CC 348/WS 345/27265
WOMEN IN CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY
Dr Barbara Goff
TTh 11-12:30 RAS 211B
Office: WAG 223
Office hours: T 12:30-1:30, 3:30-4, Th 1-2, 3:30-4
Goals of the course:
The goals of the course are twofold: to introduce students both to the primary material on women in antiquity and to current debates about it, and to assist students in the development of a clear and cogent writing practice. This practice will entail the construction of coherent arguments, the conduct of supporting analyses, and the expression of such argument and analysis in persuasive form.
Scope of the course:
The course undertakes to restore women to history, and history to women, in the context of Classical Antiquity from archaic Greece to imperial Rome. Within this period, we shall attempt to reconstruct women's lives and assess their cultural importance through the study of literature, art, and texts on history, religion, medicine and law. We shall investigate change and continuity in the position and representation of women over time, and shall consider strategies for dealing with the paucity of evidence generated by women themselves. The classical societies of Greece and Rome are often considered to provide the origins of present Western attitudes towards women, so we shall be particularly interested in the similarities or differences between ancient notions about female identity and those of contemporary society. The course readings will also lead us to discuss some issues that are important for present-day feminist debates, such as whether female identity is essentially similar over time, or conditioned by historical circumstances, and whether it is historically responsible to describe women as 'victims'.
Responsibilities in the course:
This course valorizes three activities: reading, writing and discussion. Students are expected to read the required texts carefully and thoughtfully, to test their hypotheses and explore alternatives in class discussion, and to articulate arguments and conclusions in a series of papers.
Students are responsible for attending all classes and for all assigned readings. All classes will be conducted as discussions; students should have read the assigned material thoroughly before the class, and be prepared to contribute fully to discussion. In addition, each student will be responsible for introducing the material in one or more classes. You will shortly be asked to sign up for the session(s) of your choice. I can provide more bibliography for the student who is introducing the class.
No knowledge of Greek or Latin is required, as all texts will be in English. This course contains a substantial writing requirement, and grades will be determined as follows:
Papers are due 2/26, 4/7, and 5/7. Quizzes are scheduled for 2/5, 2/19, 3/10, 3/31, 4/14, and 4/28.
Each student will have the option of submitting one rewritten paper, if the original paper obtains a grade of B or under. The rewrite must be submitted no more than two weeks after the original paper is returned to the student. There is, of course, no guarantee that the rewritten paper will obtain a higher grade, but if it does, it will replace the previous grade for that paper. This rewriting option is not available for the final paper in the course.
Precise topics for papers will evolve in the course of class discussion. Late papers will be penalized, unless an extension is sought, and granted, for a good and substantiated reason
There will also be at least 2 short writing assignments which will be evaluated but for which no grade will be recorded. These are not optional. There will be no mid-term or final. There will be no make-ups for quizzes, but only the best five quiz grades will be counted towards the final grade.
Poor attendance and/or preparation will be penalized in the event of a borderline grade. Scholastic dishonesty of any kind will result in a failing grade (F) for that quiz or paper. Scholastic dishonesty includes any kind of cheating; if you are unsure about the exact definition you should consult 'A Students' Guide to Living in the Heart of Texas' p.10-11, or the General Information Bulletin, Appendix c, Chapter 11.
Texts
You will need to purchase:
|
Aeschylus |
The Oresteia (tr. Fagles, Penguin) |
|
Euripides |
Plays 1 (tr. Grene and Lattimore, Chicago) |
|
Fantham et al |
Women in the Classical World (Oxford) |
|
Foley |
Reflections of Women in Antiquity |
|
Homer |
Iliad (tr. Fagles, Penguin) |
|
Homer |
Odyssey (tr. Lattimore, Harper Row) |
|
Lefkowitz and Fant |
Women's Life in Greece and Rome (Johns Hopkins) |
|
Pomeroy |
Goddesses, Whores,Wives, and Slaves (Schocken) |
|
Sophocles |
Plays 2 (tr. Grene and Lattimore, Chicago) |
|
Sophocles |
The Theban Plays (tr. Fagles, Penguin) |
|
Vergil |
Aeneid (tr. Fitzgerald, Vintage) |
There will also be a required course supplement available for purchase at the University Duplicating Service in the Union. The texts of Aristophanes will also be available as a reader, later in the semester.
Several books and articles which are recommended but (usually) not required will be put on reserve at PCL. These are included in the bibliography appended to this syllabus.
