Women in Antiquity (Spring 2024)

Grades are posted

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Wed, 29 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Course grades have been posted to CUNYfirst. Have a great summer!

Grading page updated

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Tue, 28 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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 Wednesday.

I was very impressed by a lot of the written work for this semester—there were some seriously thoughtful papers 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 summer break and that you enjoy success in your future endeavors.

Final Exam grades and markups posted

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 26 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Tue, 21 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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.

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.

The deadline for all late papers and resubmissions is May 27. I will not accept any papers after that date.

Good luck on the exam!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Mon, 20 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

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, May 21 from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. in our usual room. See you then!

Quiz #9 grades and markups posted

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Thu, 16 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

The grades and markups for Quiz #9 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.

I strongly recommend spending a moment to take a look at my commentary on the quiz, as I use the markups and quiz notes to emphasize some of the key take-aways from last week’s topics. The Quiz Notes for this quiz are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.

Student Evaluation of Teaching and Learning (SETL)

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Mon, 13 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

I’ve been asked to remind everyone about the student evaluations, as they’re looking for a higher proportion of respondents.

CUNY considers students’ assessments of their instructors to be an important tool, and that's a good thing. The survey plays a key role in allowing the College to respond to student needs and desires. Student evaluations of teaching and learning (SETL) results can be used:

by faculty as feedback on their instruction and pedagogy;
by faculty, departments, schools, and the college as one source of evidence of teaching effectiveness for annual reviews as well as for tenure and promotion considerations;
by students as part of selecting courses and instructors;
by the college as evidence of the student experience in Lehman College courses and for a variety of accreditation and other accountability processes.

You can find the SETL page for all your courses in your Lehman emails or by logging into Lehman 360.

Welcome to Week 13!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sat, 11 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This week we’re discussing the ways in which women were involved the Roman religion. 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!

Signup page glitch resolved

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Wed, 08 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

I just learned yesterday that the signup page for the primary source presentation was not loading properly. The issue has now been resolved.

Welcome to Week 12!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 05 May 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Hi folks, this week we’re attempting to get at the Roman sense of gender division and gender norms below the upper classes. How do you think things are different for women below the nobility? What do documents like the Twelve Tables tell us about how genders and families related to each other? What’s your sense of what ideas the Romans in general shared when it came to the importance of women to the survival of Rome?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions. See you Tuesday!

No meeting this week either!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Enjoy your break. Email me with any questions about the Position Paper, which is due on May 13. Our next class meeting is on May 7. See you then!

Notes and reminders about the Position Paper (due Monday, May 13)

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Here are a few brief reminders about the Position Paper, which is due very soon on Monday, May 13.

Watch the video. Make sure to watch the overview video, since that tells you exactly what I am looking for. It’s on the Position Paper page.

Thesis statement. Make sure you have an introduction with a thesis statement (your argument asserting your position on the question/problem being addressed) and a body that describes and discusses three examples from the sources supporting your thesis statement. For models and explanations on how to do this, see the Structure video on the Essay Musts page. Another resource is “Writing a Position Paper” (a.k.a. “The Elephant Pamphlet”), which is on the Resources page.

Sources.

You must use at least three sources, which can be primary or secondary; tertiary sources (including textbooks and most web pages) are not allowed. See the Evidence video on the Essay Musts page and the Sources page in the Research and Citations Center for more.
All assertions must be supported by evidence.

Requirements for all papers. You must adhere to the requirements for all papers (listed on the Essay Musts page). Not meeting the requirements for all papers will mean a lower grade.

Template. There is an MS Word template already set up with some of the formatting I require on the Resources page. If you use Word I strongly recommend making use of this template. There is also a Google Docs template.

Late papers. As per the syllabus, late papers are marked down by ten points per class meeting, up to a cap of thirty points. Avoid this penalty and block out the time you need to prepare, write, and review your paper so that it can be submitted on time.

