readings

Readings due Feb. 17 (Hesiod):

  1. Primary Source: Hesiod’s Theogony, plus notes and glossary.
  2. Blundell, “The Olympians.”*******Note: Do not read all of Blundell’s chapter on the Olympians. Please read the first page, the conclusion, and select one goddess to read about for Wednesday.
  3. If you are not familiar with Hesiod, you may find this website useful:  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/264059/Hesiod

 

Readings for discussion sections, Feb. 18-19 (Hesiod):

  1. Primary Source: Hesiod, Works and Days, lines 1-245, 769-80.
  2. Zeitlin, Froma, Playing the Other: Gender and Society in Classical Greek Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. (“Signifying Difference: The Case of Hesiod’s Pandora,” pages 53-74.)
  3. Note: There is no daily comment due for discussion section readings. Below are some questions to help you prepare for our discussion.

Discussion Section Questions:

  1. How would you describe Hesiod’s attitude towards women?
  2. To what extent does Hesiod convey any sort of “truth” about women? What do we mean by “truth”?

 

Reading due Feb 22 (Homer):

  1. Primary Source: Homer, Odyssey, Book 10, lines 146-631, Book 19, Books 21 and 22, Book 23.
  2. Blundell, “Women in the poems of Homer,” pages 47-57.

 

Reading due Feb. 24 (Helen):

  1. Primary Source: Gorgias, “Encomium of Helen.”
  2. Primary Source: Euripides, Helen.

 

Reading due Feb. 29 (Sappho):

  1. Primary Source: Lefkowitz, Mary R. and Maureen B. Fant. Women’s Life in Greece and Rome. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. (“Women’s Voices,” sections 1-6). Each section corresponds to a different fragment of Sappho’s poetry. The fragment numbers are given in parenthesis after the “title” of the poem (e.g. section one is fragment 1. G).
  2. Hallett, J. P., “Sappho and Her Social Context: Sense and Sensuality.”/Stehle, Eva. “Romantic Sensuality, Poetic Sense: A Response to Hallett on Sappho.” Reading Sappho. Contemporary Approaches. Ed. Ellen Greene. Berkeley: University of California Press. 125-142, 143-49.
  3. Winkler, J. J. “Double Consciousness in Sappho’s Lyrics,” SGCW, 40-58 (read “Sources,” which appears at the end of the article first, and then stop reading when you arrive at “Gardens of Nymphs” on page 58).
  4. Class five agenda

Reading due March 2 (Women’s Bodies):

  1. Primary Source: Lefkowitz, Mary R. and Maureen B. Fant. Women’s Life in Greece and Rome. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. (“Medicine and Anatomy,” sections 338-350, pages 225-43).
  2. King, H. Hippocates’ Woman: Reading the Female Body in Ancient Greece. New York: Routledge, 1998. (pages 21-39.)

 

Readings for discussion sections, March 3-4:

  1. Secondary Source: Sutton, R. “Pornography and Persuasion on Attic Pottery.” Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome. Ed. A. Richlin. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. 3-35.

 

Reading due March 7:

  1. Primary Source: Aeschines, Against Timarchus (please read this short introduction to Greek oratory before you read Aeschines’ speech). Both the speech and introduction come from this book: Hubbard, Thomas K. Homosexuality in Greece and Rome. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003.
  2. Winkler, J. J. “Laying Down the Law,” Before Sexuality, pages 172-201.

Note: You may want to read Winkler’s article before you read Aeschines’ speech.

 

Reading due March 9:

  1. Primary Source: Lefkowitz, Mary R. and Maureen B. Fant. Women’s Life in Greece and Rome. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. (“Athens” and “Sparta,” sections 77-90, 95-100, pages 58-82, 83-89).
  2. Primary Source: Xenophon, Constitution of the Lacedaemonians (Spartans).
  3. Click here for some background information on Xenophon. This is not required reading.
  4. Recommended Reading (note required, but you may find it useful):
    1. Blundell, Lives Of Women in Classical Athens,” pages 130-49.
    2. Blundell, “Women in Athenian Law and Society,” pages 113-29.
    3. Blundell, “Sparta and Gortyn,” pages 150-59.

 

Discussion Sections (March 10-11): Discussion sections this week will be writing workshops. Please come to class with a rough draft or detailed outline of your paper and your computer. Your paper does not need to be complete, but you should have enough substance to be able to share our argument, evidence, and possible conclusions with a peer.

 

Reading due March 14: 

  1. Primary Source: Plutarch, Life of Alcibiades.  If this link does not work (I haven’t been able to load pages from this website as of Sunday morning, please read Plutarch’s Life of Alcibiades here. Click on the blue arrow to proceed to the next chapter. Please note that there are 39 chapters total.)
  2. Secondary Source: Wohl, Victoria. The Erotics of Democracy in Classical Athens. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. (“Perverse Desire: The Eros of Alcibiades,” pages 124-44.

 

Reading due March 16:

  1. Primary Source: Aristophanes, Lysistrata. (Please read the introduction to the play and consult the footnotes that appear at the end of the document.)

