Eidolon’s Next Move
Almost exactly two and a half years ago, I approached the Paideia Institute with an idea: an online journal where classicists could write articles meant to reach readers outside of the discipline. Jason Pedicone, President of the Paideia Institute, was immediately enthusiastic about this concept. He came up with the name “Eidolon,” and together we brainstormed article ideas and dream writers. In those early days, Paideia provided the institutional support that I needed to get the fledgling journal off the ground while I worked around the clock managing all the work of evaluating pitches, editing articles, and promoting Eidolon’s content.
Over time, the relationship between Eidolon and Paideia took on a different form: we became collaborators, working together on crafting announcements for Paideia programs such as the Legion Project and Aequora. In the meantime, the Eidolon editorial team grew from one to three and then four staff members, and the journal began to develop its own unique character and style. And my vision for what an online, public-facing Classics journal can and should do in the world we live in shifted.
In a few weeks, the relationship between the Paideia Institute and Eidolon will take its next step when the journal leaves the proverbial nest. This new independence will give us the space we need to explore new directions for content and direction. I’m thrilled to announce the launch of Palimpsest Media, the new home for Eidolon, idle musings, and, hopefully, additional publication ventures.
We will be pausing publication on Eidolon for the next month as we work on the planning and development stages for some exciting new features. Look out for our relaunch on August 21st, and stay tuned to idle musings and our social media pages for additional content in the meantime.
I can truly say that, without the Paideia Institute, Palimpsest Media would not exist. I will be forever grateful to Paideia for housing Eidolon during its inception and adolescence. I wish to thank everyone at Paideia for their institutional and personal support over these past two years, especially President Jason Pedicone, Executive Director Eric Hewett, and Director of Development Elizabeth Butterworth. I’m looking forward to continuing to collaborate with Paideia in the future.
In July, Eidolon published four articles:
Justin Slocum Bailey advocated for reading the Latin translations of the Harry Potter books in How Harrius Potter Helped Me Read More Latin
Sarah Scullin failed her translation exam for Harrius Potter in The Boy Who Was A Fox
Brett Rogers explained the dynamics of classical heroism in the Harry Potter series in The Greek Tragedy of Tom Riddle Tyrannos
Alex Petkas reflected on the recent controversy over the feminist philosophy journal Hypatia in Why Name a Journal after Hypatia?
We’ll return with a new mission statement and more content in August. Thank you for reading for the past few years, and I’m looking forward to our next step!
Donna Zuckerberg is the Editor-in-Chief of Eidolon. She received her PhD in Classics from Princeton, and her writing has appeared in Jezebel, The Establishment, and Avidly. Her book Not All Dead White Men, a study of the reception of Classics in Red Pill communities, is under contract with Harvard University Press.