BlackBoard. All essays are uploaded to BlackBoard. Look for “Upload Assignments Here” in the left-hand menu. Your essay needs to be uploaded as a Word (preferred) or PDF file attachment, not pasted in as text submission. If you use a browser-based word processor, download or export to a Word document and upload that.

I’m happy to discuss any aspects of your sources or the paper, so please come to me if there’s anything you’re not sure about. I’m looking forward to hearing your interpretations of gender in the ancient world!

Exam Review Sheet posted

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

I’ve updated the final exam page. On this page you’ll find information about the final and some review materials. The exam will take place Tuesday, May 21 from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m.

The review sheet is not designed to be a list of answers so much as questions you can use to guide you toward the areas you want to focus on in your review. As you read through the questions on the review sheet, those you have a sense of how you might answer are lower priority for review than those questions you’re not sure how you would answer; those you’d then want to go back and spend some time reviewing in your notes, the readings, the videos, quiz notes, and class discussions.

Also note that the terms are a useful way of finding concepts you need to go back and review, so I’d advise stepping through the terms at the end of each topic and making sure you have a sense of what they mean and why we’re studying them.

To prepare for the essays, I suggest that you focus on what you would consider to be four or five of the major themes of this course, and think about possible questions that relate to those topics across the periods and transitions we’ve explored. For each essay you’ll be asked to give three examples, so you can sketch out a question about a recurring topic in the course, your perspective on that question, and three similar or contrasting examples that demonstrate that perspective.

Please take a look at the review sheet for details on the exam’s content and structure. Once you’ve read through the review sheet, if you have any questions about the exam or about any of the topics covered in it, please don’t hesitate to come to me or bring them up in class.

To get to the final exam page, click on “Exams” in the navigation index, or follow the link to the “Exams page” below.

Quizzes #6 - #8 grades and markups posted

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

The grades and markups for Quizzes #6 - #8 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.

I strongly recommend spending a moment to take a look at my commentary on the quizzes, as I use the markups and quiz notes to emphasize some of the key take-aways from last week’s topics. The Quiz Notes for these quizzes are live on the Quiz Notes page and on the Print/PDF page, and are also included in the quiz markups.

No meeting this week

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Enjoy your break. Email me with any questions about the Position Paper, which is due on May 13. Our next class meeting is on May 7. See you then!

Welcome to Week 11!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This week we’re starting with the Romans, whose approach to gender we’ll be discussing over the next three weeks.

The Roman perception of the maiden and the matron is very distinctive. What stands out to you about how the Romans understand the responsibilities of the maiden to Roman society? How does it fit in with ideas of gender we’ve studied so far? Also, the stories from Livy give women symbolic importance to the survival of Rome. What do you think these stories are telling us?

I’m looking forward to hearing your takes on the gender roles of men and of women in Roman society. See you Tuesday!

Welcome to Week 10!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This week we’re exploring the story of the Hebrews.

This is one of those cases where the backstory goes a long way in shedding light on specific and distinctive cultural norms. We’ve already seen how the Sumerians, the Egyptians, and the Greeks had different norms and values about women, mortality, and so on. But they all had two things in common: a homeland, and pagan gods that were rooted in the natural forces of that homeland. With the Hebrew tribes, we see cultural norms defined by exile, war, oppression, and more exile, and an ethnic and religious identity reshaped around a monotheistic god, rejecting paganism and any commonality with pagan peoples.

What do you think most affects their ideas about the role of women? What strikes you about the story of Esther? What kinds of women stand out in the stories preserved in Hebrew and Jewish history?

Looking forward to hearing your reactions and insights. See you Tuesday!

Quizzes #3-5 grades and markups posted

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0400

The grades and markups for Quizzes #3-5 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website. Sorry for having gotten behind on grading.

Welcome to Week 9!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This week we’re talking about Egypt.

There’s a lot to discuss this week. Was Hatshepsut a fluke, or did she really represent something about women in Egypt? What do you think was most important in making Hatshepsut accepted as a ruler? Was her damnatio memoriae—her successor’s destruction of her legacy—about female inheritance, or was something else going on? The articles give us a few more vantage points to talk about gender in Egypt. What do think we can say about how different things were for women in Egypt, and why?

