The “AJP Today” Controversy Revisited

The autumn 1987 issue of the American Journal of Philology contained a controversial editorial manifesto called “AJP Today.” Written by Georg Luck, the editor of the journal, “AJP Today” gave rise to numerous objections, which culminated in an open session to discuss the statement at the 1987 annual meeting of the American Philological Association. Prior accounts of this episode have interpreted it in ideological terms and led classical scholars to believe that it cost Luck his editorship. This article challenges the conventional wisdom, contending that the events in question were less ideological in their origins than is commonly believed. It argues that, though possessing ideological and methodological dimensions, they were rooted in the practical and the pragmatic.