Announcements
Bookmark this page as your main entry point to the course website. That way, you’ll be sure to see any changes and other information I’ve posted here.
Current Announcements (2)
Grades are posted
27 December 2024
Course grades have been posted to CUNYfirst. Have a great winter break!
Grading page updated
27 December 2024
The grading page has been updated with all papers I have received and a provisional grade for the course. If there is an assignment or revision you’re sure you submitted but that isn’t reflected on the grading page, please contact me immediately.
Official grades will be posted to CUNYfirst on Friday night (Dec. 27).
I was very impressed by a lot of the written work for this semester—there were some seriously thoughtful essays and papers this time around, and for many of you the effort at insight and scholarship really came through. Thanks for your hard work in your assignments as well as in our class discussions. I hope you have a safe and happy winter break and that you enjoy success in your next endeavors. I look forward to seeing some of you again in future classes.
Archive
Final Exam grades and markups posted
23 December 2024
The grades and markups for the Final Exam are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
Remember, the “Grade so far” calculation is provisional. If you have any missing assignments or reversible deductions, please submit them to BlackBoard as soon as possible to bring about the highest possible course grade. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to seek me out by email.
Position Paper grades and markups posted
19 December 2024
The grades and markups for the Position Paper are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
If you have any questions about the grades, comments, or deductions, please don’t hesitate to seek me out by email or in office hours.
Reversible deductions. Some of you may find that you received “reversible deductions” for issues relating to formatting and citations. The good news is, those are points that you can get back. Check the cover page of your markup to see if there are any check marks and points taken off next to the reversible deductions. If there are, I made notes on the cover sheet or in the essay about the issue, and included a handout with the requirements.
Please resubmit your essay to BlackBoard with those problems fixed, and I’ll be in a position to reverse those deductions. Only reversible deductions can be reversed, so don’t resubmit for anything other than reversible deductions.
Missing essays. If you have not gotten your paper in, please do so as soon as you can. In terms of your course grade you’re better off with any grade, even with a lateness penalty, than a zero for the assignment. Remember also that the lateness penalty is capped at a maximum of 30 points, so turning your paper in, even very late, is better than not doing so.
Good luck on the exam!
17 December 2024
Email me with any questions about the exam! I’ll also be in my office from 5 p.m. on if there’s anything you need to discuss regarding the exam, late papers, reversible deductions, and the like.
The exam will take place Tuesday, December 17 from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. in our usual room. See you then!
Welcome to Week 14!
7 December 2024
This week we’re sort of putting the Greek and Roman worlds in perspective, looking at how the Hellenistic world, which the Romans absorbed, looked at gender and the responsibilities people had as men and women toward the strength and persistence of their society.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. What essential ideas stand out to you about the complementary roles of men and women in the Hellenistic world? How much of that carried over to the Greco-Roman world that came after?
Also this week you’re completing your position papers. What did you learn from your research and analysis that you’d like to share with the rest of us? How has your perspective on gender in the ancient world changed or been reaffirmed as you explored your topic?
Looking forward to an interesting discussion. Please make sure to attend and help bring our semester’s worth of explorations and insights together into focus. See you Tuesday!
Welcome to Week 13!
30 November 2024
This week we’re discussing the ways in which women were involved in the Roman religion.
Things to ponder as you explore the materials. The religious practices and superstitions of the Romans themselves are interestingly peculiar, and the special cult of priestesses known as the Vestal Virgins, who were entrusted with the guardianship of the eternal flame, is distinctive. What do you think the existence and importance of the Vestals tells us about how the Romans thought about gender and the gods? The Chief Vestal is an unusual figure, too, representing the pure separateness of the Vestals and the status and responsibilities of a Roman noble matron. What else strikes you as telling about the prominence of women in Roman religion?
Personal letters are a great resource for historians because they offer a subjective, unguarded, and first-hand view of cultural norms and idiosyncratic relations to them. What stands out to you from Pliny’s letters about how he talks about women he admires?
Finally, Cato’s speech on the Oppian Law is in defense of conservative values, but it has an impact on wealthy women in Rome, who had been agitating politically to wear ornamentations again, even appearing in mass demonstrations in the Forum. What’s Cato afraid of?
Looking forward to an interesting discussion. See you Tuesday!
Images Essay grades and markups posted
26 November 2024
I’m finally catching up on my grading backlog, which means that the grades and markups for the Images Essay are now posted on the My Grades page on the course website.
If you have any questions about the grades, comments, or deductions, please don’t hesitate to seek me out by email or in office hours.
Reversible deductions. Some of you may find that you received “reversible deductions” for issues relating to formatting and citations. The good news is, those are points that you can get back. Check the cover page of your markup to see if there are any check marks and points taken off next to the reversible deductions. If there are, I made notes on the cover sheet or in the essay about the issue, and included a handout with the requirements.
Please resubmit your essay to BlackBoard with those problems fixed, and I’ll be in a position to reverse those deductions. Only reversible deductions can be reversed, so don’t resubmit for anything other than reversible deductions.
Missing essays. If you have not gotten your paper in, please do so as soon as you can. In terms of your course grade you’re better off with any grade, even with a lateness penalty, than a zero for the assignment. Remember also that the lateness penalty is capped at a maximum of 30 points, so turning your paper in, even very late, is better than not doing so.