Concerning the reading from Roehrig, there’s a “Note” button that gives some advice about approaching this book. It’s long, but it’s mostly pictures, and the tl;dr is, read the six articles, which are shorter than they seem, and skim the rest, which is mainly inventory. Look out for pictures that strike your imagination. What images of Hatshepsut stand out for you the most?

Looking forward to discussing this with you. See you Tuesday!

Welcome to Week 8!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This week we’re talking about understanding gender in classical Athens through the mortal women presented in literature (as opposed to mythology), and toward that end we’re looking at two of the most potent female figures in all of Greek drama, Antigone and Medea. Both women are larger than life in very different ways. I really want to hear what you all thought while reading these plays.

What is it that Antigone is fighting for, do you think? What is Medea fighting for? What are the conflicts in these two plays really about, do you think? What insight can we derive from the memorable endings? Do Antigone and Medea have anything in common? What did you react to while you were reading these plays?

The play Medea is particularly shocking because of what she does and how it ends. Given what Pomeroy talks about and all our previous discussions, what do you think Euripides was trying to say to his fellow Athenians by telling this story? Let me know what you think about all of this.

Looking forward to discussing this with all of you. See you on Tuesday!

Problem with Foley article fixed

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This week it was pointed out to me that I had goofed in piecing together the very useful article for our next meeting by Helene Foley, “The Conception of Women in Athenian Drama.” This error has been fixed and a new version posted. If you previously viewed the PDF in your browser, you may have to refresh.

As a bit of background: A lot of my scans come from a ways back and were originally landscape copy-paper-sized facsimiles with two pages per sheet. This was less of a problem in the old times, when people were mainly looking at them on landscape computer screens. Now that most students are using phones and tablets, though, they are harder to read. Over winter break I went through and chopped up all these scans into individual pages and then recombined them; but I goofed with the Foley article, providing extra copies of most of the right-hand pages and accidentally omitting most of the left pages. Sorry!

If you see any issues with any of the readings, please let me know so I can fix them. I’m really looking forward to discussing Medea and Antigone on Tuesday—see you all then!

Images Essay grades and markups posted

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0400

The grades and markups for the Images Essay are posted on the My Grades page on the course website. Sorry for the delay in getting these back to you.

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.

Welcome to Week 7!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sat, 16 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This week we’re trying to take a closer look at the nonpublic side of gender in classical Athens. What role do you think the hetairai really played in Athenian society? Why do you think we focus on them when discussing Athens? What’s your sense of how the Athenians dealt with private sexual conflicts within and between families—what situations stand out to you?

We’re also looking this week at Bacchae, in which a group of women rip a man apart. Why is he, Pentheus, ripped apart in particular? What is this story showing us—empowerment? Retribution? Male pig-headedness (or lion-headedness)? The Bacchic craze was something the Greeks valued—what was its importance, do you think? Within the play, what do you think Dionysos was trying to accomplish? What do you think Euripides was trying to accomplish in telling this story?

We’ve also got a little scene from the Adonis Festival. Is this just a bit of frivolity involving women checking out hot guys (a bit of reversal in Greek literature, but not unheard-of—remember Nausicaa and the beauty-enhanced Odysseus); or is there something more to the telling of this story?

Looking forward to your discussions and reactions. See you Tuesday!

Sample proposal

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0400

The broken link for the sample proposal on the Proposal page (at the bottom, in the gray box marked “Note”) has been fixed. Sorry about that. Take a look at the sample for an idea of what I’m looking for for the proposal, and of course come to me to discuss ideas and possibilities any time.

Quiz #2 grades and markups posted

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0400

The grades and markups for Quiz #2 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.

Welcome to Week 6!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This week our main subject is to focus on women in classical Athens. This is a tough one, because the seclusion of women is a subject that draws a lot of emotional reaction and misunderstanding—and this is one of those topics where Pomeroy definitely has an axe to grind.