Calendar of assignments
For each class, you must read the material assigned from the texts for purchase and from the reader. The material in italics, which is described as on reserve, is recommended but not required. In most cases it provides a more theoretically inflected account of the primary material. Those introducing the class discussion are expected to read the recommended as well as the required material for their presentation topic.
WLGR = Women's Life in Greece and Rome, Pomeroy = Goddesses, Whores,Wives and Slaves, Foley = Reflections of Women in Antiquity, Fantham = Women in the Classical World
1/22 Introduction
1/27 Homeric epic: women in a warrior society
1/29 Homeric epic: a catalog of women
2/3 Homeric epic: coming home
2/5 Minoan and other matriarchies
2/10 Hesiodic appropriations
2/12 Women's voices from ancient Greece
2/17 Homeric Hymn to Demeter: female anger and submission
2/19 Classical Athens: law and life
2/24 Classical period, history: extraordinary women
2/26 Classical period, philosophy: defining the female
3/3 Classical vase-paintings: making women visible
3/5 Classical and Hellenistic period: Medicine
3/10 Classical and Hellenistic period: religion
3/12 Athenian tragedy. Female triumph?
3/17 NO CLASS
3/19 NO CLASS
3/24 Athenian tragedy. Female defeat?
3/26 Sophoclean heroines
3/31 Euripidean anti-heroines
4/2 Athenian comedy: the world turned upside-down
4/7 Dorian Women : alternative possibilities
4/9 Hellenistic Women: a new deal?
4/14 Rome: early legends
4/16 Roman republican women: matrons and virgins
4/21 Roman Imperial women: power and sexuality
4/23 Imperial epic: women in a new world order
4/28 Imperial epic: endings
4/30 Imperial elegy: are women real?
5/5 Women in the early Christian period
5/7 Conclusions
Bibliography on reserve at PCL
Books
Cameron and Kuhrt 1983 = Averil Cameron and Amélie Kuhrt, eds, Images of Women in Antiquity (Detroit 1983)
Claude Bérard, The City of Images (Paris 1984)
Fantham = Elaine Fantham et al ed. Women in the Classical World (Oxford 1994)
Keuls 1985 = Eva Keuls, The Reign of the Phallus: sexual politics in ancient Athens (New York 1985)
Loraux 1993 = Nicole Loraux, The Children of Athena (Princeton 1993)
Peradotto and Sullivan 1978 = John Peradotto and John Sullivan eds, The Arethusa Papers: women in antiquity (New York 1978)
Pomeroy 1991 = Sarah Pomeroy , ed. Women's History in Ancient History (Chapel Hill 1991)
Rabinowitz and Richlin 1993 = Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz and Amy Richlin, eds, Feminist Theory and the Classics (New York and London 1993)
Richlin 1992 = Amy Richlin, ed. Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome (Oxford and New York 1992)
Rosaldo and Lamphere 1974 = M. Rosaldo and L. Lamphere, eds, Woman, Culture and Society (Stanford 1974)
Winkler 1989 = John J. Winkler, Constraints of Desire (New York 1989)
Articles
Arthur 1983 = Marilyn Arthur, 'The dream of a world without women: poetics and the circles of order in the Theogony prooemium', Arethusa 15 (1983) 97-114
Bergren 1983 = A. L. T. Bergren, 'Language and the female in early Greek thought' Arethusa 16 (1983) 69-94
Gould 1980 =J. Gould, ' Law, custom and myth: aspects of the social position of women in classical Athens' JHS 100 (1980) 37-59
Kunstler 1987 = Barton Kunstler, 'Family Dynamics and Female Power in Ancient Sparta', in Marilyn Skinner, ed Rescuing Creusa: new methodological approaches to women in antiquity (Lubbock, 1987)
Skinner 1989 = Marilyn Skinner, 'Sapphic Nossis', Arethusa 22 (1989) 5-18
Wyke 1989 = Maria Wyke, 'Mistress and metaphor in Augustan elegy', Helios 16.1 (1988) 25-47
Zeitlin 1982 = F. I. Zeitlin, 'Cultic models of the female: rites of Dionysus and Demeter', Arethusa 15 (1982) 129-154
Zeitlin 1991 = F. I. Zeitlin, 'Playing the Other' from F. I. Zeitlin and J. J. Winkler eds Nothing to do with Dionysos? (Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1991)