No Discussion Sections: March 17-18.

 

Reading due March 21: 

  1. Primary Source: Euripides, Medea.

 

Reading due March 23: 

  1. Primary Source: Euripides, Bacchae.
  2. Zeitlin, Froma. Playing the Other: Theatre, Theatricality, and the Feminine in Greek Drama.” Representations 11 (1985): 63-94.

 

Discussion Section Readings (March 24-25): 

*****Note to Friday discussion section students: You are welcome to attend Thursday’s discussion sections if you prefer. This option is available to you for this week only.

  1. Primary Source: Aristophanes, Women at the Thesmophoria.

 

ROME

Reading due April 4:

  1. Secondary Source: Ormand, Kirk. Controlling Desires. Sexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2009. (“Rome and Roman Sex,” 128-45.)

****This reading offers an historical overview of sexuality in ancient Rome. Keep in mind that there is a timeline posted on the course website under useful links.

 

Reading due April 6:

  1. Joshel, S. R. “The Body female and the Body Politic: Livy’s Lucretia and Verginia.” SGCW, pages 164-85 (review “Sources” first).
  2. Dixon, “Rape in roman law and myth.”

 

Discussion Section Readings (April 7-8):

  1. Primary Source: Terence, The Eunuch.
  2. Secondary Source: Rosivach, Vincent. When A Young Man Falls in Love. The Sexual Exploitation of Women in New Comedy. New York: Routledge, 1998 (pages 13-14 (Introduction), 35-42, (Characteristics of the Rape Motif in New Comedy), 46-50 (Terence’s Eunuchus)).

Notes: Menander is Greek playwright whose plays were adapted by Roman comic playwrights such as Plautus and Terence. Menander’s plays are considered “New Comedy.” Here is a brief introduction to new comedy: http://www.britannica.com/art/New-Comedy

 

Reading due April 11: 

  1. Secondary source: Dixon, Suzanne. Reading Roman Women. Troy, NY: Bristol Classical Press, 2001. (“Womanly weakness in Roman law,” pages 73-88.
  2. Here are the endnotes for the chapter, a map of Rome, and some useful appendices: Dixon: Maps, Addendices (including legal terms in Latin), Endnotes
  3. Primary source: Lefkowitz, Mary R. and Maureen B. Fant. Women’s Life in Greece and Rome. A Sourcebook in Translation. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982. NOTE: Please read sections 107-47 (pages 94-119) and section 173 (pages 142-47). After the section number Lefkowitz and Fant provide some information about the primary text. The italicized portion is where they identify the date of the passage, the author, and the text the passage comes from. Below the italicized section they provide any information necessary for understanding the passage. Sometimes they do not, and this is because the information has already been provided, or because we don’t have any other information about the text. This section appears in a smaller font. The text that appears below this is in a larger font and is the primary source text. I have included the endnotes for this text (#4 below).
  4. Lefkowitz and Fant, notes.

 

Reading due April 13:

  1. Primary source: Plautus, Casina.
  2. Secondary source: Gold, Barbara. “‘Vested Interests’ in Plautus’ Casina: Cross-Dressing in Roman Comedy.” Sex and Difference in Ancient Greece and Rome. Eds. Mark Golden and Peter Toohey. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2003.
  3. Optional: A brief introduction to the life of Plautus, a Roman comic playwright. 

 

Reading due April 18:

  1. Primary source: Review Livy’s narrative of the repeal of the Lex Oppia (Oppian Law, section 173 of Lefkowitz and Fant assigned for April 11).
  2. Secondary source: Alston, Richard. “Arms and the Man. Soldiers, masculinity and power in Republican and Imperial Rome.” When men were men. Masculinity, power and identity in classical antiquity. Eds. Lin Foxhall and John Salmon. New York: Routledge, 1998. 205-223. NOTE: Stop reading at the bottom of page 211.
  3. Secondary source: Shelton, J-Ann. As the Roman Did. A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. (“Religions from the East,” pages 391-94.)
  4. Primary source: Livy, 39.8-19.

Note: Since there are several shorter readings for Monday, here is a question for you to consider that may help you identify connections between the readings: Why was the Oppian Law repealed, and how are the reasons for its repeal similar to the reasons why the cult of Bacchus was so threatening? Hint: how did each threaten and undermine the social and gender order of Rome? Feel free to respond to this question in your reading comment.

 

Reading due April 20: These readings are about Cornelia, a Roman matron and mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. Read this bio concerning Tiberius Gracchus before you begin the readings.

  1. Primary source: Lefkowitz, Mary R. and Maureen B. Fant. Women’s Life in Greece and Rome. A Sourcebook in Translation. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982. (Pages 21-23 (sections 51-53), page 166 (section 214), page 169 (section 223), pages 191-92 (sections 259-260).)
  2. Secondary source: Petrocelli, Corrado. “Cornelia the Matron.” Roman Women. Ed. Augusto Fraschetti. Trans. Linda Lappin. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2001. 34-65. Note: The chapter begins with a brief discussion of Aspasia, mistress of Pericles, the Athenian statesman. Click here for a short bio. 