The articles come into play here, too, especially the Walker article, which deals with some of the facts on the ground about seclusion. Where is Pomeroy coming from when it comes to women in Athens? Given our past discussions, what helps bring about this situation? And is it as bad as it seems to us, or is there more going on that what everybody traditionally says about it?

Of particular importance this week: we’re also looking at Eumenides, part of the Oresteia trilogy by the tragedian Aeschylos. This is a great one for looking at gods and mortals and how they operate on their own planes. What do you think the play is saying about Orestes having killed his mom? How do the Furies come off, and how do they seem different from Apollo and Athena, who show up at the end? Why do you think the playwright has Athena say the things she does about her final decision? What do you think this play is really about?

Looking forward to discussing all this with you. See you Tuesday!

Welcome to Week 5!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This week we’re talking about the period after the so-called Greek Dark Age, when from our perspective Hellas can be heard and seen again, with the foundations of Greek culture already laid down in the previous, unseen centuries.

This is the time of the polis—the distinctive, kingless Greek city-state; of colonization, with Greek cities sending their people out into the Aegean, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean; and of the hoplite warrior. Also during this time: the rise of lyric poetry, a sharp contrast to the epic poetry of earlier times; and pan-Hellenism, the curious sense of commonality that grows among all these city-states with defiantly distinct and competitive identities.

Two writers emerge during this period that are characteristic of the shifting Greek culture. One is Hesiod, who speaks from the point of view of the small landed farmer—unlike Homer, whose perspective was from the top of society down. What does Hesiod have to tell us about what it meant to be Greek, and is it different from the key values present in Homer’s work? His issues with women we’ve already discussed in terms of his complex depiction of Pandora and his admiration of Hekate above other divinities, but here we see a discussion of women in terms of the priorities of a landed farmer. Is Hesiod’s attitude simple misogyny, or can we go deeper? How does his discussion of gender fit in with his broader arguments about what it means to be a good Greek citizen?

The other author is Sappho, the most famous of the lyric poets. What does her poetry tell us about how Hellas is changing from the days of epic poetry told by rhapsodes? How does it fit with the rest of what Greek literature talks about? What is her poetry about, to you? What do you think we can take away from the fact that this towering figure of Greek literature is a woman?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Tuesday!

Reminder: The Proposal is due Monday, March 18

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Here are a few brief reminders about the proposal, which is due very soon on Monday, March 18.

I’m looking for: a problem that can be argued; your proposed thesis; and any other thoughts about what you might want to explore or how you think you might go about supporting your argument in the position paper itself. I’ll give feedback on topic viability, scope, and possible primary and secondary sources.

There is also a video on the course website (see the Essays page or the Videos page) that details exactly what I’m looking for. A sample is also posted on the proposal page. I’m happy to discuss possible ideas and approaches in office hours, after class, or by email.

Here’s what the syllabus has for the proposal assignment.

The assignment: The proposal is just a brief one-page preview of your position paper. It should include:

The topic you think you’ll want to write about and the problem you’re interested in addressing. You should be able to delineate the problem by describing the opposing views people might take. To make sure you have two clear opposing opinions, you might want to express them in the form “Some say… . Others say….”
Your preliminary thesis statement—in other words, what you think you might be arguing in your paper.

Your thesis statement, both here and in the final paper, should be a statement of opinion that someone could disagree with. It can take the form of following up the description of the opposing opinions with your own: “I believe….”
Remember that your thesis is provisional. You can change anything about your approach and interpretation after the proposal; in fact, uncovering information as you do your research makes refining or changing your initial assessments very likely.

Your proposal is structured like the introduction to your final paper, and may serve as the basis for it.

The proposal is not graded, but whether you submitted a proposal on time will be factored into the final grade for the position paper. I will give you feedback on things like the feasibility of researching your topic, whether the scope is too big or too narrow for a paper like this, and some possible sources you might want to look at.

Quiz #1 grades and markups posted

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

The grades and markups for Quiz #1 are posted on the My Grades page on the course website.

