (UTC)
  • ALT1 ... that the Sather Professorship of Classical Literature was named after Jane K. Sather although her husband had accumulated the money to fund it? Source: It was Peder and not Jane who had been the Trustee; and it was Peder who had accumulated most of the money. [...] But still, the name on the cornerstone of the tower is hers alone; the professorships are named for Jane, not for Peder. Dow (1965) 31.
@Modussiccandi: The article is much better now. (As a minor point, I'm not sure what the criteria is for a cite going into the Bibliography versus being done inline in a footnote, but that doesn't matter for DYK.) While the ALT1 hook is better than the original one, it seems a bit underwhelming. What about a hook that is based on the impact the Sather lectures/books have had? Wasted Time R (talk) 21:43, 17 May 2021 (UTC)
@Wasted Time R: on your observation regarding the bibliography: the sources that have "authors" I put in the bibliography, those that are written by anonymous staff writers I leave in the refs section (like a website, essentially). I will provide a hook on one of the publications below. I was reluctant to do so because I felt that it wasn't sufficiently interesting to a broad audience. Modussiccandi (talk) 21:58, 17 May 2021 (UTC)
  • ALT2 ... that Helene P. Foley's Sather Lecture on the reception of Greek theatre in the United States was described as "something of a milestone" in bringing the subject closer to the mainstream? Source: Most have been published, and Reimagining Greek Tragedy on the American Stage, based on the lectures given by Helene Foley in 2007-08, is the seventieth volume in the series. It is remarkable - yet unremarked - that these were the first ever Sather Lectures to come under the broad umbrella of "Classical Reception". During the past twenty years or so the exploration of what has been made of and out of the classical cultures in modern times has moved from the margins into the mainstream. The incorporation of "Reception" under the Sather banner is, however, something of a milestone. And it is appropriate that this is devoted almost exclusively to American reception. Taplin (2013).
Marking this as passed. Understand now about author versus non-author being the decider. Understand also about classics scholarship not being of great public interest; the DYK promoter can decide whether they like ALT1 or ALT2 better. Wasted Time R (talk) 21:44, 18 May 2021 (UTC)
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