Understanding the Past to Inspire the Future: Young Richard Kim, Head of Classics and Mediterranean Studies at UIC
Interview with Young Richard Kim Heading link
Name: Young Richard Kim
Title: Associate Professor and Department Head
Department: Classics and Mediterranean Studies
Tell me a little bit about your history at UIC.
I started working at UIC on January 1, 2020, as head of the Classics and Mediterranean Studies Department, and I also have an appointment in the History Department. Little did I know how upside down the world would become with the pandemic! I had to learn a great deal, in a short amount of time, including all the UIC acronyms, teaching in an online format for the first time, and running a department meeting on Zoom. Immediately before coming to UIC, I was working in New York for a public benefits foundation, and before that I was a tenured faculty member at a small liberal arts college in western Michigan. I’m a bit like a unicorn, having left the academy but fortunate enough to return to do the kind of work that I truly love: conducting research, teaching, and helping my department, school, and university thrive.
What role does research and furthering your own education play in your career?
I’ve always believed that good, critical research leads to vibrant, thought-provoking teaching. I am by academic discipline an (ancient) historian, and so I spend much of my time thinking about the past. But the questions and curiosities that fuel my research always push me to think about the present. This is an essential feature of my courses, and I always challenge my students to make the connections between historical developments and our current circumstances. I know that I am in a privileged position, to be able to live a “life of the mind,” but I never want to be alone, sequestered away in an ivory, or in the case of UIC, a concrete tower. Sharing my research, with my colleagues, with my students, and with the public, is a feature of my career I am totally committed to.
What interests you about Liberal Arts and Sciences?
For me, higher education is not just about the acquisition of knowledge, or the application of skills. It must also be concerned with the formation of character and the cultivation of virtue, of preparing students to become thoughtful, empathetic people who can do good in their communities and in our broader society. The key to this, I believe, is a robust, well-rounded education that engages with a diverse array of subjects, that is, with the liberal arts and sciences. I want my classical studies or history students to be just as engaged and invested in biology, or chemistry, or psychology, just as much as I want my science and tech-focused students to wrestle with philosophy, language, and literature. We shouldn’t set these disciplines in opposition to each other, but rather, think of them as mutually beneficial.
How do you prepare students for their future careers?
Above all, I’m trying to get my students to think critically, and the best way to do this, I think, is to grapple with difficult questions. We accomplish this by reading what others have said, thinking about the positives and the drawbacks of their arguments, and sharing them with each other through speaking in class and writing. I know that five, ten, or twenty years from now, my students may not remember how long it took Odysseus to return home or how the Roman empire “fell,” but if I can instill in them the value of slowing down and thinking, of not seeking easy answers, and of spending time reading and reflecting, then I think I’ve helped prepare them for whatever career path they take.
How did you become interested in your field?
In high school, the subjects I excelled in were language, literature, and history, so as an undergraduate student I knew very early on that I wanted to study humanities subjects. In my first year, I took courses on Roman history and early Christianity, followed by courses in Jewish history and a class on the subject that is my main field of study, a period of history we call Late Antiquity. My fascination with ancient history grew even more as I started studying ancient Greek and Latin, which enabled me to read texts in their original languages, which expanded the possibilities even further for me to follow where my curiosities led me.
Why did you choose to come to UIC and LAS specifically?
Sometimes in the academic life, the job chooses the person, rather than the other way around. I was incredibly fortunate to have been given the chance to return to a university context, and I am doubly, triply blessed to work at a university and college whose values—diversity, accessibility, inclusion, critical scholarship, and innovative teaching—reflect my own priorities. But even more important to me are the students of UIC and LAS. They embody the hope of our future; they are the leaders of tomorrow, and any part I can play in preparing them is a tremendous privilege.
Advice for new students?
Get the balance right. Students are at UIC to learn, so obviously, that’s a priority, and they should put in the time and the hard work. Read. Do the problem sets. Check and recheck answers. Write drafts and revise them. Get to know professors and TAs. Go to drop-in hours. Attend lectures and campus events. Ask questions. But students are also at UIC to grow as people. Try new foods. Meet new people. Have late-night, thought-provoking conversations. Befriend unexpected people. Exercise. Sleep. Explore the city.