Each quiz is scored out of 10. Normally on the My Grades page you’ll see the current quiz average, including the lowest quiz being dropped, but I won’t start showing that until we’ve had a couple more quizzes. That’s why right now it says there are too few grades to show an average in the Quizzes line on the My Grades pages. Later, you’ll see the average quiz grade there.

If your quiz grade isn’t what you’d like it to be, don’t panic! It’s still very early and there are lots of opportunities to improve the quiz grade, as well as getting other kinds of grades to balance things out. Quiz averages tend to improve over the semester as the quiz process and the material becomes more familiar. The key step is to come into class on time and prepared, and ask questions—by email, in office hours, and in class.

Welcome to Week 4!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This week we’re talking about Homer, whose works are the portal to understanding how the Greeks thought about everything, including gender, since Homer’s works became the baseline for all Greek culture and all study of the Greeks. We’re reading Pomeroy’s analysis of how the women of the Trojan epic were presenting in Homer and perceived by the Greeks, but we’re also reading a few short sections of Homer himself to get a feel for how he talked about the male and female figures who shaped the outcome of the Trojan War in his Epic.

Women are important to Homer—even the war itself is made to be about a woman in Homer. How does Helen come across in these stories? Why do you think she was depicted as the impetus for the war? Do you see the women on the Trojan side (like Andromache, Hektor’s wife, and Kassandra) as being presented differently from the Greek women (like Klytaemnestra)? In the excerpts, how do you see Briseis, Nausicaa, and Penelope? What do you think Homer wanted to say about the mutual responsibilities of men and women in Greek society?

Looking forward to discussing all of this with you. See you Tuesday!

Slight error in “Nausicaa and the Stranger”

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

It’s been pointed out to me that there was a slight error in the transcription of the passage from Homer’s Odyssey used for the reading “Nausicaa and the Stranger.” Toward the end, the passage that read:

they know nothing about bows and arrows, but are a sea-faring folk, and pride themselves on their masts, oars, and shit with which they travel far over the sea.

should have read:

they know nothing about bows and arrows, but are a sea-faring folk, and pride themselves on their masts, oars, and ships, with which they travel far over the sea.

I’ve corrected the text on the site. I’m not quite sure how it got that way—maybe websites play little pranks on their owners when they get bored.

Too bad it wasn’t the right text—it read pretty well. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, shit in the sense of “unspecified objects, materials, activities, events, etc., of any sort; stuff, things; (sometimes) spec. (with possessive adjective) personal belongings” is an Americanism dating to the 1930s. If you’re wondering if the Greeks might have said something similar, it seems that metaphorical uses of κάκκη (feces) dealt more with reprehensible (shitty) behavior than with random stuff. For example, ancient legends tell us that the shepherd who stole Hercules’s cattle was named Kakos (Virgil Aeneid 8.195ff).

Welcome to Week 3 (again)!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This week we’ve got a big topic: How gender plays out among the stories of gods and goddesses in the ancient world.

Here we zoom in on a key theme in this course, and in Pomeroy’s text: how goddesses are portrayed, as it contrasts to human behavior and in contrast to the male gods. What stands out to you as the most defining characteristics of goddesses in mythology? What goddesses stand out the most to you, and what about them stands out? Remember, we’re trying to view these ideas from the perspective of people of the time. How did the peoples of these societies see a goddess as being different from a god?

Certain goddesses really stand out, like Athena (corresponding to the Roman Minerva). Why is Athena so special and unlike anyone else in the pantheon? Pomeroy talks about an array of Greek goddesses, and many of them seem to be very potent and distinctive in terms of personality and behavior. Why do you think these goddesses were described that way? Who stands out to you as intriguing, or unfairly overlooked?

Also, I want to talk about specific male/female pairings. How do the myths contrast Zeus and Hera? Or, going even further back, Cronos and Rhea?

And: the earth is associated with female divinities (Gaia, Demeter, Kore). Is that just an analog with the production of life, or is there more to it than that?

In this context we’re looking at an early Greek author, Hesiod, and his very personal and very influential take on the story of the gods. How does Hesiod see the gods? What goddesses in particular stand out for him, and why?

Looking forward to finally hearing your thoughts and insights. See you Tuesday!

Important notes on the Images Essay (due March 4)

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Here are a few brief reminders about the Images essay, which is due very soon on Monday, March 4.

Watch the video. Make sure to watch the overview video, since that tells you exactly what I am looking for. It’s on the Images Essay page.
Thesis statement. Make sure you have an introduction with a thesis statement (your argument asserting your position on the question/problem being addressed) and a body that described and discusses three examples from the sources supporting your thesis statement. For models and explanations on how to do this, see “Writing a Position Paper” (a.k.a. “The Elephant Pamphlet”), which is on the Resources page.
Sources.

For the museum option, if you can go to a museum in person and view the works directly that is what I strongly prefer, as this option is about your subjective reactions to experiencing the works you are writing about. Remember to choose two works that have the same subject (two little girls, two warriors, two love goddesses) but from different times or places so you can talk about the implications of how the same concept was conveyed differently in different times or places.
For the film option, you need to write about the agenda of the filmmakers and the agenda of the authors of the primary source and how each is using an ancient culture to impress their own beliefs (the filmmakers’ and the authors’) on the audience. If you’re not sure about the primary sources for the film you chose, make sure to come to me and we’ll discuss.

Requirements for all papers. You must adhere to the requirements for all papers (listed on the Essay Musts page). Not meeting the requirements for all papers will mean a lower grade.
Template. There is an MS Word template already set up with some of the formatting I require on the Resources page. If you use Word I strongly recommend making use of this template. There is one for Google Docs as well.
Late papers. As per the syllabus, late papers are marked down by ten points per class meeting, up to a cap of thirty points. Avoid this penalty and block out the time you need to prepare, write, and review your essay so that it can be submitted on time.
BlackBoard. All essays are uploaded to BlackBoard. Look for “Upload Assignments Here” in the left-hand menu. Your essay needs to be uploaded as a Word (preferred) or PDF file attachment, not pasted in as text submission. If you use a browser-based word processor, you’ll need to download or export to a Word document and upload that.

I’m happy to discuss any aspects of your sources or the essay, so please come to me if there’s anything you’re not sure about. I’m looking forward to hearing your interpretations of your chosen depictions of gender in the ancient world!

No meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

The weather is supposed to be bad on Tuesday and CUNY has canceled in-person class meetings, so there will be no class meeting on Tuesday, February 13.

The meeting scheduled for Tuesday will be held on Tuesday, February 20. I will adjust the online schedule accordingly.

All deadlines remain the same. The due date for the images essay is still Monday, March 4.

Welcome to Week 3!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This week we’ve got a big topic: How gender plays out among the stories of gods and goddesses in the ancient world.

Also, I want to talk about specific male/female pairings. How do the myths contrast Zeus and Hera? Or, going even further back, Cronos and Rhea?

And: the earth is associated with female divinities (Gaia, Demeter, Kore). Is that just an analog with the production of life, or is there more to it than that?

Looking forward to your thoughts and insights. See you Tuesday!

Welcome to Week 2!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This week we’re talking about one of the oldest civilizations of the ancient world, the harsh lands of Sumer, and their most famous bequest to later generations, The Epic of Gilgamesh. We’re reading a few chunks from it, and although the protagonists of this story are two very manly men, in these passages we get three very vividly drawn women: Shamhat the prostitute, Ishtar the bratty goddess, and Ninsun, Gilgamesh’s mother archetype.

As we talk about this, I’m interested in hearing what stands out to you about these passages. How does the people’s anger at Gilgamesh relate to gender? Why is Shamhat written as being so critical to the story of Enkidu? And why do you think it’s important she’s a prostitute rather than another kind of woman in society? What role does Ninsun play in Gilgamesh’s story? What is Ishtar all about? Given what we see of other women in the Epic, do you think she’s being painted by her actions as a woman, or as a god? And on the testosterone side, what do you think the dudebro attitudes and goals of Gilgamesh and Enkidu tell us about how the author saw the differences between men and women within a community?