 

Discussion Section Readings (April 21-22):

  1. Secondary source: Ormand, Kirk. Controlling Desires. Sexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2009. (“Legal and Illegal Sex in Ancient Rome.,” 164-82).
  2. Primary Source: Lefkowitz, Mary R. and Maureen B. Fant. Women’s Life in Greece and Rome. A Sourcebook in Translation. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982. (Pages 34-37 (section 71), page 147 (section 174).)

 

Reading due April 25:

  1. Class Nineteen Handout: Catullus       

 

Reading due April 27:

  1. Secondary source: Read pages 212-16 from Alston’s “Arms and the Man,” posted under reading due April 18.
  2. Secondary source: Corbier, Mireille. “Male power and legitimacy through women: the domus Augusta under the Julio-Claudians.” Women in antiquity. New assessments. Eds. Richard Hawley and Barbara Levick. New York: Routledge, 1995. 178-93.
  3. Primary source: MacLachlan, Bonnie. Women in Ancient Rome. A Sourcebook. New York: Bloomsbury, 2013. (Pages 124-40. The beginning of this chapter offers a short review of the Augustan marriage laws. Please review these before reading the next section on women in the imperial households.)

 

Discussion Section Readings (April 28-29):

  1. First read this: A short introduction to Aeneas, the protagonist of the Roman poet Virgil’s epic poem, The Aeneid.
  2. Primary source: Virgil, Aeneid, Book Four.
  3. Click here for summaries of individual books of the Aeneid. Feel free to consult this website, especially for summaries of Book I-III.
  4. Primary source: MacLachlan, Bonnie. Women in Ancient Rome. A Sourcebook. New York: Bloomsbury, 2013. (“Sulpicia,” pages 148-51.)

 

Reading due May 2:

  1. Secondary source: Greene, Ellen. The Erotics of Domination. Male Desire and the Mistress in Latin Love Poetry. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. (The Elegiac Woman. Fantasy, Materia, and Male Desire in Propertius’ Monobiblos, pages 37-66).
  2. Click here some background information (read as much or as little as you would like.)
  3. Here are the meanings of some Latin words that you may find useful to know as you’re reading (Greene is generally very good about providing translations, but there a few that she assumes the reader will know): materia = material, subject, matter; servitium amoris = slavery of love; amator = lover; amor = love; domina = mistress, literally “one who owns slaves.”

 

Reading due May 4:

****Note: These readings contain descriptions of sexual violence and rape. As always, please feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns.

  1. Secondary source: Greene, Ellen. The Erotics of Domination. Male Desire and the Mistress in Latin Love Poetry. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. (“Sexual Politics in Ovid’s Amores,” pages 93-113). (You can access Ovid’s poems by clicking here. To move to a new poem, change 2.1 to the number you want to see. Be sure not to delete Ov. Am.. For example, if you would like to read 2.11, then change the 2.1 to 2.11.)
  2. Primary source: Ovid, Metamorphoses, 6.424-623. You will find this at the end of Klindienst’s chapter posted below. It is in the section “Source.” Please read this first.
  3. Secondary source: Klindienst, Patricia. “The Voice of the Shuttle Is Ours.” Sexuality and Gender in the Classical World. Ed. Laura K. McClure. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2002. 259-92.

 

Discussion Section Readings (May 5-6):

  1. Primary Source: Ovid, Ars Amatoria, Book One.
  2. Now read pages 29-40 of this: Introduction to Hejduk, Julia Dyson. The Offense of Love. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2014.
  3. Optional: Ovid, Heroides, Dido’s letter to Aeneas. 

 

Reading due May 9: There is no new reading due for Monday’s class (there is also no comment due). On Monday we’re going to spend time workshopping both the third assignment and the final reflection.

Please come to class prepared to share what you’re working on for the third assignment. This means that you need to have both chosen one of the various options for this assignment and you’ll need to have started it. If you have questions about the assignment or need some help, this is an excellent opportunity to get some help from me and your peers.

We will also spend some time discussing ideas for the final reflection, so please come to class prepared to share both your overall learning goal(s) for the seminar, the daily learning goals, and why you think these things are important for students to understand. Information about the final reflection will be posted shortly. 

 

Reading due May 11: 

  1. Brunet, Stephen. “Women with Swords. Female Gladiators in the Roman World.” A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity. Eds. Paul Christesen and Donald G. Kyle.

 

Discussion Section Readings (May 12-13):

  1. Secondary source: Cobb, Stephanie L. Dying to Be Men. Gender and Language in Early Christian Martyr Texts. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. (“What Is a Christian? Constructing Christian Identity,” pages 18-32.)
  2. Secondary source: Cobb, Stephanie L. Dying to Be Men. Gender and Language in Early Christian Martyr Texts. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. (“Noble Athletes. Gladiatorial, Athletic, and Martial Imagery in the Martyr Acts,” pages 33-59.)
  3. Primary source: Start reading at “Pertpetua is one of the best known…” on right side of the first page. The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas.