This volume, edited by Phiroze Vasunia, addresses a topic of the greatest interest inside and outside classical studies. In the last few decades, particularly in the North-American context, political and intellectual movements have been calling into question the legitimacy itself of classical studies, which are more and more often associated with conservative or even reactionary, racist, and imperialist positions. In the European academic environment the considerable reduction of research funding alongside the social and economic crisis are also stimulating reflections about the role of the humanities in the academy and their survival in the social network. The problem is keenly perceived by new generations of scholars who experience precarious work and life conditions and do not always have access to publishing and international visibility. Thus, there is space for an open debate about the new aims and the social positioning of classical studies, since new methodologies have also been developed in order to explore fruitful intersections between literature and the social, cultural, and natural environments (e.g. the gender and queer studies, postcolonial studies, new materialism, spatial studies, or actor-network theory). This debate, which still requires creative and non-dogmatic efforts, forms the implicit background of the present volume.