We had a great discussion last time, and this time we have some really meaty (or juicy, if you want vegetarian metaphors) stuff to discuss. When we get together this week, I especially want us to talk a lot about Gilgamesh and what it tells us. Also, I want to hear your reactions to the article you read. The discussion on this is important, since only some of us will have read the one you chose. What was the author trying to convince you of? What did you think of his or her arguments, and the evidence used to support it? What insight does this give us into how the Sumerians thought about gender?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and reactions. See you Tuesday!

Welcome to Week 1!

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This is a quick note to welcome you all to the beginning of Women in Antiquity! I’m looking forward to exploring gender in the ancient world with all of you, starting with our first meeting on Tuesday. The meeting is in-person, 6:00 – 8:40 p.m., in Carman 209.

This week we’re exploring ideas about gender norms and expectations in ancient societies, including shared perspectives ancient cultures tend to have in common as well as the kinds of things that tend to be radically different from one culture to the next. How do we gain insight into what it means to be a woman, or a man, in ancient Egypt, Greece, Sumer, Judea, or Rome? We’ll also talk what you’re hoping to explore in the course. What about the women in the ancient world do you find interesting or want to know more about? What aspects of gender in antiquity do you want to look into and understand better?

Syllabus and video: As a reminder, the syllabus, assignments, and requirements are all on the course website, which is on my website, markbwilson dot com. Make sure you’ve looked through the site and that you’ve watched the welcome video, which talks about how the course works and answers some common questions.

Books: Also make sure you have the book. The Pomeroy will be getting regular use starting in a couple of weeks, and it shouldn’t be hard to find. The reading assignments on the Schedule page of the website are what you need to have read (and thought about) before coming to class.

Email me: Many of you replied back to the welcome-to-the-course email I sent you after you enrolled, confirming that I have a good email address for you. If you didn’t, could you do me a favor and reply back to this one and let me know that I can use this address, or that that a different email is better for you? Thanks. I’ll be sending out lots of emails, including weekly previews and information on assignments, so it’s important I’m able to reach you.

Sign up for your presentations: There is a sign-up page on the course website for the two presentations you’ll be doing: one on a primary source, and another on one of the articles we’re reading throughout the semester. These presentations are just you introducing a reading to the class, along with your take on what the author is trying to say and what you think it means, as a way of kicking off our discussion of that reading.

Everyone needs to sign up for one presentation on a primary source, and one on a secondary source. You can get that out of the way now and choose readings and topics that seem interesting to you. To get to the page, click on “Presentation” in the side menu, then “Signup #1” and “Signup #2”. As always, I'm grateful to those who pick the earlier ones! If you have questions, we’ll talk more about presentations and the rest of the course components at our first meeting.

That’s it for now. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll see you all on Tuesday!

Welcome to Women in Antiquity! (Spring 2024)

mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Women in Antiquity! I’m looking forward to a great semester exploring ideas of gender in the ancient world.

Right now, I need you to do three things.

First, look over the course web page, which will be our base of operations. Watch the quick welcome and orientation video (linked here and on the overview page). Look through each of the pages on the website to see how the course will work and how the readings and discussions are set up. Any questions about how it works, please send me an email.

Second, get the books now if you can. A lot of you will be ordering books online, and you need to make sure you have the books and are ready to go when the course starts on January 30. On the “Books” page I’ve tried to give you lots of different options for getting what you need, but consider ordering now if there’s going to be any kind of shipping involved. (If you come across a legitimate online/e-text version of one of the assigned readings that’s not already listed, please let me know.)

Finally, send me an email so that I know I have a working email address for you. You can just send a blank email, email and say “hi”, or email with a question or concern, but I want to make sure I can contact everyone. If you receive an email from me but there is an email address you prefer I use instead of this one, please definitely reply and tell me that.

Email me anytime with questions at mark.wilson@lehman.cuny.edu. I’m looking forward to starting our journey together.