Back to selection
| Semester | spring semester 2016 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | William Graham Claytor (graham.claytor@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Gender and sexuality are not immutable concepts, but rather cultural constructs whose meaning and boundaries are generated socially. Few societies demonstrate this more vividly for a modern western audience than the Greeks of classical antiquity. In this course we will examine how ancient Greeks conceptualized gender and sexuality through an examination of surviving literature, works of art, and everyday objects. We will draw on modern theorists of sexuality, beginning with Foucault, in order to develop ideas on how to interpret ancient evidence related to gender and sexuality. Special attention will be paid to how Greeks categorized sexual activities, how these categories differ from our own, and how such a conceptual organization influenced ancient Greek culture and society. |
| Learning objectives | The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the tools and methods of ancient history through a focus on gender and sexuality in Classical Greece. Students will be introduced to a wide range of ancient evidence and learn how to critically analyze this evidence in order to pose questions and produce arguments about the ancient world. |
| Bibliography | Pierre Brulé, Women of Ancient Greece. Edinburgh. 2003 [Les Femmes grecques à l'époque classique. 2001]. K.J. Dover. Greek Homosexuality. Cambridge, Mass. 1989 [1978]. M. Foucault. The History of Sexuality, Vol. 2: The Use of Pleasure. New York. 1990 [Histoire de la sexualité, Vol. 2: L'usage des plaisirs. 1984] L. Foxhall and J. Salmon (edd.). Thinking Men: Masculinity and Its Self-Representation in the Classical Tradition. London. 1998. A. Glazebrook and M.M. Henry (edd.). Greek Prostitutes in the Ancient Mediterranean, 800 BCE-200 CE. Madison, WI. 2011. T.K. Hubbard (ed.). Homosexuality in Greece and Rome: A Sourcebook of Basic Documents. Berkeley. 2003. T.K. Hubbard (ed.), A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities. Malden, MA/Oxford. 2014. K. Ormand and R. Blondell (edd.). Ancient Sex: New Essays. Columbus, OH. 2015. H. King. Hippocrates’ Woman: Reading the Female Body in Ancient Greece. New York. 1998. L.K. McClure (ed.), Sexuality and Gender in the Classical World: Readings and Sources. Oxford, UK/Malden, MA. 2002 S. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves. 1975. M.B. Skinner, Sexuality in Greek and Roman Culture. Oxford. 2005. J.J. Winkler. The Constraints of Desire: The Anthropology of Sex and Gender in Ancient Greece. New York. 1990. F.I. Zeitlin, J.J. Winkler, and D.M. Halperin (edd.). Before Sexuality: The Construction of Erotic Experience in the Ancient Greek World. Princeton. 1990. |
| Comments | Die Unterrichtssprache wird vorwiegend Englisch sein, Referate und schriftliche Arbeiten können selbstverständlich auf Deutsch gehalten/geschrieben werden. |
| Admission requirements | Studierende der Altertumswissenschaften müssen das Proseminar zur Einführung in die Alte Geschichte erfolgreich besucht haben, Studierende der Geschichte den Einführungskurs. Andere Studierende nur in Rücksprache mit der Dozierenden. Griechischkenntnisse sind von Vorteil, aber nicht obligatorisch. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Einführungsmodul Alte Geschichte (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Einführungsmodul Alte Geschichte (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Ergänzungsmodul Alte Geschichte (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Ergänzungsmodul Alte Geschichte (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Grundmodul Alte Geschichte (Bachelor's degree subject: History (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Basis Alte Geschichte (Bachelor's degree subject: History) Modul Griechische Geschichte (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Griechische Geschichte (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Griechische Geschichte BA (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul Griechische Geschichte BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul Grundstudium Schwerpunkt Alte Geschichte (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul Grundstudium Schwerpunkt Alte Geschichte (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul Theorie und Methoden der Alten Geschichte (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Modul Theorie und Methoden der Alten Geschichte (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul Theorie und Methoden der Alten Geschichte (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) Modul Theorie und Methoden der Alten Geschichte (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations (Start of studies before 01.08.2013)) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Alte Geschichte |