Classics and Ancient History

By investigating interactions between gender and power in ancient Greece and Rome, this course delves into the social norms and taboos that shaped public and private life in the great cities of antiquity. Drawing on modern theoretical writings as well as ancient texts and images, students investigate ideals of femininity and masculinity in the ancient mythology and public ritual; the gendering of public and private space; licit an illicit sexual practices; love, marriage, adultery and prostitution; and gendered narratives of good and bad politicians, emperors, and those perceived to be "barbarians."