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'. 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.
In addition, each student will be responsible for introducing the material in one or more classes. 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. 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.